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Published: October 27th 2008
Brothers from different Mothers When I crossed over the border into Mongolia, by train a month or so previeously, I realised that I had in fact never really crossed a border before. Taking planes, illiminates the ability to actually see border crossings and how close together most countries live. It makes you realise that in the UK we have been lucky in the past to never really have borders and no doubt it has saved out bacon on numnerous occaisions. In these fragile relationships, always held together or pushed apart by geography, politics and cultural difference, it is interseting to see when one 'country becomes the next' and what changes or, in fact doesn't. Take for example the poor old Mongolians, sandwhcihed between a rock and a hard place with Russia to the north and China to the East, forever living in the knowledge that if anthing kicks off, they are well, basically screwed.
The Russian border had me nervous. Visa registrations, a systems left over from the era of paranoia, still prevail as (what most tourists agreed on leaving) money making pain in the arse, where you are required to pay to have your visa stamped in
every place all over the country that you had stayed in for over 3 working days. I hadn't done them. Not even close. This was no the fault of myself but the gerneal lack of agreement any hostel or hotel had on what the registration system was. Some would register you for over 3 working days for a fiver, and others insisted on registering you if you were anywhere for over 24 hours for about 20 quid! Thus I decided that it was a load of bullsit and that I would take my chances at the border.
However, going by my rule that the last night is always the best night as you know that you shouldn't be going out and thus you take guilty pleasure from the experience, I had rolled into bed about 4am from a fantastic night in a bar where every night was New Years and they would play a black and white New Years speach from the 1960s Kremlin, before everyone would leaped around on the hour with sparklers to some song that seemed to just chant 'Moscow, Moscow, dah dah dah-dah!!", and so I was feeling both nervous and paranoid on my bus. (Now
thats a long sentance!!)
In terms, of border crossings, none could have been in a more dramatic setting, becasue as you bumped along the rough Russian roads, you suddenly crested a hill to a small river, edged with an enourmouse medievil castle on the the other the side. This was Narva, Estonia, and the castle above the thin Narva river was placed here in medievil tims during disputes with the Russians and German and Sweedish knights. The town itslef is almost entrirely populated by Russians, and was almost completey destroyed during WW2.
The stern Russian, lady poured through my passport, never smilling and spilling the piles of reciepts, registrations, and train tickets I had compiled to try and overwhlem customs with info that I said that 'I was in Russia!!"
It must have worked anyway as eventually she stamped me and sent me on and that was it. Follwing on from this was a very memorable experience for me. Crossing into the EU, surely a place were I would be welcomed with opened arms, had a powerful effect on me. As we pulled into the Estonian checkpoint, I saw it all. The leafy streets, the EU flags,
the signs on the back of the cars that we only seem to have in Europe, the English!
I remember vivdly seeing a customs inspector in uniform. Blonde haired, blue eyed. A handsome, stern looking man who I could picture carrying a puppy from bombed out building during WW2.
Another officer was collecting passports on the bus of all the Russians. Questioning, checking, double checking. When it came to my passsport, he simply looked, and nodded, and although he didn't smile, there was an unmistakable look of comradship, the like experince when meeting someone from your country far from home.
Now, this my seem like small thing to you, oh reader, but when you have travelled a long way, always heading for home, always a foreighnour in a foreighn land, each step of the way getting closer, it was a very powerful thing. It was a moment when I wanted to get up and hug the guy. My EU brother!!! Let us dance through meadows, tossing waving EU falgs as we go and maybe playing an acordian.
Jokes aside, it is truly an important and amazing thing this unity of people, who may never meet, but who are always
welcome.
I could not stop smiling as I passed through the border and into Russia and I did what I do when I'm most happy, I fell asleep, riding through tiny, tidy towns, full of old people, that made me feel like I was somewhere back in England.
The EU brother hood..... a union, a family.
I have a much greater respect for what that means now. It is to be cherished by me from now on.
Tallin I had opted not to get a guide book for this leg of the journey and so I bought small local map, and after a tram and a walk managed to find my hostel and settle in. For those intersted, it was called Euphoria, and was one of the best hostels I have stayed in, owed mostly to the relaxed, friendly staff, and atmosphere ( dorm bed about 200kroons - $20).
The day would hold little in store and I was perfectly content to enjoy the feeling of making another big leap on my journey, into Europe.
The other funny things about borders, is the sudden change in culutre and opinions you have just on crossing a couple of
miles.
On arriving, most people were suprised that I had come from Russia, and were curious to know why anyone wanted to go to Russia. Estonia has had a rather crushing and saddening past as a former Soviet country, and now has the most uncomfortable relationship with its large neighbour in the region. It was of course, rather difficult to hear the Russians being put down, after my fantastic, eye opening roller coaster ride through the coutry, and I felt rather out of place.
