Tallin

Wednesday 13 July 2005

Arrived in Tallin at 5 am in broad daylight after a seven hour trip in a very bouncy bus on bad roads which improved slightly after crossing the Russia/Estonian border - not much sleep.

There was a bit of a nause at Russian customs as our visa expired on 12 July and it was 3am on 13 July. The Russian Embassy in Canberra had made a mistake - not reading our already prepared travel documents properly. They eventually solved the problem by stamping 12/7/05 on the passport. Russia was fascinating but we were happy to be out.

The instructions for getting to the backpackers from the bus station were short and concise. Turn left at the exit and walk 200m. The only problem was they had a different bus station. The one our bus stopped at was 4 km from the one they were talking about. We found out where we were by Sandy doing a 20 minute recce until he found a street name that matched one on the map (not a lot of help from the locals). We then decided to test our mettle by walking with our backpacks. Due to our incredible fitness we made it.

Tallin Bus Station



Once we were there the people were very helpful but our room only became available at 12 noon. We went back to the bus station to book a trip to Riga (tram and bus this time) and then moved into a great room.

The afternoon was spent exploring the Old Town. Totally brilliant! The houses and city walls dated back as far as 1157 with most having been built 1300-1450. Our visit to a merchants house, now a museum on the history of Tallin and Estonia, was the highlight. The recent history is as interesting as the medieval, all about the struggle for independence from the USSR. Still 40% Russian in Tallin but Estonians slightly more helpful than their former occupiers.



After a beer over-looking the town square we fell into bed at 7pm.