Day 106-107: Estonia - Tallinn (leaving Finland - Helsinki)

---

Day 106: July 20 - FINLAND - Helsinki, ESTONIA - Tallinn
Accommodation: Tallinn Backpackers

I tried to sleep in as long as I could today after the extra awake time forced upon me, and I had no plans after seeing what I wanted to yesterday, so I stored my bags and went straight for the net cafe, which was in fact a decent cafe with about 8 internet terminals. Surprisingly it's hard to find a net cafe that serves a good cafe coffee. I scored a yummy Finnish-style mocha and a cake to go along with a couple of hours of net surfing, then headed off towards the shops with a good caffeine buzz. I basically wandered around the shops and then headed towards the harbour to find out how to get a ferry from Helsinki to Tallinn. I found two ferry companies running on different timetables, so I chose one and booked a ticket. I slowly made my way back to the hostel, then with two hours before my ferry and only two blocks from the hostel I found a corner pub called Aussie Bar! I couldn't believe my luck. It was the first Aussie themed bar I'd seen since London or Vienna (although the Vienna one was crap). It was small but tacky enough to make me feel at home. Benches and the bar itself were made out of tree logs, Aussie flags were hanging from the ceiling, the wall had a mural of Ayers Rock, Steve Irwin was on the TV, AC-DC was playing on the jukebox, and best of all they were selling bottles of Coopers beer! The place was empty but I didn't care. Unfortunately I only had time for two beers before I had to take my bags to the ferry terminal, but it was quality stuff.
Back at the hostel I grabbed my bags and attempted to walk 20 to 30 minutes back to the harbour, but I was sick of carrying these bags so I waited at the nearest tram stop. I got on expecting to pay on the tram but no-one ever came around to sell me a ticket or check me for one, so I got off right near the ferry terminal for a free ride. Nice one! I had arrived a bit early but at least I was there and not puffed out from carrying all that weight. When we were finally allowed to check in I had to show my passport, something I hadn't needed to do since I caught a flight from London to Brussels, and I'd crossed five country borders and taken two flights since then! I love this European Union system. Estonia wasn't a part of this yet which is why the passport needed to be shown. I didn't mind, I wanted another passport stamp!
The ferry was very similar to the one I caught in Venice, as I had to step down into the lower level of the boat with the water line touching the bottom of my window. As the ferry took us out of the harbour we were out in the sea after not too long at all with wild waves crashing against the boat all the time. It was a rocky ride and the front of the boat became airborne regularly, so it was like a fun ride for no extra charge. There was a TV showing cable TV which kept getting interrupted by the fierce waves until one point when it lost the signal completely.
It was only an hour trip but it had become fairly dark on arrival at the Tallinn ferry terminal. The terminal itself was very small, and I was in a true eastern European country which was once controlled by Russia until only 15 years ago so I didn't know what to expect. I got out and there were no signs, just a road to walk on. I had no idea where I was going and no map and it was getting darker by the minute so I was a bit worried. Just as I stopped about to wonder where to walk next I heard a familiar accent. Behind me was an Aussie guy who had noticed the Aussie flag on my backpack, so we got to talking and he was a bit lost too but going to the same hostel as me. He said whenever you're lost it's best to walk towards the tallest steeple of the church as the town is usually built around that. Surprisingly his theory worked and it led us to the old town where the hostel was situated.
The hostel itself was up a dark spiral staircase, and the reception was nothing more than a desk, a small computer, a credit card machine, and a bunch of young people sitting around relaxing. It looked a bit too laid back to be taken seriously, but they had my internet booking and correctly charged my credit card so I was satisfied. My dorm room had about ten beds in bunks or just singles laid out across the floor. Outside my room was a series of more bunks, and when I walked down to the kitchen and had to walk past ten more bunks to do so. It was almost like they were trying to pack people in anywhere they could and no-one seemed to worry about it. At least my room had a closing door, and everything was clean and warm. The bathroom was huge and immaculate, probably one of the best I'd ever seen in a hostel which surprised me with the number of bunks I'd just seen.
My new Aussie friend and I walked around the corner to the shops for food and drinks, and the convenience store was selling half-litre beers for no more than one Aussie dollar! I couldn't believe it so I stocked up well. Back at the hostel kitchen there were people all over the place chatting and drinking. It was such a great atmosphere, and a lot of them were Aussies too! I had a bit of a chat all round, the local Estonian beer tasted surprisingly good, some people went out on the town but I wasn't in the mood for a big night as I'd just arrived, then eventually crashed in bed.

