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Published: July 20th 2008
City gate, city guide
This young lady really knows Tallinn, helping me find a big piece of my ancestral puzzle by zeroing in on my grandfather's former apartment building from a 1936 photo.Karoli (tour guide) for the private tour of Old Town and for finding my grandfather's apartment building; Kulno (music retailer) for giving me such detailed information about Estonian artists and cultural events in Tallinn; Viive (communications manager) for teaching me some useful Estonian language phrases and an insight into the Russian-Estonian dilemma; Kustav-Agu (costume/set designer) for generously spending his birthday afternoon to take me on a private tour of Tallinn City Theatre.
In Halle, Germany: Andrea (English teacher) for inviting me to her language school's closing party; Barbara (fashion merchant) for getting me in touch with two great friends, helping me find that canoe rental, and making me laugh with her impressions of the local dialect; Ines (hotel proprietor) for all those breakfast chats and the delicious Ayurveda tea with candied sugar; Daniel (sail charter operator) for hooking me up to "the net" so I could get in touch with people back home and the world; Katrin (journalist) for sharing memories of adventures and dreams; Gabriele (Tai Chi instructor) for trying to bring a little balance into my life.
In Hamburg, Germany: Mrs. May (receptionist) whose alertness and insider knowledge helped me find out
What I like best about Halle
is the humour apparent here. In public art and guided tours history and fiction blend one into another, such as in this mural which depicts "historical" characters ranging from a prominent medieval bishop (and his mistress) to Mickey Mouse! about my birth place and the whereabouts of my former elementary school teacher; Michael (graphic designer) for that drive through our old haunts, taking me to "Mom", treating me to dinner at his favourite restaurant, renewing a 55-year-old friendship.
There were also many people in public services who helped make my travels a pure pleasure, and fellow guests at hotel breakfast tables, seat neighbours in theatres, and locals or visitors on park benches, all of whom let me strike up a conversation or initiated one themselves; the English cruising couple in Kuressaare, Estonia, who gave me information on how to hitch a ride as crew on Baltic yachts; the couple from Karlsruhe, Germany, who helped me find my way back onto the Helsinki-Rostock ferry and later invited me to their dinner table; a couple from Bremerhafen for I-can't-remember-what-reason (perhaps just for telling me about the "monument to the emigrant" in their hometown -- and my departure port to the New World 41 years ago); the patient and helpful information-centre staff in Tallinn, Halle, and Wörlitz; the Theater der Welt staff (especially Roland at the New Theatre and one person at the New Residence whose name I didn't ask); the
Trivia question:
which city has the most canal bridges -- Amsterdam, London, Venice, or Hamburg? Well, the latter, of course. In fact, at about 2500 bridges Hamburg has more than all the other three cities combined! attentive purser and attendants of Lufthansa flight 494 between Frankfurt and Calgary... And I mustn't forget all the friends, relatives and strangers who followed my exploits from afar and even sent me the occasional note of encouragement!
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anonymous
non-member comment
Post scripts et al
hello Heldor, enjoyed your post travel thoughts, not only for the interest factor but because they show how much more pleasure one can achieve on a holiday if one takes ones courage into both hands and speaks to total strangers in a friendly way. I think your kind of travel is streets ahead of package tours where one would scarcely need to speak to the natives of another country.Way to go!