Blogs from Estonia, Europe - page 34
July 10th 2005
Hello all -- I have had kind of a three-day weekend, so I have seen a lot of the main city, Tallinn, and some other parts of Estonia the past few days. Wouldnt quite call myself a native or anything, but it is all a bit more familiar! On Friday, Olga (one of the Russian teachers) and I went into Tallinn to explore. Being with another person while exploring reminded me that the right travel partner is essential. I had a couple of things on my agenda--- including sitting down at an internet cafe and uploading some pictures, and finding the Gladners (which I did!), and eating a good meal. The first two were fun for me, not so much for Olga. And even then, the good meal was not exactly what I had in mind ... read more
July 8th 2005
Greetings from Estonia, where it is midnight, and the sun still shines. I think, above all else, that is the thing that freaks me out the most about this place, more than anywhere I have ever been. How does your body know when to go to sleep? It doesn't. You have to psyche yourself out and pretend that it's dark outside. I actually wear night-shades to bed to help do that, but it's still very strange! What can I say -- I have been here almost a week, but in true "camp time" it, of course, seems more like a month. I arrived in Tallinn on Saturday and met up with the rest of my teaching team. I knew ahead of time that I would be the youngest of the bunch (there's 5 of us), and ... read more
April 24th 2005
For any city to be compared favourably to Prague must be complementary. However Estonia's delightful capital falls short in two areas; there is no view as spectacularly romantic as the nighttime vista of the Prague Castle and Charles Bridge - the most beautiful view in any European city I have visited.; tthe other area in which Tallin appears lacking is the atmospheric smoking dungeon bars full of old and ond-style locals, drinking beer and eating plates of meat and lard. In contrast Tallin is almost too cool, too chic, maybe perhaps a little too Scandinavian ? The medieval old town, in which we stayed, is World Heritage listed and comprises winding cobbled streets, spired churches, hidden courtyards and the impressive Russian orthodox Alexander Nevsky Cathedral atop the Tomppea Hill. the original castle fortess where Tallin was ... read more
March 25th 2005
In a period in which my ongoing travel plans seemed to be coming together in a regular and rewarding fashion, I contemplated a choice of destination for a 4-night long European city break in some depth, and, shunning more obvious choices, settled on the Estonian capital city of Tallinn as a place I decided to visit over the Easter period in 2005. The flight took me via the Finnish capital city of Helsinki, only to be greeted at the end of the line with a waylaid suitcase I had to claim for, so that it could be ferried along to the hotel Mihkli in Tallinn the following morning. A few brief glances around me revealed Tallinn to be very much an up-and-coming destination, full of casinos, bars, restaurants, shopping areas, traditional buildings, and yet more casinos, ... read more
May 5th 2004
Here I am with Roger in the small university town of Tartu in central Estonia. It is a very pretty place, not unlike cambridge but a bit smaller. it is also a very very cheap place to live, eat and drink! However, if you like sun it is probably not for you. In winter the sun often never rises and even in summer the weather can best be described as freezing! Although there are no pictures, I have also been to Tallinn, the capital of Estonia. It is very beautiful (incredibly well preserved medieval European city) - strongly recommended for a weekend break from London (cheap flights from STN with easyJet). P.S. The statue I am on is of someone famous, but i can't remember who! Sorry!... read more
April 19th 2004
What a nice afternoon! Sitting in the main square having a couple cold 'Sako' beers. Very nice day. Make sure you bring your jacket for when the sun goes down. I stayed at the Domina City Hotel (http://www.dominahotels.com/eng/products/overview.aspx?idmaster=66). What a GRAND PLACE! Outstanding rooms, reasonable price, good food/bar and high speed wireless internet! Just around the corner from Pegasus (http://www.restoranpegasus.ee/), multi-floor establishment. I did most of my report writing for work there ;) over a couple beers. Good club music too!... read more
April 2nd 2004
Tallinn, one of my favorite cities in the world! And I really only saw the old city. Way too cool nonetheless. The best ‘old city’ experience in Europe. Everything is straightforward, the city is clean, the people nice and the whole thing takes 25 minutes to walk across. Not really cheap, but still cheap. That is, if you stay in the youth hostel down the stairs from the strip club. The location in terms of proximity to other parts of the old city was nice. For food, don’t even think about going to Tallinn without a visit to the Old Hansa. One of the coolest dining experiences of my life! Ok, so I travel more than I eat out. I’m a college student. Still, really fun place to step back into medieval Estonia, complete with live ... read more
August 31st 2003
The ship is a little bit worn down. Seems ok though, should manage not to sink at least for one more time on its route between Tallinn and Stockholm. Equipped with most facilities - bar, casino, nightclub, sauna, pool, stores, restaurant, sitting lounge - as slightly more modern ships, it appears to be a safe ride. Concerns arise when listening to the rigorous safety instructions, more detailed than those of any given airline. Why do we need to know that the car deck is super-waterproof? Shouldn't that be pretty obvious? Then the memories go back to the fall of 1994. Estonia. One of the biggest maritime disasters in history. Only slightly less catastrophical than that of Titanic. The teenage girls in the sitting lounge certainly act as if this would be their last journey. Apparently they ... read more
August 17th 2003
A fast ferry ride away from Helsinki is Tallinn. Capital of Estonia. The city has two faces. Move away from the city center and you see concrete blocks of houses, old Soviet style. Stay in the old town, and you find yourself in a medieval city. I prefer the latter, so frolic around on the cobble stoned streets along the old city wall. On the top of a hill stands the Alexandr Nevsky cathedral. It’s magnificent. The hike up is worth it. But, after all it’s just a building, and my time is limited. So I head back down to the old narrow streets and squares. The summery weather probably helps, but it’s difficult not to like the place. On one of the small and crowded squares two teenage girls dressed in medieval clothes are standing ... read more
July 20th 2003
On the south west coast of Estonia lies the seaside town of Parnu - Pµnðßæ«»¢“”nµæßðđŋħjĸł@łe¶ŧ←↓→øþ - OK I can't find the "a" with two little dots over it. The "a" in Parnu is one of those, and gives it a quite different sound to the one shown, so different that I had to write down the name in order to purchase a bus ticket. Parnu is Estonia's holiday destination, there is a stretch of sand in a horse shoe shape around two miles long, covered with slightly sunburnt (or very sunburnt) northern europeans. The beach has a nudist area entirely for women (how bizzare?)... which I was unfortunate enough to find myself in this morning (didn't read the signs - Ladies Beach - what does that mean?). It wasn't the pleasant experience I would have imagined ... read more
