Eastern Europe: Day 7 - Tallinn, Riga

About morning flights on Baltic Air - no one bothered to shower before the flight except me. I didn't ask anyone, but I am fairly certain it was true. Actually, check that, I don't think anyone bothered to shower for several days in preparation for the flight, except for me.

I've noticed for these flights, there is no boarding by rows. People wait in line, until they say it is time to board, and then everyone shoves their way onto the plane. To me, it seems reminiscent to shopping in Soviet times, when people would wait for hours to get into a shop which may or may not have what you want. Funny thing is, the shoving was fairly minimal - folks respected the queue for the most part (as long as you were moving). Even stranger, I think it took less time to board using this procedure vs. the way we do it in the US.

Speaking of the people, in both countries, there were a lot of angry looking old ladies who were giving me the evil eye. Actually, they gave it to me and anyone within eyeshot. I don’t think it is anything personal - just a general hatred of those who have it so easy now.

I was flying through the great transit hub of the Baltics, Riga International Airport (RIX), again. I deplaned at about 9:30 am, and had two hours till my next flight, so I had time to hang out at my favorite coffee shop/bar in RIX. I got coffee. Some others were getting beer. The coffee was good, but the thought of an ice cold Zelta was very tempting….

I was told that the nicest of the old towns was Tallinn, with Riga a close second, followed by Vilnius, Lithuania a clear third. Granted, Vilnius was not as big or nice an old town, but it was nice. For anyone traveling to the Baltics, I would recommend starting in Vilnius, then moving north. I can comment on Riga, but from the travel books it looks like fun. Next time

Eastern Europe: Day 6 - Tallinn

This was the one day I did not have anything planned or scheduled. It was a free day to wander the city with no scheduled events. This is usually not a good thing for me, so I made up a few quests and things to do.

One of them was to try to find a decent souvenir: something for my niece and nephew and if possible, myself. There are shops everywhere, all of them seem to be selling the same stuff. There was very little differentiation in products or prices, I noticed. About the only difference was in the shopkeepers: the Estonians just looked at you suspiciously and fidgeted till you left; the Russians were friendly, open, and assured you they had more sizes, colors, varieties, and items '"in the back".

The Russian stores were more fun, but sometimes they were too pushy. Eventually, I figured out how to have a pleasant experience in an Estonian store: Enter as quietly as possible, but make sure you close the door solidly. Say hello politely, making eye contact for just a moment, then look away. Walk around the entire store slowly, so they know you are considering everything they have to offer. Do not touch anything. If you leave without purchasing anything, be sure to politely complement them on their store and thank them for letting you come in to shop. By following these steps, I was able to coax out some smiles.

I ended up not buying anything. About the only thing that looked somewhat interesting were the items made out of amber, but personally, I hate the look of amber, so no sale. I did find one nice art store, that created things out of textiles. They had some very interesting items for sale, one I was considering buying, until I realized the price was in Euros, not Estonian Krones (a difference of about 15x).

I spent the afternoon checking out the design museum and the history of Tallinn museum - both very good. The strangest "find" I made was that there is a Depeshe Mode tribute bar here. It was ranked by Lonely Planet as the 5th strangest bar in the world, a fact they proudly displayed at the entry. The entire bar was decorated with Depeshe Mode posters, pictures, and other memorabilia, while concert footage played in a constant loop over the TVs. Drinks were named after popular songs (I had a "Personal Jesus" - it contained vodka and some other ingredients, written in Estonian that I couldn't place. It was good - Jim Bob says check it out). I was only me and the bartender, who was wearing headphones when not making drinks. I had to ask, why? Why a Depeshe Mode tribute bar (in Estonia of all places - but I kept that part to myself). The answer I got was "the owner of the bar is a huge fan. The bar has been around for 11 years now and all it has ever played is Depeshe Mode. No other music is allowed." I asked what about Johnny Cash's version of "Personal Jesus" - would that be allowed? "No - only music by Depeshe Mode", at which point he put back on his headphones, presumably to listen to something else.

Dinner was good; it was at a local pancake place that our guide had recommended. They served very hearty pancakes - with fish, or meat. I had one with pepperoni, that was quite good. It had warmed up some today and it was a clear night, so I spent the evening walking the town and checking out bars, without my camera. Tomorrow morning I will have to fly out.

