Tallinn Take Two

I was heard saying that this was probably my first and last couch-surfing experience. However, this was not a reflection on our hosts at all. I think it is really a younger person's thing and I am not known for my skills in "roughing it"!! Having said that I would not have missed it for anything. It was a great experience and I really enjoyed meeting Aron and Nisa and hearing about real life in Estonia.

With our Couch Surfing hosts

I was all for getting going straight away. However, Dian pointed out this would be quite rude especially as Nisa had prepared pancake mix for breakfast. I did feel better after a shower and thought coffee would be nice. Dian was right - we learnt much more from them. They are starting on a journey in two weeks which will take them 2 months. They are cycling from Estonia to Latvia, Lithuania, Germany, Poland, Holland, France - stopping off to climb Mont Blanc!, through Austria and Switzerland to finally end up in Milan where a friend will have driven their car and their possessions. Their spirit of adventure was admirable and in some ways I envied them their lack of attachment to anything material and their desire to explore the world.

They also told us more about Estonia, including that the sea freezes in winter and they actually make an ice road across the ice. The one rule is that you do NOT wear a seatbelt as there is more chance of you going through the ice and so needing a quick escape than hitting another vehicle!!

We then caught the tram back to the old town but went via a beautiful park. It was very peaceful and green.

The old wall

We went back into the walled city. It was Pentecost Sunday and the church services were in full swing. We went to the Russian Orthodox Church - it seemed rather incongruous that the mass was being celebrated but tourists were freely walking in and out of the church.

The Russian Orthodox Church

The Estonian Parliament building opposite the church

We then went back to the shops to buy anything we felt we still wanted to buy. We did check the shoe shop but it was shut! We were tired and decided to sit in the town square. There were seats for watching the stage so we at and listened. Although it was in Estonian we guessed it was another church service. It was being televised. An elderly lady came and sat in front of me. I was talking to Dian and Lorraine. She turned round and said "Ah! British English". She then explained that this was a Pentecostal church service. She had been living in Tallinn for 2 years, previously having lived in a more rural area. She talked briefly about the Russian occupation when everyone had to learn Russian. Interestingly she said that they churches had been very strong and more vibrant then.

We had lunch and then walked back for the ferry. By the harbour Dian noticed a market stall selling suitcases. The case was 28 euros - back in Tampere she had also seen an offer at Lidl for 58 euros so I decided to buy one to replace my ripped case. It is not the best (and indeed when I got back to day the handle was not quite as it should be!!) but it will suffice for my travels. As long as it gets me to Berlin and then Birmingham I'll be happy! I had gone to Tallinn with a backpack and came back with a large suitcase - sums up my travelling light really! We were all tired :

A quick power nap!

We got back to Helsinki and joined the others in our group at Molly Malone's bar! Then we went to get some food. By the time we got back to the hotel it was 11.50pm. Again I felt my age - I really can't keep this pace up for long!! I was panicking about doing my blog. I think I was getting blog withdrawal! I think I've caught up a bit and will continue tomorrow now - I need some relaxation before I am back into my action-packed programme in Tampere.