Last notes from Tallinn and first from SPB, Russia

Tallinn seems so long ago now although we just left there y'day morning and are now in Saint Petersburg (SPB from now on).

• Visited the Russian flea market in Tallinn to get a sense of what we'd be up for come our visit to Russia; bought a tomato for only a few cents; I also stopped in a slew of second hand stores looking for long sleeve shirts while Steven patiently stood guard outside as we walked to Kadriorg Park to see the Japanese Gdns, a palace etc - lots of exercise but not worth it otherwise for us.
• We'd planned a day trip to the city of Haapsalu but changed our plans to go on Hotel Viru's KGB Tour instead on our last day in the city; so glad we did as it was fascinating and intriguing to learn how Maire, our guide, worked in the hotel for 7 years as a "floor keeper" when it was under the Soviet control and thus was able to relay first hand information about living and working with the KGB.
• Everyone thought the hotel only had 22 floors; thus the elevator panel then and now only had floors marked 1 through 22; the KGB were firmly ensconced on the 23rd though which was only accessible through a door that led to a stairway taking you up another flight of stairs.
• Hotel Viru, aka Intourist Hotel Viru, was built for foreign tourists b/c the USSR needed foreign currency; 1800 employees during its heyday under Soviet control for 400 rooms compared to only 200 staff now.
• Microphones were built into the concrete construction everywhere; several doormen at each entrance who all were KGB agents, some even colonels.
• the bread and butter plates had a dbl bottom so antennae could be placed there; only those plates were chosen b/c theoretically no knives or other cutlery would then interfere with the audio!
• Maire said once a man using his room's bathroom yelled to his friend in the bedroom that he needed more t.p.  Of course 2 minutes later, there was a knock on the door and the person said "I understand you need t.p.!"
• There was a massive fire during construction of the hotel but NO reports of that ever on the TV, radio or in the papers as it officially never happened; we saw diplomas showing congrats to the builders for their being no fires during the construction!
• Saw authentic spy cameras with wide angle lens used in the radio room on the 23rd floor, etc.  Not a tour you get to go on every day for sure.
• Got the 8am Lux Express bus from Tallinn to SPB y'day - would use them again in a heartbeat - good price, reserved seats, free tea, coffee, cocoa on board BUT no cafe stops in the 7 hour journey; only stop was the 110 minute stop to get our passports stamped leaving Estonia and then at Russian border where we all got off the bus to have our passports and visas and arrival documents inspected VERY carefully; not an experience that left you with any warm and fuzzy feeling at all about entering Russia!
• Had prearranged (and paid) with Real Russia UK (whom we ordered all our train tickets from) for a taxi to pick us up and take us to our last airbnb apt; it was hideously expensive at 61 English pounds for a 12 minute ride but well worth not the angst of figuring how to get from Point A to Point B in Russian after a long trip.
• Our airbnb apt is pretty scuzzy to put it mildly; Mindy, I keep thinking of you and what your reaction would be seeing this!  I think you'd run for the hills and believe me I thought it too!
• The location is GREAT, just minutes from most of the best sights but the graffiti and the stench is beyond yucky, etc.  See for yourself in the pictures below!
• Took another "free" walking tour (i.e. tips are expected!) today to get a sense of what's where, the history, etc.
• A few salient facts: SPB is also known as Venice of the North, City of 101 Islands, etc; it has 103 canals, over 30 bridges, the Metro is the third deepest in the world (so deep in fact that people read books on the escalator as they "descend in to the depths of hell")
• Another post another day but here are some photos that may be of interest
  
  Tallinn's handicraft mkt - thought of LH friends!
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  Entrance to our airbnb in SPB below
  
  
  Steven asking WHAT have we got ourselves into?!
  
