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Relaxing on deck as the 'Romantika' leaves Stockholm
Note - rough looking rock-a-billy type in background.So were the hell is Estonia I hear you thinking? And why would anyone want to go there?! Estonia is on the Baltic Sea, just below Finland, with Sweden to the west and Russia to the east. In 1991 Estonia broke free from Communist rule and in 2004 its tiny population of 1.4 million joined the EU. I was keen to visit Estonia's capital Tallinn, hoping to find a quaint little city, off the Eurail tourist trail, that was undiscovered, quaint and just a little bit different. I got all that and a whole lot more! Tallinn is modern and progressive, yet retains all the picturesque medieval trappings like spires, a town hall square, a UNESCO protected old town and yes, like so many of these little European cities - some genius has labeled it the 'new Prague'. In a nutshell I absolutely loved it - Estonia was one of my favourite destinations so far.
My Estonian adventure began with an overnight ferry ride from Stockholm to Tallinn. Initially, I was expecting a passenger ferry, with basic berths like a train sleeper cabin. But no! To my delight, Tallink's overnight ferry offering was the 'Romantika'. This ferry had all the
plush trappings of a fully fledged cruise ship including a Starlight Lounge, Bars, shops, sauna facilities, casino, cabaret, disco and karaoke! The cabins were equipped with soft beds (albeit bunk - as I was in 2nd class), mirrors, gold trimmings, television, bathroom ... the works!
Knowing how fancy this ship was going to be, I was slightly nervous my clothes and budget (no heels, evening dresses or funds for Pina Coladas) would exclude me from leaving my cabin. However, my concerns were put to rest when I arrived at the port and discovered the ferry would be host to the CCCP 2006. Not a reunion of Soviet comrades (CCCP is probably not the best sensitive acronym to use entering the baltics), but the Classic Car Club Parade 2006. This Swedish group that numbered over 1000 were taking their US V8 tanks (no Ford's I'm afraid) across to Tallinn for a massive car parade, making the entire ferry rock-a-billy central. For me, their are two images that sum up the experience. A group of car enthusiasts clad in leather shorts, beer guts and tatts, wheeling several shopping trolleys of duty free alcohol from the on-deck bottle shop to their room.
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I didn't realise how appropriate this shot was at the time ... Then even worse, a rough bottle blonde in a microscopic leather skirt, more tatts than bare skin, bra straps completely exposed (at least she had one on) sliding down the ferry's main bannister and she wasn't riding side saddle... Enough said!
I found myself a great spot on the upstairs sunset deck, met a couple of backpackers - Lena from Sweden and Neli from Germany and soaked up the atmosphere. The ferry went by hundreds of little Baltic islands, with fir trees, jetties with boats moored beside them and brightly painted timber houses. On deck, the bar served thousands of plastic cups of beer to the waiting throng. The rock-a-billy men had two looks. Either bryl-creamed hair and massive sideburns - or balding with a moustache. Their beer guts spilling over denim or leather tight pants or shorts. They all wore the pre-requisite car enthusiast black t-shirts or vests with badges. Many of the women decided to lose their tops and sat around in leopard skin bras drinking cans of whisky and coke. Below deck, the features on the porn channel were posted on an LCD screen next to reception. Stunning, yet poverty stricken, Eastern Europe women were also
available to guests at bargain prices. Horrific really.
Neli, Lena and I had a great evening and hit the dance floor to the predictable, but highly enjoyable strains of live 50's and 60's rock. The 'Boppers', a band of aging Swedish rockers, were the headline attraction and despite us being completely 'out of uniform' (for starters I wasn't wearing black) we were a hit with band and rockers alike - dancing up a storm til the early hours.
The next morning, sore heads emerged on deck for the first breathtaking view of Tallinn - a walled city by the sea. The entire time I was aboard the Romantika, I had unknowingly likening the ship to the Titanic and on arrival, we were greeted with a massive monument to the 'MS Estonia', the ferry that sank on the Stockholm - Tallinn route in 1994. It was a good thing I wasn't aware of this disaster whilst on board. 852 of the 989 passengers aboard the 'MS Estonia' died and while investigators concluded that a badly designed bow door was the cause of the accident, mystery still surrounds the sinking. The 'MS Estonia' was the newest and largest ship in
the Nation's fleet, so many conspiracy theories are still circulating about what might have really happened.
