Reykjavík Grapevine - 12.01.2007, Side 41

REYKJAVÍK_GRAPEVINE_ISSUE 01_007_TRAVEL/TALLINN_9
named Arena. I spent a few hours enjoying
the karaoke-free sound system, reasonably
priced Finnish beer, and company of the in-
credibly friendly ski-enthusiastic Finns, be-
fore the bar closed around 2 and I had to go
“home” to pack.
There were no trains leaving Kolari dur-
ing the three-day window I had given the
attendant when I bought my tickets in Hel-
sinki. I had to settle for a longer bus ride to
Rovaniemi, where I laid over and ate a rein-
deer pizza, before beginning the rail por-
tion of my return to the capital. Many Finns
will tell the inquisitive visitor that going over
to Estonia is one of the best things to do
while in Finland. So, after a night’s layover
in Helsinki, I was off to Tallinn by “ferry”.
Aboard the ferry, estaurants catering to
several price ranges, smoky onboard bars,
dance floors, airport-size duty-free shops, a
pool and sauna complex, grocery store, and
mini casino, among other attractions, filled
the space that wasn’t taken up by reserved
rooms. Why a boat ride that lasts only three
and a half hours would require so many pri-
vate compartments is beyond me, but they
proved quite popular. Through every open
door music, conversation, and the clinking
of glasses could be heard and many swag-
gered out of the compact suites, carrying
their parties into the narrow hallways.
When we came into port in Tallinn I re-
claimed my luggage early from the baggage
check and waited for the doors to open,
afraid of missing whatever transport lay
ahead in the mob of eager weekend tour-
ists. While I waited, an elderly gentleman
came and placed his suitcase on the floor
next to me, looking haggard. After unzip-
ping the front pocket he took out a flask,
drank deeply, and came up looking much
refreshed. On the gangplank off the ship I
saw a woman lying on the ground with two
security officers standing over her, appar-
ently unable to make it from ship to shore.
Clearly, my compatriots were here to party:
hard, inexpensively and, so far, sloppily.
The cheery mob was nowhere to be
found when I stepped into the brisk air out-
side the ferry terminal and I had no trouble
finding a cab into the old town where I was
staying. Following the lead of one of my
hostel-mates in Helsinki, I elected to book
a bed at the OldHouse hostel in Tallinn.
Enough good things cannot possibly be said
about this hostel.
Hungry and thirsty, I headed to an estab-
lishment named the Hell’s Hunt with a small
group of other like-minded hostel patrons.
Reportedly the first bar in independent Esto-
nia (meaning since 1991, after the fall of the
Soviet Union), the Hell’s Hunt serves local as
well as house brews and delicious food. The
meatballs drew us back for another round
two days later.

The Kiek in de Kok
I woke late on my first full day in Tallinn. My
room was empty save for a sleeping Russian
tourist. It took the girl working the front
desk about half an hour of poking and ex-
claiming in Russian to rouse him. Given the
history, it may not be surprising that though
Russian is widely spoken and understood at
a basic level in Estonia, it is not always wel-
come. The man woke loudly, quickly began
yelling about the unavailability of beds for
the coming night (Tallinn often books out
on weekends) and, after banging around
for several minutes, took his one piece of
luggage – a beer – and departed.
I found my companions from the previ-
ous evening in the lounge downstairs and
we took to the street in an effort to capital-
ise on the few daylight hours we had left for
tourism. We found signs to a place called
the Kiek in de Kok Museum which, based on
the name, sounded more interesting to us
than anything else. A branch of the Tallinn
city museum displaying cannons and other
artefacts from Estonia’s medieval past, Kiek
in de Kok proved worth the walk and small
entry fee. A highly informative video on the
tower that houses the museum and its dis-
plays is available on request and has English
subtitles. Its amusingly costumed narrator
says “Kiek in de Kok” a gratifying number
of times. In the museum’s basement we
found photos taken by an Estonian journal-
ist of Moscow’s final days of communism
that were definitely worth a look.
Next we wandered up the narrow cob-
bled streets to get a view of whole city
from higher ground. The stark contrast of
Tallinn’s medieval old city, and the high rise
skyline of the Radisson and other new edi-
fices being constructed not two kilometres
away from where I stood was a confusing
sight. Tallinn’s old town has been a UNESCO
protected World Heritage Site since 1997,
meaning that the shining example of pre-
served medieval architecture will not meet
the same glass and steel fate of the city’s
newer developments.
In the quickly dwindling daylight we made
for Alexander Nevsky Cathedral, a large
Russian Orthodox church that was com-
pleted at the turn of the 20th century when
the country was a part of the Russian Em-
pire. Though controversial as a reminder of
Russian influence, the cathedral has been
restored to all its shining, gilded glory since
Estonian independence from the USSR.
A rather gruesome painting of John the
Baptist’s head on a platter, hung obscurely
above eye level and off to one side, held my
attention for a couple of minutes. Otherwise
I was generally, as always, overwhelmed by
the glittering gold surfaces and the smell of
incense and candles found in Russian and
Eastern Orthodox churches.

Party Like a Local,
Party ‘til You Drop
Tallinn by night, keeping in mind this was
a weekend, was as raucous as the day was
quiet. Not yet sick of karaoke after Finland,
our group found a table at one of several
bars catering to the favourite evening activ-
ity. Shortly before one of our company, a
student from Toronto, gave a rendition of
Country Roads to much local applause, my
beer was stolen from its spot on the table
in front of me. Baffled but not deterred, I
bought another just in time to clap along to
She’ll Be Comin’ Round the Mountain. The
frenzied enthusiasm for this song, I need
hardly mention, I found a bit mysterious.
Our group ended the evening at the im-
pressive club Hollywood, housed in a pil-
lared marble edifice. I found that Estonians
are, perhaps reasonably, indifferent or even
annoyed by the presence of tourists, as Tal-
linn is flooded each weekend with a new
batch of European vacationers eager to en-
joy a weekend away without the expense of
many other destinations. If this is the rea-
son that Hollywood has a second VIP level
that you can’t talk or buy your way into, I
don’t know but, after running up the stairs
to check it out when security walked briefly
in another direction, I didn’t find any differ-
ence there from the first floor except the
vantage point and lack of dance floor. And,
speaking of dance floors, Hollywood had
one of those mythical spreads with beauti-
ful girls dancing all night long on platforms
for all to behold. If you ever make it to this
club be sure to check out the ladies room (if
applicable). The sinks in there were actually
set on a large fish tank.
We spent much of the following after-
noon loitering in the village square admiring
the gigantic, unlit Christmas tree and watch-
ing the children crawling around behind the
branches at the base. Petite, portable sheds
selling everything from honey to handicrafts
to Julglogg were already, in mid November,
filling the square for the Christmas season.
Among these charming huts was what may
be the world’s tiniest Indian food restau-
rant. Having no idea what Julglogg tasted
like, and feeling it was my duty to try it, I
bought a cup and almost choked on the rai-
sins and almond slivers I swallowed on my
first gulp of the warm, spiced wine.
The following morning was my last in Es-
tonia, despite a strong reluctance to leave.
I spent my day doing reruns of my favou-
rites in the town: grabbing another plate of
those irresistible meatballs from the Hell’s
Hunt, wandering the streets of the old city
until I was satisfied that they were indeed
all beautiful. Bidding goodbye to my new
friends, I made for the bus terminal.
The best way
to get to Tallinn:
Icelandair flies directly to Stock-
holm, where connecting flights
and ferries to Tallinn are abun-
dant.

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What are you doing after work?