  
  
  
  
  

Another rainy day in beautiful Tallinn

After only a few hours here in Tallinn on Monday, Steven said he wished we could stay here for a few weeks to give you an idea of how favorable our first impressions were of the town and of our airbnb apartment.  The latter is by far the most spacious and gorgeous one we've stayed in yet and, considering we'll only have a room in our last airbnb place in Saint Petersburg (from now on to be known as SPB), it will remain the most spacious one too.  To give you an idea of airbnb prices, we paid $204 for our 3 nights here which includes service and cleaning fees.  As I may have already mentioned, our apt here is right in the middle of Old Town but hidden away in a courtyard so noise is not an issue.  The location could not be any better - we've walked everywhere so far and have had no need for any of the buses, trams and trolleys we've seen in the city itself.  The Old Town is by and large for pedestrians only - even our taxi driver had to drop us off on Sunday when we were coming from the ferry terminal a few hundred meters away. 

Samsonite or any other luggage manufacturer should definitely road test their wheeled luggage on any of the cobblestone streets here or in R. or in H.!  Some of the cobblestones are relatively easy and smooth to navigate but others are not cobblestones at all but rather fair sized rocks with just enough large spaces in between so that you can easily twist an ankle or wrench your back.  I spend pretty well all my time looking down and carefully figuring out which stone to move onto next rather than always looking up and taking in the breathtakingly beautiful architecture around me - a factor of age and being predisposed to weak ankles, I guess!

I keep thinking of how all the $12-15 strollers we had over the years would have been absolutely useless here as the wheels would have fallen off immediately.  The only time we recall a stroller wheel falling off was decades ago when we were hiking on pretty steep terrain at Bryce or Zion national parks in Utah and Natalie, I think, was in the stroller and the wheel came off and went tumbling down off the cliff.  We did make sure YOU were safe though, Natalie!  The strollers we've seen here have mega wheels to withstand the various grades of terrain luckily.

• I should have mentioned WELL before this how much I love my Kindle - mea culpa Alexander especially!  Steven and I are both huge readers and our plan was to take 4 books each and then swap them.  Alexander pushed me reluctantly initially into the brave new world (to me only, I know!) of paperless books and I can only say thank you again to him, Natalie and Zachary who gave me the Kindle for my birthday to use for the trip.  I'd be the 1st to admit I would be lost without it now and can't imagine lugging books with me, clothes yes but not books!
• Went on another Free Walking Tour y'day - I can see this will be our trip of free walking tours as we've got them reserved in SPB and Moscow too plus did one in Reykjavik.
• Estonia was est. as a separate nation in 1918 but that lasted for ONE day before the Germans and then the Russians occupied the country til August of 1991.
• Population is 1,3 million; they adopted the euro 2 years ago and their big claim to fame and deservedly so is three Estonians developed Skype.
• 2nd most atheist nation in the world - Denmark "beats" them by .1%.  Saw lots of beautiful churches y'day but one was turned into a Museum of Atheism!
• Visited the Occupation Museum after the tour - first of its kind for me!
• For all you scrabble fans (Suellen et al) out there, I meant to tell you a new word for me and perhaps for you is "querne" - we saw it on an English plaque on one of the buildings at the Open Air Museum in Helsinki.   A querne is a type of stone - did you know!
• The title of this post gives you an idea of the weather here now - it's lovely and sunny for all of three minutes, then drizzle, then pouring cats and dogs for quite a while.  Has been the latter only all night long so I'm thinking we actually have to use public transportation today instead of walking.
• Brought very comfy shoes which is the good thing but my black sneakers (I read on TA not to wear white ones as that immediately ID's you as an American; our speech would not?!) are mesh so would get soaked in 2 minutes and my Kohl's sandals/trek shoes I discovered y'day take forever to dry after getting a good soaking.
• Last part of our day was spent at the Russian flea market - it was getting late and the weather was lousy so most of the stalls were closed down but still fun wandering around; got a tomato for Steven's nightly omelet for 4 euro cents, all of 5 cents US!  On to mother Russia tomorrow so an easy way to get out feet wet, we thought.
• Steven's already thinking of our next long trip put of the US and wanting to get a long LL Bean raincoat like mine to protect his pants.  I'm thinking of another pair of shoes that will are equally comfy but will dry quickly.  Your input is appreciated!
• We do have a washer here but it's pint sized - all of 3.5 kg so can't get a lot in there obviously.  It's been almost funny having 2 fairly smart people trying to figure out the workings of the washers in each of the airbnbs so far.  We haven't mastered them yet - yes the clothes are clean but what temps and cycles we've used remain a mystery!
• Hope you all stay warm and dry as you go about your day.
  

