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.
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