Welcome to Tallinn!
Trip Start
Aug 31, 2007
1
4
90
Trip End
Apr 19, 2008
Tallinn,
Estonia
Saturday, September 1, 2007
My flight was delayed three hours out of JFK putting us late into Frankfurt, but fortunately, I didn't miss my connection. The flight to Tallinn, Estonia was uneventful and coming in to land, I was able to take out my trusty Lonely Planet and match Estonia's northern shoreline with what was out my window. It only took ten minutes to fly over half the country.
Arriving at the airport, I quickly cleared customs (though not as quickly as EU nationals who I'm sure have a harder time getting into bars than this country) obtained some Estonian Kroons from an ATM (took me three tries to get anything less than 35 dollar bills) and caught a cab to my hostel
Old Town 2
. The cabbie totally ripped me off, but I was too tired to argue.The Old Town Backpacker's Hostel, my first hostel experience since I was seven, lies behind a non-descript door in Tallinn's historic Old Town. I rang the bell and three Germans answered, none of whom, I determined after some confussion, worked there, but they let me in and I got settled.
Fortified with the remainder of a baguette from New York, I headed out to explore the Old Town. I left my guidebook at the hostel and did my best to get lost - not difficult at all in the winding streets.
Tallinn's Old Town is made up of buildings from the 14th century, most painted light, almost pastel colours, with cobblestone streets running between them. It's all rather beautiful and doesn't strike me at all as Medieval, but maybe that's just because it's clean. Along the streets were many restaurants with outdoor seating, though none of them were very full. People were out on a Saturday evening, though, with the women wearing mostly skinny jeans, preferably over fancy boots with pointy heels, which are just asking for trouble among the cobblestones, if you ask me. Didn't see anyone fall over, though. It's 10-15 degrees here, too, and the Estonians think it's cold, so scarves are an essential part of the attire. In my lose cotton pants and hiking boots, I am a long way from fitting in.
Comments
wow
hey megan! it seems totally awesome.. I love the exact details ' lights were turned off at exactly 4:27 pm'.. haha.. one question.. were the germans hot? lol hope your having fun!