The island we’ve stayed on is incredible. There are fall leaves everywhere, beautiful lanes around old Russian apartments, and wild grassy hills with canons above and bunkers below.
The wind, however, was angry and cold. It all but blew the kids over a few times! This did not spoil our fun and, in fact, was impetus to explore further inside dark tunnels and hidden passageways. I can’t begin to explain how free the kids felt and how wonderful it was to have them in a place they could romp wildly. Avi absolutely loved all the old canons. Both of them rolled down hills and Zoe collected colorful leaf stems for a craft.
The church tower doubled as a lighthouse
It was wonderful and tiring. We ate our picnic lunch under an alcove for shelter and gathered our luggage from the hostel in the afternoon. Caught the ferry back to Helsinki where we popped into a traditional market to see all the fancy ways to make fish and caviar. With an hour or so to spare I had planned on walking Helsinki to find one of their numerous playgrounds, but the kids (and I) were played out. Instead we did what Avi has been begging to do: rode the trams. It was actually a wonderful way to see the city along the #2/3 line that loops a figure eight. Zoe slept while Avi and I took time lapse videos and spotted other trams.
By evening we arrived at the cruise port for our next adventure: an overnight cruise to Tallin!