Estonian flags flying from Freedom Sq.

The Russian flea market in Tallinn

From Tallinn, Estonia

I may be posting this from Tallinn but there'll be snippets too from our stay in Helsinki too as I always seem to be behind the eight ball.

• On Sunday, Steven and I went to an open air flea market I'd read about on Trip Advisor (to be known as TA from this point on!).   Scads of fun for me and the man of my dreams as well, I think.  He always has loved to window shop and I've been more of a purpose driven shopper.  I remember his loving the ultra fancy shops in the Vegas malls we went to with youngsters in tow but they were never my style as they were way too beyond our means and I figured why be there to window shop if we can't buy.  The flea market was up my and his alley though - fascinating to walk through for him and clothes and people's discards for me to entertain the thought of buying.  Was looking ostensibly for a "new" purse but ended up with a clutch for 4E.  Also happened to buy 4 short sleeved tops I liked.  Naomi - hope you're NOT reading this part!  Wish you had been there, Rene, to help snag the best deal for me as I bargained for the items.  Oh well, I was happy with what I paid so that's the important thing in the end.  Need to keep that philosophy in mind when we bargain in shops in Thailand and Cambodia when the low prices really won't make a hill of beans of difference to us and they will to the locals.
• Then took a city bus to the end of the line to Seurasaari Island which has a big Open Air Museum and beautiful walking trails. The homes, church, farm buildings, church boat, etc.were  brought there from all over Finland.  Heard a spellbinding concert while there with a guitarist and singer who sang often a capella songs from all over the country.
• Continued the day by seeing the Sibelius monument not far from downtown - he's Finland's most famous composer.
• Walked on to the Church in the Rock which brought tears to my eyes by the sheer simplicity and beauty of the church literally carved out of rock - I am sure the music that was playing and the memories that evoked had something to do with my emotions.
• We infinitely preferred the architecture in Finland to the very stark, barren and almost exclusively concrete larger buildings we saw in much of Iceland.
• Got the ferry to Tallinn arriving about noon y'day the 12th; after leaving our bags in a locker at the ferry terminal, we walked into the Old Town which is what Tallinn is most famous for, in terms of tourists. No wonder - don't know which superlative to use here  as no words I can come up with do it justice.  In short, if you ever have a chance to come, don't hesitate and just hop on the next plane as it's that beautiful, charming etc. 
• Got our first ever taxi together in 32 years from the terminal after retrieving our bags to go to our airbnb apt right smack dab in Old Town after wandering around for several hours.
• So far it seems to us that Estonia's a huge amount cheaper than either Finland or Helsinki. To give you an idea, we bought a loaf of rye and whole wheat bread each, 10 eggs (there are no "dozen" of eggs we've seen up to now!), a foil pkg of mayo (hope that doesn't come open), a jar of raspberry jam for Steven to have sandwiches on the road, a 2 liter bottle of pop for you know who, tomato,ice cream sandwich etc for under 8E, about $10.
• Beginning to second guess my decision to buy the short sleeve tops as it's unseasonably chilly here and I sure need a long sleeve shirt that actually fits.  Tried to find a size small
  
  one before leaving home but no store had them in yet.
• Waiting for Steven to get up and load some photos for you to see.  Hope it won't be too long as it's 9:30 and I'm raring to get out and explore!
  
  Seurasaari Island
  
  
  
  
  
  H.'s Church in the Rock - up and down
  
  
  Tallinn - photos below taken about 10 pm
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  Tallinn has amber stores everywhere.
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  Our airbnb apt in Tallinn - just gorgeous just like the model!