Blogs from Estonia, Europe - page 50

Hello everybody, It was the weekend before I left for Russia, so I took the ferry across the Gulf of Finland to Estonia. It is one of the countries under Soviet domination for so many years. They are proud of their independance. I arrived on a Friday afternoon. In the other countries I found that booking a hotel in advance didn't work. Most of them lie about the distance from the train station--a ten minute walk is more like 25 and I would pass lots of places on the way that would have been just fine. So I thought that a room wouldn't be a problem. I found out right away that there was a big festival going on--"Old Town Days." It is like the waterfront festival, but with more drinking. That is the good news--lots ... read more

Tartu, Estonia May 14, 2006 Shannon: We left Riga (and Latvia) behind yesterday. After experiencing true sticker shock at the lodging prices due to the World Hockey Championship games, it seemed prudent to leave as quickly as possible and head to other (cheaper) pastures. Thus, after dropping my mom off at the airport, we made our arrangements to head into Estonia and our first stop: Tartu. Sean: Tartu is a small college town that made a nice break in the trip from Riga to Tallinn, Estonia. We just had to get out of Latvia. The overwhelming amount of partying hockey fans made it not only crowded and noisy, but made all the prices horribly inflated. We’ll return, but let the country come down from the tourist boom first. Riga seems to have a much nicer old ... read more

Here are some images. Enjoy. ... read more

Ok! So maybe I *AM* knocking Tallinn! I bought the 48 hour Tallinn Card today. You know the kind, every touristy city puts one out that allows the bearer to use public transport for free and then some sort of discount into gems such as the The Estonian Fire Fighting Museum The Museum of Occupations The Townhall Pharmacy (where I can get a free sample of marzipan) and let's not forget, The Mine Museum. (Mine as in kaboom, not like frenchman in box). * * * Ok, I kid. There are other museums/sights that I can get into with the card that are more exciting than the ones above... But then again, had I known that half a dozen of them aren't even open yet (shoulder season), I probably wouldn't have bought the darned thing. It ... read more

Arrived in Tallinn off the boat in the early afternoon, to find the address of the hostel had moved so off we lugged our bags around the old medieval-style town of cobbled streets and red-tiled turrets. It's straight out of a story-book, and Rapunzel style towers at every corner. Met a couple of nice girls from England (Nicole and Emily) who insisted on recounting their horror experiences with the corrupt guards of Russia who stop tourists and withold passports to elicit bribes, just to get us all psyched up for our trip there! Thankfully the thaw was setting in, so no more slipping in the snow and ice like a drunkard! Unfortunately, as the ice thawed, the deadly icicles that were hanging off roof gutters were starting to fall to the ground, and it was extremely ... read more