My first encounter with an Estonian was not a friendly one. The Darryl Hannah look-a-like, with a 'lemon sucker' face who worked behind the counter at the local pancake cafe was an ogre. She conducted all interactions with customers without a smile, without a word and looked likely to pull out a gun from behind the counter and do us in at any time. Unfortunately, the pancakes especially the apple and vanilla, were worth going back for. Apparently, unfriendly waitresses are not a new problem in Tallinn - back in medieval times a priest killed a waitress in town hall square with an axe when she served him an inedible omelet and he was be-headed in the square!
Smile randomly at an Estonian, particularly an older one, and they'll probably think you are a stark raving idiot. Indiscriminate smiling is seen as a sign of lack of intelligence in Estonia and this proved a big problem for me! Try saying thank you without smiling - it's no mean feat. The other thing about Estonians, as seems to be the norm in these
Baltic states, is that the women are absolutely gorgeous, whilst the men are horrendous. I heard it said more than once that the women go to extra effort with their appearances to secure a man, as in these war-ravaged countries there is often a gender imbalance problem. I couldn't tell whether the women's sensational figures were a result of fitness (I didn't spot anyone jogging) or poverty. One night out on the town, I watched as women hit the dance floor dancing with each other, as the men, unsmiling, stood propped up beside the bar. The boys from the hostel went in for the kill!
One day I took a 'chilled' walking tour of Tallinn with a couple of local students which included a wander around town, an impromptu jamming session, rendition of the national anthem and a taste of local sandwiches. The history of Estonia begins with the medieval - there are innumerable ghost stories, a medieval torture museum, medieval architecture and themed restaurant to boot. It's impressive how many buildings from this era are still intact. Especially in light of the history of battles and occupations - Denmark, Russia, Germany ... everyone it seemed wanted to capture
Tallinn. The boys regaled us with many interesting tales. Like the rumour that the WW2 bombings of Tallinn during the German occupations, were all done by Russian women. Or my favourite - in times gone by the local Cafe Moscow, offered trouser pressing along with your morning coffee (so you sat in a bathrobe and read the newspaper whilst you waited). The communist history was also interesting - we visited the location of the illegal record market - where in Communist times you could buy a Beatles record for around 1/2 a month's salary. The old KGB headquarters were not far from our hostel and from the old town, you could see a jungle of concrete communist style apartment blocks. Estonia's current government seems just a little unhinged, with the slogan - 'positively transforming' - they have instigated projects like building a $130,000 single public toilet which is always out of order and have sold 'Freedom Square' to a local carpark operator! The good news is that the economy seems to be on the improve.
My hostel in Tallinn was basic, but brilliant. It quickly became apparent that travellers to Eastern Europe were more worldly, mature, interesting and considerate
Tallinn's skyline is spectacular
If you look closely you can see ferries at the port (and not 18 years old Eurailers from the US). Facilities were basic, but almost comical. My room was an open room stacked full with bunks and the floor was a mini golf green. The mixed bathroom had only two thin shower curtains keep your dignity, though chose the shower next to the sauna and risk someone peering at you through a little window. My freshly laundered clothes were hung to dry in the attic (also a communal room for hostel workers) with birch branches for the sauna hanging off the roof and a kris cross length of clothes line above the beds. A massive screen was set up in the open hostel room downstairs - too bad if you wanted privacy or to sleep during the early evening - the world cup (rightly) took precedence. The hostel kitchen was brilliant and felt like being at someone's house - though with all the timber the place did scream fire hazard (I couldn't help thinking of Childers). Especially when the late night frozen pizza snack we were cooking went up in flames fuelled by the cooking paper. Oops!
Excursions from the hostel were arranged for you, but I decided along with
a Canadian girl Jenny to hit the Beach, along with my friend Tania and some random guy from the hostel. The beach was great - white sand, people everywhere, a great place to chill. It turned out this creepy, weird guy was actually the hostel owner - but didn't want us to know, so when I asked what he did for a living he said 'that's a bit personal isn't it!'? My final night in Tallinn was the night Australia played Brazil in the World Cup. I recruited some new Australians (Portuguese, South American, Canadian, Irish), and along with two Aussie guys Daniel and Andy, we watched the first half of the game at the hostel, before going to Tallinn's best sports bar to watch the game. The result wasn't great, but we kicked on to a local underground bar where we chilled out and mixed with locals. This bar is so local that the hostel staff been told to stop bringing travellers, they want to keep it exclusive!
Estonia was genuine, uncontrived and has 'heart'. It was also surprisingly progressive - most people speak English and the young are very fashionable (not unlike Mongolia). Estonia really is going
places. But unfortunately so was I, on an afternoon bus to Riga, Latvia. Until next time ...
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