I'll miss you, Tallinn. 'Twas fun.

Eastern Europe: Day 5 - Tallinn

I started out the day with a walking tour of the city. As I mentioned earlier, the Estonians are not the most warm and friendly people. They want you out of their shop quickly and that includes those in the tourism bureau, too. I used this to my advantage. I had enquired about city tours and the only options they provided were for officially sponsored bus tours throughout the city. As a rule - I hate busses. I hate bus tours more. I asked about walking tours and other options. None were available (now get out), but I kept asking in other ways till she cracked. Eventually, she let me know there is a free walking tour organized by students, but she could not vouch for the quality or sites we would see. She told me where it met, as her eyes pleaded with me to leave, so she could get back to her empty shop.

There were five us on the tour. I was the only American, though there was a fellow from Japan, who lives in my old hometown of Charlotte, NC (small world). Everyone else was staying in a hostel, which is how they found out about the tour. The tour was conducted by a 20 year old student, who was quite personable. It was free, but you can tip at the end if you like. I only made one faux pas: I asked the guide, because of your age, do you have any memory or point of reference for life under the commie Russian regime? He let me know his parents were Russian. Oops.

I like the walking tours; you get a good insight of the city and the unedited version of history. He talked a lot about the medieval history of the city, but also the changes in the 1990's, the privatization of industry, the corrupt rulers, and how bad a shape their country is in today. Funny, the tour guide from Lithuania spoke very fondly about how well run Estonia is and how she wished her country was in as good a shape as here. I told the guide this and he scoffed. "Estonia is run by criminals! They stole all our equipment for manufacturing and sold it is scrap metal! We have no industry or skills and corruption is high!" It was at this point, I started noticing a little one-upsmanship between the Baltic's. It appears to be a point of pride as to who has suffered most.

As we were wrapping up the tour, the discussion came to food and beverages. My guide confirmed that, yes, A le Coq beer tastes like crap. He gave me new beer suggestions and places to check out. Also, he showed us an off the beaten path place that served Estonian versions of pirogues. I had a bowlful that cost about 200 Estonian Krones, or about $1.85. They were good, damn good.

Afterwards I went to the Museum of Occupation. Like Lithuanian, they had a museum to commemorate the bad times, but it was very good museum. Basically, the theme of the museum is they hate the Russians and they are disappointed in the West. The three Baltics were forced to accept Soviet rule in 1940, who promptly made every resource a public good an reorganized their entire industry. Not surprisingly, the Estonians were happy when the Nazis invaded in 1941; anything was better than the Ruskies. It is like Churchill's views of Stalin: my enemies, enemy is my friend. In this case, the friend was Nazi Germany. The Nazi's didn't grant independence, but they did undue the central planning and economic policies put into place. This would only be temporary, as in 1944 the Soviets invaded, again, and they would not leave until 1990. The country felt betrayed by the West, who in 1943 gave the Baltics, and other Eastern European countries up to the Russians. You feel for these folks: they were all arch anti-commies, who were given up by the West to the Soviets. It was very sad to see film of the older generations, who believed fervently for years that the US would come in and save them from the Communists. But after the uprisings in Hungary and Czechoslovakia were crushed, and the West didn't help, they had to come to the painful realization that no one was going to save them.

There was a lot of one-upsmanship here, too. Not only who suffered the most in the Balkins (Estonians naturally!), but also who became independent first. Officially, I think Lithuanian declared it first, though it was granted for all three at the same time. Estonia likes to highlight that they were the first to hold a massive demonstration and rally in 1987, while the others sat back and watched (I am reading between the lines, but check out the movies and decide for yourself)

The films are available on the website - they are quite good:

www.okupatsioon.eed

I had a good dinner at a green restaurant that served meat. Whenever I think of green, organic places, I guess that I assume that means they are vegetarian, too. I guess not; they did a good job that pork! The bar he recommended was good, but the beer was primarily English, with some Belgium and German. No Lithuanian or Latvian brews, either. I guess in the sprit of one-upsmanship, comparing whose beer was better (or worse) isn't allowed. As an impartial observer, Estonian beer is the worst.

Trust me.