All over the world I have travelled, on crossing border to border, someone hates someone else. The fragile world that we lived in was more and more being brought to my eyes the further I went, and as in each country I saw both sides of the story from people, it was dawning on me how incredibly complex and complicated the task of living together on this world was.
In Estonia, the problem, aside from twice being invaded, occupied and having thousands of people killed and deported throughout the last centuary by the Soviet Regime, was the policy of 'Russification" which settled thousands of Russian in many former Soviet states, to work and live. Estonias population
is some 30% Russian, and the rest are ethincally very homogeneous Estonians, meaning there is a clear division in the population. Many have had there eyes glued to the news on events in Georgia, as Estonia itself is in and uncomfortably similar position. Whatsmore, it can be difficult to return to Russia for the Russian Estonians (and possibly economically not a great choice) and many Russians still speak Russian and have not integrated into Estonian culture or society. I definately felt like I wanted to get the picture from some Estonian Russian point of view also, but I never got the oppurtunity. It certainly seemed like a tricky situation.
Tallin, a city of some 400,000 people is the capital of Estonia, with some 1.3 million people, I realised that it was the smallest country I had ever been to, and that I liked small countries. As would come to be the theme in the Baltic countries, the city consited of an old twon district and a new town, the Old town being where I was stationed and certainly the more uniqe of the 2.
Winding cobbled streets, rolling up and down steep hills to lookouts over the medievil tower
topped city walls, and gothic church spires, dotted everywhere with uber trendy bars and alot of great cheap eats to.
Yup, Tallin was a cool city in my opinion and in the end the combo of my relaxing hostel and the beautiful and easily accessible Old town had me stick around for a number of days more than I planned.
But first I got what I would decribe as Russia withdrawel symptoms. It was cold, grey, rainy. The sense of adventure and danger granted had been replaced by a beautiful and unique city, but certainly for the first couple of days, I missed the onion domed churhces, the friends that I had made, the marble and chandelird (spelling?) metro, the rouble, speaking Russian, and all the of the other things I had been living for the last month.
A pleasant surpise dragged me out of my Russian complex, however. By chance, well no in actual fact by Facebook, whichI have now decided is definately a great thing, I found out that friend of a friend from not only my area but my school was married and living in Tallin with a new baby boy!! Small world indeed I
hear you cry! Certainly, as Rebecca attested, that not many people from Muswell Hill pass through Estonia these day and so we met up in her apartment to relive the good old days and chew the fat.
We had both had similar lives and ended up doing the old English teching bit and it was great to meet up and compare stories.
The next day, Nero, her hubby, prepared an amazing breakfast, and then we took Johaness, their blue eyed boy around the Old town, and they showed me the sites. All in all I was starting to slow down and enjoy a bit of quiet time in the medievil town, and recoopperate from the last few months.
The next few days went much the same way, with the highlights being just wandering when the weather was good, and visiting the Occupation Museum, which really hit home the reasons behind current feeling around, and also gave a fascinating look at this small countries struggle for independance. Overall it helped me leave knowing a little more. Recommennd it.
Facts Here are also some intersing facts about Estonia.
- Inventor of Skype was Estonian.
- Estonia want to be the
first country in the world to be fully WIFI (you have streets signs that say WIFI zone everywhere).
- cockstastegood - actually means 12 months in Estonian.
- Everyone holds hands at the end of a club night and sings a Estonian folk songs - no joke.
An intersting thing that Rebecca noticed, was that I was still totally enthralled by the technology and wonder of this mondern, technologically superior country. I had come from the other way, where it was like racing through the indutrial revolution and onwards into the future. Arrivng in Tallin was like, touching down in the 50 yeasrs ahead to me, whereas she felt like she was about 10 years behind to the UK.
Either way, it was another example of why I recommend the East to West route, as little things can seem so mcuh more intriuguing an exciting done that way.
Anyway, I digress.
Tartu You can't say you have seen England if you have only been to London, and so me and my travel buddy Kate, decided to hitch (Denis would be proud) to university, 2nd town, Tartu. And I can tell you we were picked up in
10 minutes by a nice student called funnily enough Denis (with one n, no lies!) who dropped off at out door pretty much. Another great testament to these cool kind people. That night we attended and Estonian student party which was like a kind of US fraternity party, with a police call included, and ended up a pretty wicked cub to where we made some cool Estonian friends, one of who gave us the guied tour of small Tartu the next day and took us to the Pussirohen (chortle) restaurant, for dinner. Nice
That was it then, a very pleasant, fluent English speaking, quiet country, full of young crowd with great food, great beer, and history abounding. Go there.
But not on your stag do!
Next I would roll intop Riga, Latvia, the so called thumping heart of the Baltics............
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