Hi from Estonia

Where the Hell are you? you ask.



Why am I not in Croatia, or the former Yugoslavia in general?


Well, I've decided to give my beloved Balkans a rest and try something new.


Last week, I was staring at my wall map and feeling uninspired because I've been to all of the most obvious places. I noticed the little Baltics, and suddenly this region, that I've never really heard much about, seemed like just the right choice!


I have five days and I plan to see Estonia, Lithuania and possibly Latvia (although I've heard Riga is Stag-Party-Hell).


Last night, I lay in bed for about three hours, not really sleeping at all, and caught a bus from Peckham to Victoria at 2:30am. I was horrendously early to the bus stop, and had to wait about 40 minutes before the good ol' Easybus arrived (40 minutes that would've been much happier spent in bed, or at least in a pub). But I got to Stansted in good time and wandered around for an hour before boarding the plane. I caught a few zzz's during the 2 1/2 hour flight.


I had two shocks when I arrived at the Tallinn airport.


1. I checked my email (what a concept: free Internet at the airport!!) and Pedro had sent me an email from home! It's always a (nice) shock to hear from him!

2. I had no money left in my account! I realized that I never stopped this months' rent payment from coming out of my account and it totally depleted me. Thankfully, I was able to switch some money from my savings account to my chequing (thanks again to free airport Internet and online banking!) so a crisis was averted. I'm counting my lucky stars that I'm a good saver, or else my time in Estonia would've been slightly more stressful than I'd hoped!


After I sorted out my money, I hopped on the bus to the centre of Tallinn. I strolled around for a bit, the spires in the distance reminding me of Varazdin, and was totally impressed (and still a little shocked that I'm here). Lots of little curvy streets, colourful buildings similar to Sighisoara, super old buildings and shops... the perfect old town!


I hadn't booked anything so I was happy to find Euro Hostel, a dive but it's right in the old town so I can't complain. After checking in, I walked nextdoor, ate 3/4 of a bacon/cheese pancake (apparently Estonia is known for its pancakes) and was stuffed to the brim.

I digested with a nice caffe latte at "The Best Cafe in Tallinn" (with a sign on its door to prove it, and I was in no position to argue).


Spent the rest of the afternoon wandering around the gorgeous old town. I went up to Toompea (upper old town) and saw the Russian Orthodox Alexander Nevsky Cathedral, which is amazing. I had a look out from two look-out points up there, took some photos (I'm becoming a pro at the self-portrait and timer function on my camera!), then wandered around the lower old town for a bit.

I was feeling really sleepy but decided that 5:30 was a bit early for bedtime, and I knew exactly where to go next ... the sauna! Estonians (being so close to Finland), are known for loving a good sauna, so I ventured to the Kalma Saun (the oldest one in town). It was awesome, even though I had no idea what to do half the time. I watched the other women and took my cue from them, including to take all of my clothes off and go naked (when in Estonia ...). I sat in the boiling hot sauna (furnace is more accurate), took dips in the refreshing pool, stood under the cold shower, and watched three naked women beat themselves silly with a birch stick.


All in all, a fantastic way to spend two hours!


I'm having one beer at The Best Cafe, then I'm off to bed for a well-earned sleep.