Day 102, Tallinn, Estonia - Tallinn, Estonia
Tallinn, Estonia
I knew I had left Scandinavia when I started seeing Russian style castles and babushka dolls over her in Tallinn, the capital of Estonia. Although there's Russian influence everywhere, due to its history as a Soviet controlled state, Tallinn and Estonia in general is not Russia by any stretch of the imagination. In fact Estonia pushes for more in common with its Scandinavian siblings, and why wouldn't you, those countries are pristine. Don't mix up Estonia and Russia though, whatever you do. Out of the Baltic cities, had enquired with people on whether to spend my extra day in Tallinn or Riga. I had initially elected Riga, but the advice I'd received over the past couple of months pushed me to prioritize Tallinn instead. I'll have to make the final judgment on whether I made the right choice after I've done Riga obviously. Tallinn is compact, yet is full of things to see and do, with the Old Town being at the epicentre of the city. I hear Riga is bigger but not as historically rich as Tallinn, but again, I'll have to see about that. One thing Estonians seem to have that stands out in particular, is a creepy doll fetish. I don't mean the babushka dolls, but rather the handmade plush dolls with horrendously long noses and eyes that pierce your soul. They remind me of Chucky from 'Child's Play'. I know they're handmade and uniquely Estonian but I'll take a pass, thank you very much. The highlight for me, as it so often happens, was when I was randomly walking and happened upon Patarei Prison on the northern coast of Tallinn. The prison serves as a gruesome reminder of Estonia's Soviet-occupied past from the 1940's through to the 1990's. It's essentially an abandoned Russian gulag - resembling those frightening prison camps you've heard Communists used to run back in the day. I say 'highlight' as a tourist, but in truth, I didn't want to stay any longer than I did. Being in an abandoned prison/gulag with very few other tourists, feels like something out of a horror film. It's simultaneously intimidating and fascinating. I believe some call it 'dark tourism', which accurately describes what you're witnessing. You have full view of the prisoners' filthy dorm rooms, cramped workout yards and other dreadfully sparse facilities. I'd say the prisoners of today don't have it too bad comparatively. I'll give them one thing. An abandoned prison makes for appealing and cost efficient tourist attraction. Think about it. All the mess and stench from years and decades gone by can simply be passed off as a genuine part of the experience. I can vouch for the awful stench and the shambling nature of certain rooms in that prison, for sure. That's what conditions were probably like for the prisoners back in the day too. Tick for authenticity. I spent much of my time there thinking of hair-brained ideas on how to escape from prison, just in case I was accidentally locked inside. Just like in 'Prison Break' - minus the 'tattooing of the prison's layout on my back' part. In prison, your mind goes a bit crazy. You gotta be prepared to tunnel your way out through a sewer if need be... Anyway, I have a schedule and it seems like I have a few days extra up my sleeve. I think I know where I want to spend that time, but I'll know more closer to the date. I also spent a fair amount of time looking at maps, mulling over all the cities I can't visit (mainly for visa reasons). Australians don't seem to have any loophole options for cities like St Petersburg, Kaliningrad (Russia) Minsk (Belarus) or Lviv (Ukraine) - save for the Helsinki - St Petersburg cruise that I bypassed. It pains me as they're all so close, but just out of reach, due to visa eligibility reasons out of my control. Politics, eh? Next stop: the middle child of the Baltic nations: Latvia, and its capital, Riga. Terviseks!