Never Enough Time

Day 190
I got myself up early and went straight to the bus station I had to get to Riga, Latvia at some point today. I turned out that I could either go on the noon or 6pm bus. I knew that I couldn´t entertain myself all day in Parnu.

I screwed up. For some reason when I looked at my guidebook I picked Parnu over Tartu. Tartu is a university town and would have been more fun.

I had two hours to kill and only 7 croons (about $0.75) left I bought a pastry for breakfast and then just wandered around the town taking pictures. I had wanted to see the art museum, but wasn´t going to take out more money to see it.

On the bus I met a French girl named Pauline. She had traveled quite a bit, but was on her own for the first time. Chatting made the bus ride seem shorter.

Pauline had a night bus to Lithuania but had some time to kill. She came with me to drop off my bags at my hostel, Fun Friendly Franks. You get a free beer on arrival.

We ended up getting pizza for lunch and exploring Riga for a couple of hours. When Pauline left I went back to the hostel and spent some time writing and chatting with the other people there. I had to call it an early night though, I had a big morning that I didn´t want to sleep through.

Moving On

Day 189
I was up early for my bus. I was so sore from the day before that it was hard to pack, let alone carry my bag.

Luckily I was reading a good book and it kept my mind off of the painful bus ride. When I got back to Tallinn I was happy to find out that I didn´t have to wait long for my next bus. I wasn´t happy though to find out that there wasn´t anywhere to get something hot to eat. Pringles for lunch it is then.

The second bus ride was much shorter and I quickly found my hostel once arriving in Parnu.

Parnu is a beach town and it is freezing cold outside. The place was empty. Even once I dropped off my bags I was still stiff and walking wasn´t much fun. I ended up just making myself some dinner and then taking it easy for the rest of the night. I figured that I could see the town in the morning.

Long and Winding Road

Day 188
As horseback riding was out I decided to bike ride around Hiiumaa instead. On my map it looked so small. I thought that even an occasional bike rider like me could handle it.

When I was waiting for the bike rental guy to show up I ran into the Germans. They were going to be biking around for about 4 days. I had half a mind to ask if I could tag along, but decided not too. I knew that I could never keep up with them and I headed off on my own.

I soon questioned this decision, I recently read a book about a girl bike riding alone who was attacked. It was a little disconcerting. There wasn´t anyone else on the road.

About 5 kilometers later I came to the very creepy Hill of Crosses. There were two stories for this place. One was that when Sweden lost Estonia ethnic Swedes were stranded on this island and the crosses were in memory of them. The other is that two wedding parties met here and neither would give way. A fight ensued and the bride of one party was killed along with the groom of another. The two remaining married and had a happy life. Erecting a cross here ensures a happy ever after.

The rule was that the cross must be made out of natural things but without destroying anything. I couldn´t seem to get mine to stand up right so I just placed it on the ground. Either reason for the crosses sounded good to me and I was happy to leave my mark.

Back on the trail I had to beg myself to push though and get to the end. I was getting really cold but there was restaurant and a warm meal at the end. I skipped the town with a lighthouse and the church I had wanted to stop at was closed. I just told myself to keep going.

Eventually I got to Korgesaare. I was devastated to see that the restaurant was closed. I had to go to the supermarket. The biggest problem was that it was cold out and there wasn´t really anywhere to eat. I don´t think I waiting more than 15 minutes to get back on the bike.

My entire body was sore at this point and I found myself taking brakes every 5 minutes. I knew that I would never get back at that rate. I walked the bike for a few kilometers to give my bottom a break. When I realized that I was running out of light I forced myself on the bike and managed to get the last several kilometers finished in about 45 minutes.

Overall I had biked 36 kilometers in about 5 hours. I was exhausted. After making myself dinner I passed out on my bed hardly able to move another inch.

All By Myself

Day 187
I didn´t sleep well, people were in an out all night and it kept me up. Still, I got myself up and walked to the bus station. After three hours on a bus I transferred to a ferry and then back on a bus. Everything was in Estonian. The boat was practically empty and I was clearly the only tourist.

