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11Bravo -> Its Tallinn (5/24/2002 11:11:31 PM)
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Walk around, drink õlu, meet people, enjoy a nice medieval city, and laugh/cry at the crummy soviet era stuff.
I spent a week or so in Tallinn, and some time in Tartu and a farm in the countryside. Visiting the dead and some of the living. The survivors have rebounded well from their oppression under the former Soviets. I read a guide book on the plane, found some local guides, and came with a strong desire to get lost in a culture I knew nothing about. If the opportunity presents itself, fire an AK-47 over the heads of Russians working on one of the old collective farms. Why do they run toward the bullets? Have fun exploring the ruins of old army bases abandoned by the Sovs.
This time of year its hard to sleep, as the nights are very short. I spent a lot of time in the various outdoor cafes in the old town square, drinking the local õlu and munching on leib and juust. I preferred the Karl Frederik, look for the yellow umbrellas. They are all good though. Be adventerous, I never had a bad cup of coffee, beer, or meal in Estonia. Very inexpensive, visit the U.S. embassy and ask for asylum. Take cabs driven by Russians and argue about the fare. Visit cemetaries and read the dates on the headstones. Try to find a Jew.
Several good hotels. I stayed at the Hotel Tallinn, (which we called the Stallinn, but the Olumpia is very nice. If you run out of money, stay at the bus station, they rent rooms for cheap, and hang out at the pizza stand across the street. Its run by a Russian, and the cabbies hang out there. They know the word on the street.
Visit the waterfront, and take the high speed ferry to Helsinki. You can go there and back in a day, and watch those crazy Finns stagger under the weight of all that tax-free beer they buy. When you get back, visit the submarine Lembit and take a tour. Ask everyone you see, "Where is Tall Herman"?
Have fun. :D
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