So right after my algebra class ended on Wednesday December 2nd, actually 30 minutes before, John and I left for the train station for our trip to Tallinn, Estonia, and eventually Helsinki. We made it to the station early enough to get a pizza and learned about our English speaking waiter who had worked in the Peace Corp in Kyrgyzstan and then in northern Russia. Now he says being a waiter at this pizza place in Moscow is the only job he can find here. He certainly was an asset to the restaurant as John and I would not have eaten there had he not helped us out.
We only had seats on the train this time and even though they were supposed to recline, mine was broken and so stayed in the upright position. Luckily, it was a window seat and I was able to lean against the window for what little sleep I got. We arrived around 8am in Tallinn, to the sun rising over what looked like to be a nice cloudy day.
Wanting to free ourselves of luggage we walked to our hostel first. On the way we saw what the Tallinn Old Town was all about. At first I thought I was at Epcot Center in Walt Disney World. But it was missing the uncountable masses of people, so I realized Epcot was a different place.
After dropping our stuff at the hostel we resumed our sightseeing, by first finding an ATM and then getting some pastries at the delicious pastry shops we saw on the way in. Then we let our eyes feast.
Curious, we walked closer.
Walking back through lower Old Town we stopped inside the Tallinn City History Museum. It is by far the most interesting, detailed, and informative museum we have been in so far. With four dense floors and a cafe on top, this museum seemed to never end. But I learned all about Tallinn history and it was fascinating. From before the Danes conquered it and called it Reval all the way up to the 1980s we learned about Estonia’s struggle for independence from the Soviet Union, earning it prior to WWII but then being annexed by the USSR and then welcoming the Nazi’s who pushed the Soviet Union out. Then, during Nazi retreat, USSR recaptured Tallinn. It remained this way until the fall of the USSR gaining their independence in 1991. We learned about the peaceful protests: day of singing, which loosened Soviet rule on Estonia. It was fascinating. They even had an old Steinway piano (I stole playing a note on it, I didn’t believe it was real).
We continued walking around Tallinn afterward trying to hit all the tourist spots on our map in one day (We pretty much accomplished it).
We went back to the hostel to chillax and wash up before heading out for dinner. Deciding on an Irish pub we saw earlier in the day: St. Patrick’s, we put our coats on and attempted to find it again. We did and the food was delicious, and filling. But we still wanted to try the pancake place the girl at the hostel had recommended. So we dropped by for dessert. I ordered this amazing piece of deliciousness:
It was weird. Tallinn seemed way too empty while we were there. We kept getting the feeling there was some party going on somewhere else in the town and that we were left out because we didn’t know about it. Because we definitely got the feeling that Old Town was a party area. Especially at night. All the lights on, pubs open, cafes dimming their lights, the Christmas market still open. It would have been better had more people been walking around. Instead, an eerie feeling accompanied us all the way home.
But no matter, we tried the sauna, read for a little, and then I conked out until morning. I haven’t slept that deeply in a few months. Next morning we got kind of a late start so we only had time for a few things. We chose the museum at Fat Margaret.
Just inside a sign read: “The sea separates continents but unites nations.” This museum was also very detailed and filled with interesting history. Three floors of history about the man’s connection with the sea from Estonia and Scandinavia.
After checking our watches, we quickly walked back to the hostel to grab our things as we were running the risk of missing our ferry to Helsinki. We eventually did miss the ferry as we went to the wrong port, but we got on another one that sped us over just as well. I went outside for a bit to experience the weather. It was getting colder, nice.