Part of me hates to travel with uncertainties and part of me loves it. Its nice to know that I have a place to sleep on any given night, but I don´t always care for being held down to a schedule. Here on Hiiumaa, the smaller of the two largest Estonian islands, in the largest town Kardla (population 4,000) there wasn´t anything online and I was forced to just turn up. It turned out to not be a problem though, I found a hostel with the help of the tourist office. It was only opened for another two weeks so I got lucky. I was the only one there. The woman at the hostel was shocked that I was alone

As I hadn´t had anything real to eat all day I headed right to a restaurant. I had a really nice lunch for only about $7.

My plan had been to go horseback riding, but when I went to the stables they told me that they only do large groups, and I was all alone.

I ended up just going to the grocery store for snacks and hanging out in my room with a book. I did manage to make myself some pasta for dinner though. Around midnight a German couple got to the hostel. It was too bad, I was looking forward to having the place to myself.

P to the G

Day 186
Tallinn is rather small. If you wanted you could see all of the main points in one day. I guess that is why there were so many package day trips. I was tripping over package tourists! I was glad that I had extra time to get to know the city.

After some blogging I headed to Hesburger, Ive grown addicted. I ended up running into Joe there and we went to the Peter the Great Cottage together. Peter the Great was the czar in Russia in the 17th century, he was the first Russian monarch to try and westernize the country. He is also one of the most interesting royals to me.

Peter the Great was insane. He was 6´8 when most men were no talker than 5´4. At one point he wanted to travel around Europe incognito, but brought his retinue with him. His personal guards were called the strelsi, each one had to be taller than he was and then they wore 2 foot tall hats on top of that. Peter was convinced that one of his female relatives was trying to overthrow him. He had her imprisoned and hung his strelsi outside of her window. As their bodies rotted and fell away they were replaced by another one. At one of his parties, that usually turned into orgies, he had an ice castle built for a party of little people. They were forced to sit inside and have dinner as they slowly froze to death. He was insane.

Peter the Great had a cottage built in 1714 during a visit to Tallinn. The building has been highly altered and he would not recognize it today. He would, however, recognize several of his possessions. One of his dining room sets was here, a mini ship, There was a mold of his massive hand. Cathrine the Greats bed was here as well.

In the basement there were historical bits about his life, but I knew most of it already.

After the museum and checking out the nearby park with Joe I went to check out bus times in the morning and he headed off to see a football game.

When I got back to the hostel I watched several movies with the other lazy people sitting around. I didn´t go out though, my bus was too early.

The Best Part

Day 185
I woke up later than I had meant too. That was kind of surprising. My bed was in a really bad spot, in the attic right by the steps. I had expected to be woken up whenever anyone was on the stairs.

My first stop was the Dome Cathedral. It is the oldest cathedral in Estonia, dating to 1240. The interior was pretty interesting with the shields of medieval families on the wall. It was kinda creepy.

After checking out two areas that overlook the old town. Tallinn is really a beautiful city. I could get comfortable here.

My next stop was the Occupation Museum. This was about the Russian and German occupations. I sprung for an audio guide. It was a bit odd, it started explaining about why the museum should be there. It wasn't the usual its important to remember our history stuff, it was more like a list of reasons that would be good to give to protesters.

In 1939 a non-aggression treaty was signed between German and the USSR. Germany had dibs on part of Eastern Europe, while Russia got the other countries. Estonia belonged to Russia. First bases were set up and then, in 1940, Russia formally occupied Estonia. This sent Estonian modernization back decades. The Russian government actively tried to erase Estonian history.

In August 1941 the Nazi army arrived. There was no Estonian army at this time. Estonian men were at first given the choice to join the German or the Finnish armies. Eventually this was changed and they were all drafted for the German army. One man smoked a cigarette and left the rest in the box. He wrote a note on it that they were for his return. Only one is missing to this day. Thousands of Jews were deported to concentration camps. In 1944 75 thousand people fled the country, most went to Sweden or the US.

After WWII Russia once again had power. In 1956 the first USSR tv was created. The 60s brought a more relaxed environment, however they are still not remembered as happy. This was when the last of the resistance movement was killed. The 1970s brought a rise to new political resistance as well as advanced KGB methods. On August 1, 1987 a political rally was held and to everyones surprise it wasn't stopped. In 1988 the underground papers went above ground. When the USSR fell in 1991 Estonia became an independent country.

