The Estonian math competition

This is the story of the trip to Estonia. It started on Thursday 1st of April this year and ended on Monday 5th of April. I left Tampere by train on Thursday afternoon and arrived to Helsinki in the evening. I spent the night at a hotel, and early next morning I joined one of the other contestants - Joonas Ilmavirta - and professor Heimo Latva, from the University of Helsinki. We went by car to the harbour, where Esa Vesalainen, the third contestant, was waiting for us. The ferry-boat left at nine o 'clock and arrived to Tallinn at about half past twelve.

Now I must make a (short) break to tell about the food on the ferry-boat and generally food on all ferry-boats. First time I was on a ferry-boat and ate was when we came by car first time to Finland, and the ferry was Silja Line (from Stockholm to Turku). The restaurant was really big, and there was much food of all sorts. On two sides (not opposite) there were windows to the ocean, on one side the entrance, and on the last side the kitchen (maybe, I suppose it's normal that the kitchen is there!). In the center there was a big ring, and on two sides there were long tables with the food on them. All sorts of food were there: salads, meat, fish foods, hot vegetables, icecream, cakes, etc. (it's hard to describe the food - it's easier just to eat it). NB Maybe the description above is not the first ferry-boat's restaurant, I'm not sure I remember that well something four years ago, and I have travelled in many other ferry-boats from both Silja Line and Viking Line. The ferry to Estonia was an Eckero Line ferry.

We drove all the way to Tartu, and arrived at the Mathematics Quarter of the University of Tartu in the afternoon. Professor Titt Lepmann met us there and got us to the hostel.

On Saturday morning the Olympiad took place in the Physics Quarter of the University. First the opening ceremony happened, then we had snack at the same place, and after the snack the Olympiad itself started at twelve o 'clock. There were two big amphitheatres where all the contestants sat, from 9th to 12th grade. I had the subjects in both Finnish and English, so there was no language problem. The Olympiad consisted of five problems to be solved in five hours. However, I finished in four hours and went out. Heimo Latva told me afterwards that I was the first "Finnish" to leave before the Olympiad ended. The problems were harder than the Finnish math contest ones, but they were "olympiad style", and I am much acquainted with this kind of problems, so it was quite easy to do them. I solved four problems in two hours, but the fifth problem (the hardest) took two hours to solve.

After Joonas and Esa got out too, we went back to the hostel, and in the evening we visited the Tartu Observatory. We saw Venus and Saturn, and I liked it much. That evening Heimo Latva, who had been coordinating, told us our results. I got 35 points out of 35, so the first place was mine. Joonas got 21 points and Esa got 24

On Sunday morning we met Titt in the town centre, and we started visiting. We saw the river Emajoeg, the town hall, the old city, and the University greenhouse. In the afternoon the closing ceremony took place in the main quarter of the University of Tartu. I got first prize, as expected. After the ceremony we returned to the hostel.

The departure was on Monday morning. We left Tartu at about twelve o 'clock, and arrived in Tallinn in the afternoon. Because the ferry left at half past six, we had time to see the city. We visited the fortress and the Orthodox Church, and we went also to a very beautiful panorama. The ferry trip was all right; I was dropped at the railway station in Helsinki, and arrived in Tampere at midnight.

I liked much this trip because it meant visiting of a new country. I like visiting new countries because I meet another kind of people. Of course, I gained experience in mathematical contests, and that's good too. Anyway, I know I would like another trip to Estonia any time.