4 ~ Hello From Tallin, Estonia

May 4, 2015

Hello From Tallinn, Estonia,

We headed for Tallinn, Estonia on the 10:00 a.m. LUX Bus, a premium bus company with a free hot drink machine, toilet and very comfortable seats. This was a big improvement over what we experienced last year between Georgia and Armenia. We sat in the front seats with a good view of the road. While cruising down the road I noticed an interesting process for passing slower vehicles. The roads are only two lanes, but very wide with a marked shoulder. Cars, trucks and buses mostly drive halfway onto the shoulder, leaving a very wide space between opposing vehicles. When you want to pass, you just move over to the middle and drive right down the center line of the road with oncoming vehicles half over on their shoulder. The first time the bus did this it gave me a scare. He passed a dozen cars before resuming his spot half on the shoulder like everyone else. It’s like the center line is an unmarked passing lane for both directions. Whoever has it at the moment can keep it until they are done passing and then someone else, perhaps going the opposite direction, will use it. Our bus driver was pretty aggressive and used the “centerline lane” frequently on our 4.5 hour trip. I guess it works okay as long as everyone knows the rules. I hope tourists don’t have to figure it out the hard way.

Our first day in Tallinn greeted us with heavy rain pretty much all day long. So, what do intrepid travelers do when it rains? Museums, anyone? The city has a very good network of trolly lines, so we bought some trolly tickets and went around to the museums and indoor markets. There is an interesting Art Museum here shaped like a crescent moon. The building is so narrow that it is impossible to get lost. Tallinn is famous for cozy cafes, many of them down in the underground basements. They are warm and jammed with overstuffed furniture and little nooks and crannies to sit in. They are great places to sip tea and wait for the rain to let up.

Something I wasn’t expecting, after spending 10 days in Italy, was that we could find NO GELATO SHOPS IN THE BALTICS. I couldn’t find gelato anywhere. The best they could do was freezers full of factory made ice cream bars. They just have no serious appreciation for gelato. I don’t know, maybe it’s the cold, way up north here. Oh well, in the rain I wasn’t having much of a craving for gelato anyway.

Now, what they do have everywhere here is WiFi. It’s in the cafes, the restaurants, the shops, the bus stations…. everywhere. You are never out of reach of the Internet. The Baltics are very well connected to the Internet. Comparing former Soviet Union countries like Georgia and Armenia (last year) to Latvia and Estonia, the Baltic countries have done very well for themselves. They enjoy a very high standard of living, are members of the European Union and use the Euro as their currency. I’m always puzzled why some of these countries do so much better than others. Is it culture or resources or climate or corruption or genes or what? I guess I’ll just continue wondering about that.

The next day the sun came out and everything was glorious again. We did a little sightseeing and then stopped in for the 2 hour city walking tour sponsored by the Tourist Information Center. Our guide, Lena, an Estonian college student, was a “real character” and made the walk both informative and a lot of fun. She walked us 3 miles around the city, up and down the hills, giving our FitBits a real workout. Hey, speaking of FitBit, for those of you who like statistics, how about these? According to my FitBit log, in the past 18 days of touring on this trip we logged:

— 271,990 steps walked

— 725 flights of stairs climbed

— 122.34 miles walked

In addition to my FitBit, my new travel boots are now well broken in.

Well, that’s about it for this trip. We rode the bus back to Riga this morning and are catching our flight, through Amsterdam, back home, early tomorrow morning. It will be nice to sleep in my own bed again. For our last evening meal in Riga we went to a Medieval restaurant that was “over the top” decorated for the part. It was down deep in a basement with curved ceilings and only lit by candles, everywhere. The waiters wore hooded robes, like monks. Interestingly, they only served food that was available in Medieval times. I had rabbit stew with cooked lentils and barley. Carol had trout with the same sides. The round flat bread looked like English muffins but tasted like bagels. It’s the kind of place we would normally avoid when we travel because it exists for tourists only. But, the food was actually pretty good and the place was a hoot. It made me stop and wonder if there were actual “restaurants” available during Medieval times, or if, maybe, an innkeeper provided meals for travelers. Hummm…….

It’s been fun sharing this trip with you all. Don’t forget to check the photo gallery and Carol has just posted her final trip blog.

Tom’s photos are at the side: Currently showing Tallinn, Estonia

Carol’s Travel Blog:

https://carolapucci-tips.blogspot.com/2015/04/latvians-have-more-fun.html

Later….. your Favorite Travelers, Tom & Carol