In the basement of the museum there were broken Lenin and Stalin statues. It was really creepy.

Even though my trips to the former communist countries have been quick and scattered I think there there is some type of nostalgia in some countries. In Budapest there is a communist themed restaurant, in Leipzig there is an advert that no one well let be removed. When I was in Berlin 6 years ago there was a bit ugly building that had been a rec center and event hall, it was in bad repair and full of asbestos, still people were fighting to save the building. On this last trip it was no longer there. Two years ago when I was in Bulgaria I saw a protest trying to bring back communism. There was none of this in Estonia. It will be interesting to see how each of the former Soviet Satilite countries remember the past. Whether it is hatred, nostalgia or a bit of both. Most of Eastern Europe became independent only 17 years ago and some of them are still fighting for independence. Kosovo only gained independence about 6 months ago, Montenegro about 2 years ago. This will be an especially interesting part of my trip.

I spent some time wandering and digesting the museum before heading to the City Hall Museum. I had wanted to climb the tower, but it was closed for the winter. It was too bad really, the highest outhouse is there. The museum was a bit pathetic. Originally imported goods were stored here, especially wine. When the tax collectors visited the merchants they would give them so much wine that the tax guy would owe the merchant money. That was really the most interesting thing I learned.

After blogging a bit I headed back to the Monks Bunk. There was a bunch of people around and we watched a few movies. We ended up going to a nearby basement bar for a few drinks. Its just wonderful. I walked back with an Australian guy named Joe. He was on his first trip. I dont think I even knew where Estonia was on my first trip.

Angry Sea

Day 184

After a 20 minute walk I was ready to board the boat to Tallinn, Estonia. I had paid a few extra dollars to take the line that Rick Steves said that was the smoothest. The first 30 minutes or so were ok, but then it got bad. I was on a 45 minute roller coaster. It was not fun at all. I really dont know how I managed to not throw up. Luckily the last 30 minutes or so were much better.

It didn't take me long to find my hostel, the Monks Bunk. I could tell right away that I was going to like it. Even before lunch there were people hanging out. No time to sit around though, I needed to get money, food and a map. In the order. I had thought that the boat would take most of the day, so I was happy that I would have extra time here. Tallinn was beautiful.

After eating my first stop was the Alexander Nesky cathedral. It was pretty interesting. There were people filling plastic bottles with holy water.

After some more wandering I found the Tallinn History Museum. It was ok, basically people have been living in the area since 9000 BC. During the bronze age a semi permanent settlement was established. The vikings often raided. During the iron age peasant culture began. In 1207 the area was conquered by Germanic tribes and was Christianized. During the 14th century there was a lot of rebelling against the ruling German aristocracy. In the 16th century Russia invaded. This brought a couple of centuries of famine and violence. This is where the museum ends. Apparently nothing happened after 1700 here.

I wandered the medieval streets for some time before heading back to the hostel for dinner. Its so funny how the backpacking scene differs in Western and Eastern Europe. I definitely prefer the atmosphere in Eastern Europe. Most of the people traveling in Western Europe are younger than me, traveling in groups and on their first trip. I often found it hard to meet people. In Eastern Europe most people are a little older, better traveled and alone. This makes it really easy to meet people.

Everyone was sitting around and drinking and I wanted to join them. I went to the grocery store to pick up a couple of beers. While I was in line the cashier was giving me really strange looks. I really couldn't figure out what her problem was. When I went to pay she asked me something in Estonian. I told her that I didn't understand, she asked me, then, in English, if I was over 18. I cant believe it, I got carded and the drinking age is 18. Estonia is the best country ever!

Back at the hostel I drank my beers and chatted with everyone around me. Eventually we all headed out for some karaoke. One of the girls from Finland who was a bit drunk and when an oddly dressed guy got up to sing she very loudly said "what the &%$§ is that." As there was no music on everyone heard. I felt bad for the guy. After listening to the Estonians attempt to sing in English I decided that I could go ahead a sing. I wont tell you what though!

I was tired from my early day and didn't want to be too crazy so I headed home before the second bar.