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Published: September 10th 2010
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Visiting Estonia was never on the itinerary for this trip to Europe, but when our plans changed due to unforeseeable events, I suddenly found myself on a boat heading east from Stockholm across the Baltic Sea. The infamous 40 hour cruises run from Stockholm to Helsinki (Finland), Tallinn (Estonia) or Riga (Latvia) and are known as sleazy, yet quite popular, party boats to Swedes and their Baltic neighbors alike. While this was not my particular interest, ample time in the Stockholm area and a last minute booking bargain made it too irresistible to pass up on my first ever cruise ship experience, however sleazy, and an unexpected day in a Baltic capital. Tallinn being the only option available on the day I wanted to set sail made the decision easy... I was on my way to Estonia.
Sadly, Adina had work obligations while I was in Stockholm, so she could not partake, but Bettina (of course you remember her from Oslo) had recently moved back to Sweden and was game for this spontaneous adventure. After managing to be led astray by Stockholm's otherwise reliable public transportation system, we literally ran from a taxi to the cruise ship, and were the
The inside of the old hansa
Every bit of this restaurant maintained the medieval theme so well. Notice our waitress in medieval garb. Made me think of The Cable Guy. last two to set foot on the Baltic Queen, as the vessel was named, before the moors were released and we set off to the east, navigating the seemingly endless archipelago that surrounds Stockholm. It was six oclock in the evening when we set off and the 40 hour itinerary had us arriving in Tallinn at 10 AM, spending 7 hours of free time in the capital, and then departing Estonia at 5 PM to get back to Stockholm the next morning at 10 AM. This gives passengers 2 nights to enjoy the comforts of the ship and most of a day to play tourist in the city, which in the case of Tallinn was plenty of time.
As I mentioned, this was my first time on a cruise ship and so, with nothing to compare it to and with its reputation preceding it, I'm sure it was not the most lavish of cruises, yet the amenities far exceeded my expectations. The ship seemed new and clean. The beds comfortable. Our own bathroom and shower. Flat screen TVs with cable. Wifi. So far so good.
While there were many Swedes on the boat, the majority were Estonian, and
the majority of the Estonians on board, were supremely drunk. Friendly and never rude all the while, the drunken shipmates I witnessed were painfully bad at karaoke, dancing and especially awful at blackjack. (I realize I'm making a gross generalization here, so no offense to any Estonians reading this, but come on... you don't hit with a hard 18 ever, and of all times against the dealers 6! UGH! I did manage to break even though when I found myself at the table alone at the end of the second night!) After the casino, most of my time was spent at the Sea Pub where an amazing Bulgarian solo act, Petco, served as everlasting jukebox, taking requests (even Estonian favorites) and serenading us with one classic after another on his acoustic guitar. It seemed there was no song he didn't know, and he had the crowd dancing, laughing, and singing along. After Petco retired and my gambling thirst quenched, we lapped the ship a few times before calling it a relatively early night.
Tallinn greeted us with comfortable temperatures and partly sunny skies. As I think is a tourist routine, we made a bee-line for the 'old city,' a
beautifully medieval place of stone streets and buildings, orange cone-topped towers, elegant squares, and ageless churches. The locals cater to the feudal air about the city, with decor and costumes that made you second guess the year. It was quite unique in this way. While I've been to my fair share of 'old cities' during my travels, Tallinn was the first I have been to with this truly medieval feel. Overwhelmed by the spirit of the city and with so many themed restaurants scattered on every block, I found myself twice eating moose meat on this day. For lunch, Bettina and I enjoyed a moose meat stew, a hearty and subtly gamy broth, in a candle lit, dungeon-esque restaurant. This was followed by an early dinner of the "hunter's plate," which consisted of filets of wild boar and moose accompanied with spelt, wild berries and wild mushroom sauce... a better meal than the Medieval Times in New Jersey has ever served me. While I greatly enjoyed my gamy, yet tender, moose meat meals, the second nearly never came to be. I was intrigued by the 'catch of the day'... wild bear. Bettina and I had a retrospective laugh after I
Baltic Amber
The city was filled with one shop after another selling amber jewelry and sculptures. The amber comes in several shades and is mined from the Baltic Sea. Beautiful if you ask me. asked the waiter, "What type of bear is on the menu today?" Disappointed it was Brown bear, rather than Panda or Polar bear, I decided to go with moose. We paid for our meal with two squirrel pelts, said our goodbyes to Tallinn, and walked back to the port to board the ship and begin a repeat of the previous night.
A beautiful sunset welcomed us back to the Baltic Sea and a full moon escorted us home to Sweden.
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Uncle Butter
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You bet you would
Am I really the first to comment on this legendary blog... Well StienStien... its a hell of a blog... there is no doubting that.... I bet you would have the moose medium rare you carcass eating animal.... Peace Uncle Butter