Just when I thought...

Tallinn, Estonia to Riga, Latvia

Just when I thought I was immune to the overpriced cabs that Tallinn is known for...I got turned around on my way to the bus station this morning. The trolley stop wasn't where I left it and, feeling a bit pressed for time, I panicked. So I grabbed a cab. 10 Euros later for what would have been a 1.60 Euro trolley ride, I was at the bus station. But the cab driver was so nice, telling me about his daughter who's in university studying business, pointing out his church when we drive by ("600 years old!," he tells me.), and telling me how, since his divorce, he just lives with his cat. So how can I be mad? Besides, I did grab a cab at the taxi stand outside of Old Town so, really, what did I expect?

My bus ride to Riga was uneventful, the way good bus rides ought to be. I was pleasantly surprised to find that my hostel was a hop, skip, and a jump from the bus station. In fact, I found it quite by accident. That's how close it was. I like to think this made up for the 10 Euro cab ride from earlier.

Now I'd like to preface to say that, had I been fresh off the plane from the States, anxious to start a new adventure, that I'd probably give these places a more fair shake. But at the moment, I feel like I'm simply catching up on all of the things I missed over the course of the last 3 months in Greece. So after wandering around the art nouveau district, checking out the opera house, and taking a stroll through the park to check out all of the Christmas trees up for display, I ate chain restaurant Chinese food and saw a movie. No, not some Latvian film, a good old fashion American (well, probably British) movie. And it was glorious. This, only 24 hours after enjoying one of my first meals in the Baltics at McDonalds. But that's the joys of travelling by yourself, you can eat as many McRoyals with cheese as you want to and no one is there to judge you.

"Now it's really Christmas!"

Tallinn, Estonia

I was getting some information from the guy who worked the front desk at the hostel I was staying at when I look out the window and see snow falling like there's no tomorrow. The guy commented "Now it's really Christmas!" And he was right. Every place, even countries that were cold, dark, and Communist not too many decades before look Christmasy covered in a blanket of freshly fallen snow.

Tallinn itself is really a nice city. The Old Town takes you back in time to medieval times. I half expected a knight in shining armor to ride by on a horse, but no such luck. It's a city where parents bundle their kids up in snowsuits and pull them around the town square in sleds and where they duck behind corners of historical buildings avoiding what I presume to be the perpetual snowball fight with their young children. The whole scenario was really quite adorable.

I spent hours just wandering around the Old Town. I got lost looking for a couple of specific things and finally gave up on them because I kept running into the same church even though I could have sworn I was going in opposite directions each time. But that's the joy of getting lost. You find other really great stuff in the process.

The Christmas market was in full swing in the town hall square. There was a giant Christmas tree set up in the middle of the square and vendors were selling everything from hot wine to wooly mittens. And what I thought was a loud speaker blasting American Christmas music, turned out to be a van with a PA system driving all over town spreading Christmas cheer loud enough for all to hear. There are lots of things that other countries do better than the US, but I'd like to argue that Christmas music isn't one of them.

I walked atop the old city walls, finally found Saint Catherine's passage-this really cool part of the old town with arches towering over the walk ways, ate marzipan from the oldest cafe in Tallinn, make the trek up to the Seaplane Harbor Museum to see the Titanic exhibit (I highly recommend this by the way!), and enjoyed one last stroll through the Christmas market complete with a "Christmas Dinner" comprised of sausage and sauerkraut.

Some fun facts about Tallinn:
-It's the first city in Europe to offer free public transportation to its residents.
-They charge for ketchup at McDonalds.

Tour De Balkans Take 1

Thessaloniki, Greece to Tallinn, Estonia

My flight out of Thessaloniki was indicative of my time in Greece. 100 things drive me completely up a wall and then one nice little thing happens for me to think, "Ok, maybe this isn't so bad." For the first time since September, I wasn't flying Ryan Air and I actually got to choose my seat. I was all ready to settle into the window seat and crash, but there was an older couple occupying the middle and my beloved window seat. They gave me a bit of grief about me asking them to move (Ok so maybe me saying, " 'A' means WINDOW!" in that loud, you don't speak fluent English so I'll treat you like you're dumb kind of way wasn't the best way to win them over, but it had been a long 24 hours. More on that later.), but eventually we came to some sort of unspoken understanding.  I was fast asleep when the old lady pokes me in the arm to wake me up so I wouldn't miss dinner. (Airplane moussaka! Yum!) And then after her club soda exploded all over the front of her, I gave her my napkin. Damn it, Greece, just when I was done with you there you go redeeming yourself.

When I arrived, based on the travel guide, I was already anticipating being overcharged for a cab. I had mentally prepared myself for just such an occasion. At the airport, I got into a cab with a guy that, in another scenario, looked like he might have been a hit man. But the Phil Collins blasting from the radio put my mind at ease. We initially stopped at the wrong address and just when I thought he might leave me for dead in a dark alley at the wrong address, he realizes his error, makes me get back in the car and drives me the extra 50 feet down the street to the correct address. All for the bargain price of 10 Euros. Which is exactly how much Lonely Planet said it should cost sans rip off. So far things in Estonia are on the up and up. 

For the record, buying a one way ticket to Estonia may be one of the crazier things that I've ever done. Just wanted to put that out there. But the adventure continues...

Wait for it...

Greece...where do I begin? I have at least 5 posts started that I never finished.

Some day I might finish them. Until then, let's catch up on my trip to the Balkans shall we?