Day 59

18 June 2013

Tallinn- Capital of Estonia.

Tallinn, a city of contrasts. On one hand its pride and joy is its historic old town, surrounded by large parts of the old city walls which are still intact, and centuries old cobblestoned streets, houses, towers and squares which looks like it was torn from the pages of a storybook. Some of the shops and restaurants look like you are back in the 15th century except for the touch screen on the cash register. Then, as soon as you walk back out of the city gates, you face ultra modern glass façade building. Estonia has had a wild history and tries hard to get back on its feet. German and Russian occupation has left their marks which can still be seen both in the country and in the city.

I decided to travel by bus this morning as this is quicker and cheaper than the train. The thought of travelling by bus is normally not very appetizing however it has its merits. People often like to fly but don't like a bus, however, the seats on most of the long distance or international busses are akin to first class aircraft seats if not better. And what do you see when you look through the window of an aircraft? Well a hell of a lot less than on a bus. Then there is the fact that you don’t have to go to an airport on either side. This morning I walked to the Balticskaya station where the bus left from, a 20 minute walk which I didn’t mind early in the morning. At arrival in Tallinn I walked another 20 minutes which again I didn’t mind after a 5 hour sit. The border crossing from Russia to Estonia was a simple affair with three passport checks and a luggage scan.

Although I have only been here for half a day I sort of feel at home a bit. Blue clear skies, 28 degrees and all the signs are readable again. Just about everyone I speaks English plus the fact that when I approached the hostel were I had booked, I was greeted by an Australian flag hanging above the entrance door and found that the manager of this hostel come from… Brisbane