I was skeptical of Estonia. Especially given that I was venturing into and out of the country on my own, I had never heard anything about Estonia and mostly, I have never heard anything good about Estonia. I knew they were a part of the EU which gave me hope that I would at least be accounted for while in the country and have better access to help if I needed it. Although really, that just meant that my body has a better chance of getting mailed home if I got kidnapped and murdered.
Another problem with traveling alone? It's very awkward to get pictures of yourself. Thanks for that, Laura.
Flying into Tallinn, I saw nothing. Literally, there was nothing. Just some trees, farms, and the sea. The airport was not quite anything either. Not all that bigger and more secure than Columbus. Where the hell am I again? Why did I decide on Tallinn, of all places?
Without a bag (my backpack wound up in Washington D.C. despite the fact that I didn’t even fly through that city…) I went to the desk to file a report for my lost luggage. With a few words of response in some of the man’s garbled English, I was handed a receipt and told that my bag would be there. When and how, I had no idea. So… I trekked on out to catch a taxi to the hostel. Turns out I was staying in the old town part of Tallinn which was definitely the best place to be. I stayed at The Monks Bunk hostel right past the old entrance gates.
When I got in, there were two guys from Australia working at the counter. The hostel looked okay, but definitely wasn’t anything special. I told the guys that my bag had been lost and I needed to go get some bathroom things and a new shirt. It was already 6 in the evening and they said the shops should be open until 8. In my hurry, they gave me a map and kindly pointed out places to go, but leave it to guys to point me in the direction of some sketchy grocery stores and tell me that they have no idea where I could buy clothes… Thank God I managed to find a Zara!
I went out for dinner around 11 that night and found every restaurant open and busy. It was still very light out. That’s when I remembered that this is the time of year for the famous White Nights. The sun somewhat started to set around midnight, rose by two but never got fully dark.
I spent the next two days walking around the city and admiring all of the pretty buildings and old city walls. Despite my doubts, Estonia is a beautiful place that had a lot to offer in Tallinn’s old town… for a few days that is. With the endless light, the city is wide awake at all hours with fun shops, restaurants, and bars open to everyone. The second night I went on a pub crawl with everyone from the hostel which turned out to be a lot of fun. I met some great people while I was there and learned a lot about their travels as well.
The first sight I saw in Tallinn. Well, after Zara.
While being abroad is an adventure in itself, being alone and abroad is something else. I was definitely ready for Laura to arrive! You can only eat so many meals alone and walk through the city so many times until you feel like a loser and get pretty bored. I will call the trip to Europe, time in Tallinn, and dealing with a lost bag alone character building. It was good experience and it helped me to prove to myself that I could handle new and bigger things on my own (since unfortunately now I am supposed to be a real adult). But… being alone also means that you come home with one picture of yourself thanks to another tourist. And here picture amazing picture.
I got my bag that next day and then took off to St. Petersburg. I was even more apprehensive about Russia but was getting really excited to meet up with Laura! Oh, the adventures!
Wings of Tin 