Marina

After a weekend in Riga, Latvia and Tallinn, Estonia, we took the ferry from Tallinn to Helsinki to catch a flight back to Germany.

Helsinki was just okay. Too many cars, and the entire downtown reeked of sewage. (We walked a good few miles and did not escape this scent. No, it was not us!)

There is a farmer’s market along the waterfront where we got some cute jewelry trinkets and ate reindeer and crepes. We stopped by Molly Malone’s pub closer to downtown and saw some awful dancing children in traditional garb. Very crowded, too many cars, likely a hip place to live but it couldn’t hold a candle to the fantastic time we had wandering the cobblestone streets of Latvia and Estonia.

The airport would be okay if it was twice as large. Not a seat to be found anywhere, and this was a Monday around dinner time, which is not typically peak time.

Overall I’m glad I can check Finland off the list of countries I’ve visited, but I’d be just fine if I never went again.

It was the inspiration for Galt’s Gulch in “Atlas Shrugged.” Anyone know when/how they celebrate the novel there? (Wikipedia says they do every year.)

Check out the Pig & Whistle, a British pub right near the station … sometimes I have the most fun abroad checking out the English-speaking haunts in the neighborhoods.

If I could, I would live here. Truly. There have been a number of books (namely plays) that I have not been able to track down for years, and Powell’s had every single one of them in-stock. (Okay, I could have ordered them used online, I am sure, but that just is not the same!) The store is HUGE, but cozy. I do not have a single complaint. Compared to other major used bookstores like Strand (in NYC), Powell’s blows the competition out of the water. A MUST-SEE for everyone.

This is one of my favorite Ethiopian restaurants in the country, and I make a point of heading up to Oakland anytime I’m in Northern California solely for an Asmara dinner.

The atmosphere is relatively traditional, though you’ll eat at square tables with chairs and not on the ground. The waitstaff is fantastic and service is very quick.

Even on a busy weekend evening, I’ve always found (free!) parking in the Rite-Aid lot directly across the street.

This is not the place for traditional Ethiopian food. For starters, they refer to the injera (bread) as “banana bread” despite a complete and utter lack of bananas in all of Ethiopia.

Call ahead for reservations; there was a 45-minute wait on a Saturday night, although by the time we arrived (7ish) the place had pretty much cleared out.

Excellent and attentive waitstaff. It appeared that the other half of the restaurant was a bar and that the Ethiopian dining was more of an afterthought.

I was told the garlic fries are amazing. I found them to be good, but not necessarily amazing-and I love garlic. Overall a nice atmosphere-a little small but not deafeningly loud. Great view if you get the opportunity to sit out on the deck, which is usually (always?) reserved for private parties.