Dorky title I know but the creative juices are struggling today.
We got up very early to catch yet another boat. This one went from Helsinki to Estonia and was the biggest of all the boats we had been on. It had the feel of what I hope a proper cruise ship might be a bit like. I had no preconceptions going to Estonia. What I knew of it was also largely from Eurovision. So I went there with an open mind. We picked a good day to go!
When we got to Tallinn we did a mini city tour and were left to our own devices. Tallinn is a gorgeous and friendly city. It was definitely my second favourite place on the whole trip (after Troll’s Pass). The old part of the city is quite compact and very easy to navigate. On the day we were there, there was a big traditional folk festival on with dancing, singing, traditional demonstrations and traditional markets. I was in heaven!
I went to a place for lunch with another Aussie chick. It was decked out like a traditional medieval restaurant (or more precisely what I think a traditional medieval restaurant should look like. It was candlelit and dark with big candle chandeliers and the staff were all in traditional outfits. We ordered garlic bread for entrée and were expecting you know, well normal garlic bread. What we got was this black bread with fresh garlic on it. It was bloody good and I was definitely going to scare off any vampires within 100 miles. I guess that was the Estonian version of garlic bread. Next we had this cheese breaded chicken fillet thing with apricots and something else. All I can say is mmmmmmm mmmmmmmm! All of this was easily more than the two of us could eat in an obviously swanky restaurant and it actually was a quite competitive price! (Well I think it was! I was still a bit unsure of the exchange rate!) Anyway, whatever I paid for it, it was worth it!
After lunch, and a quick wander about we checked into our hotel. Not bad! It was very nice to have our own, indoor showers! After being in so many campsites staying in cabins and sharing with so many other people it was sooooooo nice to have twin rooms. I shared with Lisa (who was to become my room buddy for most of Russia until she finished the tour). She is a crazy South African and we were good roommates. We put up with each others annoying habits without complaint and she was even kind enough to share her flu with me (which did get a few complaints!)
That afternoon Lisa and I went back into the city and did some wandering about and shopping. It is a very laid back place and the people are just so friendly. We climbed to the top of the main cathedral – which was at one stage one of the tallest buildings in the world. All I know is that there was a shitload of steps!
That evening we were to meet to go out for a group dinner. I think there would have been about 50 of us all up as we had joined with another group. Our tour guides though, in all their organisational brilliance had failed to book anywhere, assuming that you can get a table for 50 people, on a Saturday night, in the middle of a big festival, for a reasonable price. The place we were going said that they could not book in that many people at such short notice and that we would have to break into smaller groups and cram onto tables as they became available. It was a lovely traditional German beer hall. I was wondering why we couldn’t have gone to one of these in Germany but never mind. In the end about 10 of us managed to cram onto 2 small bar type tables. Our tour guides said to us seeing as we were mildly miffed that they had tried to book that day but were told that they couldn’t book that many people at once – blaming the restaurant. I heard one of the waiters complaining that they could have easily have accommodated us, if only we had booked earlier and not tried to at lunchtime that day. So it was a lot of he said, she said. The food was actually bloody good. We got ours in a reasonable time too. Other groups were not so lucky. Some girls at another table waited about 2 hours for theirs, and one girl didn’t even get what she ordered!
So what do we learn from this tour guides? Book early! You knew full well exactly how many people we had at least 3 weeks beforehand!
Sorry, a little bit of venting there but it was an easily avoidable disappointment in what was an otherwise wonderful day. I will definitely go back to Estonia.