Day 107: July 21 - Tallinn
Accommodation: Tallinn Backpackers

Again I hadn't exactly planned what I was going to see or do here. I was getting quite used to following directions on the town maps and getting quite lazy over having to organise every single day when I was here to relax and not so much to use my brain. I guess I was just lucky that the street my hostel was in was only a street behind the main town square.
The hostel was sitting in the old town so all the streets and walkways were made with cobblestones and several archways were also built with large stones, as well as a lot of the buildings, and also the wall around the old town itself. It was quite a fascinating sight to see, and I felt privileged to be staying in the middle of it all.
Cobblestone streets seemed to be the norm in lots of European town squares, but I still couldn't get enough of them for some reason, and they were on all the streets in Tallinn's old town. The town square was surrounded by several tall historic stone buildings with pointed tops, cafes and people were all over the place, and several streets were branching off the square in all directions. I had seen this lots of times before but I still liked it. I sat in one of the town square cafes and had an omelette and juice for 100 Estonian kroner, about AU$10, which was pretty cheap for the most touristy area of the town.
After lunch I found my way to the town wall which was about 20 metres high, and the front gate was flanked by two tall stone towers on both sides each of about 5 metres in width and with pointy tops. These stone towers with pointed tops were all over the town and were rather unique and stylish, and nice to see. I hadn't seen anything like it on my Europe travels so far. Everything was historic, even the souvenir shops were selling replicas of items from centuries ago, although I frowned when I saw a McDonalds just inside the gate. Luckily it was the only real sign of modern commercialism in the whole old town, apart from a few stores selling cameras and other things for tourists.
I walked out of the gates of the old town and it was a different story. I saw tram tracks, bus stops, and a large shopping centre. There was some modernisation in this place after all. I walked over to the shopping centre and I might as well have been back in Australia with the similar shops I saw, so I walked out and back to the old town.
Back in the old town I came across the parliament building. This was a huge structure of some 5 or 6 stories and about 50 rooms wide, and it was painted a pastel pink or orange. Apparently a lot of uproar and protest over gaining independence from the USSR happened here from 1989 to 1991. Just down from there was the Alexander Nevsky Cathedral, which was heavily influenced by Russian architecture.
I walked down a hill and came to a museum about the occupation of Estonia by the Soviet Union from World War II up until their independence in 1991. It really was a fascinating museum, and a lot of people alive today would've experienced the hardships that Estonia went through only 15 years before.
It showed how the Soviets promised them protection against any invasion and destruction from war enemies, but then took all the Estonian resources and used them for themselves. Even after World War II ended the Soviet Union still controlled Estonia and Latvia and Lithuania and basically took everything from them and gave nothing back, so these were extremely poor countries. It told how it wasn't until the fall of the USSR in 1991 that these three countries were able to gain their freedom back, and it seems like they've been in a party mood since, which was present around the town of Tallinn. I spent at least two hours there watching videos of people's interviews and protests and the harsh way of life from the 1940's to early 1990's. I had never seen anything like this before and it was just astounding. It made it feel even more real by being in the heart of where it all happened not so long ago when I was still a kid.
After that I started to head back to the hostel, passing down an incline known as St Catherine's Passage, and I walked into a small souvenir shop where I scored a Tallinn fridge magnet. I also had a bit of trouble but finally found a place to buy a bus ticket to my next destination of Riga, then I grabbed a bite to eat at a Thai restaurant that was inexpensive and tasted really nice (eating Thai in an eastern European country felt bizarre though), then I relaxed at the hostel for a while.
Hanging around the hostel kitchen and lounge area I found a fair few people to have a random chat to and some of them were keen to have a night out on the town so I tagged along. First stop was an Irish pub where I tucked into a few pints of Guinness. I swear the Irish just want to invade the whole of Europe one pub at a time because I could always find one wherever I went. I guess this was first stop as two of the guys in the group were from Ireland. A band were playing cover songs but none of them were Irish and nor were they, but no-one seemed to care as much. After a few beers we moved on and found a backpackers bar, which stood out with all the different country flags hanging from the front window. More drinks, more chats, and then things started to get a bit hazy. I believe the group I was with was ready to go home but I wanted to kick on so I went bar hopping. I remember walking into some sort of nightclub surrounded by lots of locals, and dance music was playing Estonian-style. I kept drinking and I don't know why. The rest of the night is a blur, but somehow I got back to the hostel as I ended up in bed.

---