Blogs from Estonia, Europe - page 46

Dix-huit heures en autobus c’est long, longtemps. Surtout quand le trajet commence avec la projection en rafale de 2-3 comédies estoniennes à la place d’un super film américain totalement superficiel tel Rambo ou Terminator 2. Je vous confirme, je n’ai rien compris du film, mais c’est certainement dans le top des plus mauvaises productions de l’histoire. Entre deux scènes poches, l’autobus freine brusquement m’indiquant que quelque chose ne vas pas. Le chauffeur de l’autobus agrippe un homme équipé d’une moustache de champion, définitivement un Estonien, et ils sortent de l’autobus. S’en suis une engueulade entremèlée de bousculades, le tout avec la musique du film poche en arrière plan, bref j’ai l’impression de toujours regarder le film. Monsieur moustache fumait à l’arrière et le chauffeur n’a pas apprécié semblerait-il. Je crois que le gars a bien compris ... read more

When Lindsay and I were planning our trip this summer, we were always keeping an eye out for cheap budget flights. One great deal that we found was a flight on Easyjet from Berlin to Tallinn, Estonia. We also found a flight from Helsinki (a short ferry ride across the Baltic Sea from Tallinn) back to Cologne, Germany. It turns out the cost of the two budget flights plus the ferry was comparable to the cost of train tickets from Berlin to Cologne. So, we thought why not, and so we went. Tallinn was a different city than we have been in recently. The history and culture is influenced by Russia and Finland, so it made for an interesting mix after being in a Germanic/Slavic part of the world. From our short time in Tallinn, ... read more

Tallinn in Twenty Photos Europe » Estonia » Tallinn By AirMailJune 19th 2007Josh & AliciaPhotos from our day trip to Tallinn's Old City. We had never previously planned to come here, until we saw the ferry trip advertised in a Finnish tourist brochure. In many ways this was the Europe we had been searching for over the last 3 months. The place was so original, untarnished, and just plain beautiful we almost felt as though had traveled back in time. It was also ironic (and a great surprise) that we ended up here on our last day in Europe. We can't think of a better way to have ended our trip to Europe!... read more

Today our tour started in the medieval town of Tallinn. We walk up tooompea hill to the palace square where we viewed Toompa castle, now the Estonian Parliament. We were able to peek into a lovely Russian Orthodox Alexander Nevsky cathedral. Since this was sunday, no pictures were allowed but the clergy were all dressed in their religious robes, very ornate. We continued over the cobble stone streets for an overview of the lower city. The city is on a hill with city walls protecting the lower city and larger walls protecting the upper city. There is a Catholic St Mary's Cathedral but we could not enter on Sunday. As we drove through the new city we were should where the Russian monument was removed by the Estonians and where the riots occurred just recently. ... read more

I figured if I was coming all the way to Finland, I might as well go to Estonia. For many, its an easy day trip that takes anywhere from 1 1/2 hours on a hydrofoil boat or 3 hours on a cruise type ferry. I think there are a fair number of Finnish people who enjoy making this trip for the cheap cigarettes and well, duty-free alcohol available here. I was relieved to find that the prices are similar to canadian standards. A good bench mark is always Mcdonalds and five dollars cdn will get you an extra value meal here in Tallinn. After a rainy and grey welcome to Estonia, I spent most of the day wandering around the very touristy old town. This is a unesco heritage site recognizing the well preserved medieval ... read more