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Published: October 16th 2006
I thought I should ask the pretty girl for permission before taking her picture, as she was working at a medieval cart in the heart of Tallinn's old town. "Yes" she replied without hesitation, "if you have your paper and brushes you may begin." I looked at her blankly then repeated, "No, I would like to take a photograph." "Not at all" she responded "just take out your brushes." Huh, now I was really getting confused "Er, I mean with my camera." while pointing at said apparatus for added emphasis "What?" she exclaimed with a frown "I don't know what you are talking about. Weird people!" Finally the penny dropped, it became clear she had pulled off this little caper in good fun before. "Aah, I get it," I said with a smile, "this being a medieval restaurant and all." Tallinn is famous for it's medieval buildings and the capital of Estonia features a gorgeous old town. The Estonians are not related to their Baltic neighbours to the south, and speak a language entirely separate from the Indo-European heard throughout Europe. They are an independent peoples closely related to the Finns, Sami and Maygars, and the country has a large Russian
population. This tiny country is right on the doorstep of Scandinavia and Russia, and has plenty to offer for intrepid travellers who are ready to explore.
To recap from the previous journal, dear reader, I caught a Eurolines bus from Riga for the four hour trip across the border and up to the capital Tallinn, which is a coastal city in the north of Estonia on the Gulf of Finland. I checked into the quality Tallinn backpackers in the heart of the city, and the hostel was packed with interesting tourists from around the world, all making the most of the friendly and welcoming atmosphere. The Baltics is a beautiful part of the world, and I've enjoyed my time travelling in the region. In 1989 two million people joined hands across the three Baltic States on the route of the 600 kilometre highway between Vilnius and Tallinn, to commemorate the 50th anniversary of the Molotov-Ribbentrop pact. The non-aggression treaty secretly split the Baltics and Poland into separate spheres of influence, without any input from the countries whose destinies were being arbitrarily carved up. The Baltics came under the Soviet sphere of influence, and was incorporated in the Soviet Union
since that time. The peaceful protest across the Baltics in 1991 was the beginning of the end for the Soviet Union in the Baltic States, and events rapidly escalated until full independence was restored to the Estonian people in 1991. The fifteen years since then have seen enormous changes in this country, as in the other Baltic countries to the south. However, the reputation that seems to be gaining currency in some quarters of the UK is that the Baltics are purely a cheap location for European stag weekends, with beers and women of loose morality. This is an unfortunate and unrealistic mindset if you want to experience all the Baltics has to offer. There are strip clubs in the Baltics as there are elsewhere, but I'm sure a lot of those lads return home only to discover they have burnt a serious hole in their pocket. Oh well, at least they're making a substantial contribution to the local economies, and that can't be a bad thing. But one thing a traveller cannot afford to miss during a visit is the superb food at Hell Hunt restaurant.
There's a curious feature to the Baltics I'd like to share with
you. Try to imagine which of the following choices seems incongruous in Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania between a) beautiful women b) stilettos or c) cobblestone streets. If you were leaning toward c) , I really should have given you the further option of d) none of the above. I don't know how the ladies manage not to come a cropper in the old towns considering their precarious footwear on the cobblestone streets, but somehow they seem to manage it and still look fabulous. Estonia is a beautiful country with a great future in the European Union. There's so much for tourists to experience in a laid back atmosphere, basically all of you should be here now!
If a tree falls in the forest and no one hears it, did it really fall?" George Berkeley
As I continue my travels, until next time it's signing off for now
Tom
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Evonne
non-member comment
memories
Reading this article and seeing the photos brings back memories of the happy time I spent in Tallinn last year. Thank you