Blogs from Estonia, Europe - page 48

We've come to the end of our stay here in Tallinn, and will be very sad to leave. It's such a beautiful city, much more so than I (Ciara) could have imagined. The Old Town is entirely surrounded by huge city walls and battlements, and everywhere you look you see another amazing piece of architecture, from the Alexander Nevski orthodox cathedral to the gothic town hall tower in the main cobbled square. Here there was a huge Christmas tree covered in lights, and just around the corner they sold the most beautiful smelling cinnamon nuts from an old cart. We arrived on Sunday 7th around midday, and spent the whole afternoon wandering around and getting our bearings. The second day we walked out to the western suburbs through all the residential areas where there was a ... read more

I thought I should ask the pretty girl for permission before taking her picture, as she was working at a medieval cart in the heart of Tallinn's old town. "Yes" she replied without hesitation, "if you have your paper and brushes you may begin." I looked at her blankly then repeated, "No, I would like to take a photograph." "Not at all" she responded "just take out your brushes." Huh, now I was really getting confused "Er, I mean with my camera." while pointing at said apparatus for added emphasis "What?" she exclaimed with a frown "I don't know what you are talking about. Weird people!" Finally the penny dropped, it became clear she had pulled off this little caper in good fun before. "Aah, I get it," I said with a smile, "this being a ... read more

So hard to decide where to begin! Tallinn is such a surprise considering it’s our first step into what was an eastern block country and after some of the beautiful places we’ve seen it was great to be able to be awe struck again. See Dad, I’m not as much the cynical bitch, as you think. I love these old cities protected from the outside world by their 16th century city wall. The cobbled streets and wonky building and lanes you can get lost for hours in! Yes even the local who have to dress up in their corney old fashioned outfits to attract the tourists! The one blight on my stay was that my camera was playing up, or more specifically the card in my camera which resulted in an almost teary moment when I ... read more

Last night was very pleasant, even if I was completely knackered due to my exploits the previous night. Maarit was very understanding and pointed out that it was Sunday and that her friends weren’t around for going out anyhow! Today we walked through Tartu on the way to the bus station. We visited Barclay square, where the Soviets rounded up all their political prisoners and transported them in cattle trucks to the gulag, or worse. We passed the music school from which was emanating classical music being practiced. We listened to that as we hid under a bridge to shelter from a shower. Soon it was time to leave Tartu and head back to Tallinn; Maarit had tomorrow’s return to university to prepare for and I had to get some more R & R in before ... read more

So, the adventure really begins! I was up at 5.30 this morning to catch the plane from plymouth to Gatwick and then onto Tallinn here in Estonia. I made the trip fine, however, my baggage obviously wasn' t so fortunate and hasn't made it as far as Tallinn... After filing my lost baggage report at the airport, I attempted to find my way to the hostel. I took a bus that looked important and hoped for the best. The bus took me through some pretty ropy looking neighbourhoods and past numerous sex shops and what I assume are brothels down to the harbour. Tallinn is used by Finns who come over from Helsinki (100ks over the water) to buy cheap booze. And boy do they buy - I saw one guy with a fold-out trolley filled ... read more