chexfan
Jan 14, 03, 10:28 pm
So it’s been a while since I’ve been on a fun trip. The combination of long, dark Seattle days and the Christmas Sale that SAS had in December lit a spark under the seat of my pants to get going. So I went going…
09Jan
It was a seemingly busy day of running non-stop errands and everything else around Seattle. I left the house a tad before 5p, jumped on 99 South through the city, on the Secret Freeway and made it to Ajax parking in an average 22 minutes.
The Parking Shuttle driver was seemingly new by his driving pattern around the lot and his green-ness was show when he tried to drop me off at Island 1. When I retold him again that I was flying SAS, he said, “Oh I thought you said USAirways.” I think to myself that US and SK could be possibly mistaken for sounding the same, BUT the USAirways check-in is the very last counter at the airport next to SAS. Oh well.
I get off at Island 2, take the escalator up to checkin. I saw two queues for economy and business. I figured that my Star Gold status would let me check in via the Business Line, but I hopped in the Economy line anyways. I handed over my ticket and was given my seat assignments to København and then on to Tallinn. The exit row was not available so I accepted 22F with an empty D seat. I inquired about an upgrade. The agent looked at the status of the flight and informed me that there most likely wouldn’t be any today. Oh well. A trans-atlantic flight for me in coach was meant to be I guess.
Security was a breeze and I hopped on the tram to the South Satellite. Seemingly enough I have only been in the South Terminal at SEA only in the morning or late evening for my USAirways flights. I had passed the SAS Business Lounge, but never really taken much notice to it.
The SAS Lounge is in the mid-tier level between the doors for the train and the level where the gates were. I made my way to the door, rang the bell and checked in. The agent noted my UA status and bid me a fond time.
As soon as I walked around the bend, I thought I was in IKEAland. Well, heck, I guess I was going to Scandinavia. Woo-hoo for me! I made my way to the bar area where the same lady who checked me in was the acting bartender as well. She was helping other passengers so I kind of made my way behind the counter and helped myself to a bottle of Carlsberg. Along with some Chex-Mix, the first beer went down amazingly quick and easy. I obtained a second from our Ticketing Agent/Bar Matron and kicked back watching the Kings beat up on the NJ Nets by 40 points or so.
After a few more C’bergs, I had to help a fellow American out explain the playoffs of our major sports to a kind a patient Dutch gent. He was thankful of my understanding and knowledge of European sports to draw comparisons and differences to help his learning. He mentioned he was impressed w/ my knowledge and I informed him that I knew I was smart.
The flight inbound from CPH was late and this pushed our departure time back an hour or so to 8p. The announcement was made for boarding and I went to the bathroom. Upon my exit, I realized that the Lounge had completely emptied out.
I made the way up the final set of escalators (actually I took the steps), and went to S14 for a flight of many firsts: trip on an Airbus 340, trip on SAS, trip to CPH, European trip from SEA, and of course, first trip in coach (on a paid ticket) in a long, long, time.
SK938
I apologize to the PIDs (Plane Information Dorks), but I didn’t note the registration of this particular… heck it was dark and I truly didn’t care.
So I entered the jet and made my way back through some rows of Business and Economy extra to find my seat directly behind Economy Extra. It was easy to notice the difference in pitch and width of the two “Economy” seats. However after I securely placed my bag and jacket in the overhead, I was happy to notice that this middle section of row 22 offered much more room than the rest of coach (sans the Exit Row).
As promised at checkin, the seat next to me was unoccupied. The two folks sharing the middle section with me were heading to Amsterdam on the same Christmas sale fare. What they were going to do in AMS for 6 days was mind boggling to me, but I didn’t say much.
So, as I was sitting in my coach seat, I started playing around with the features of this fairly new plane. Everyone had a video monitor in the seat in front of them except for my row. Go figure. The two other row-mates are trying to figure out how to get a screen out of the seat in front of us, but I knew that would be fruitless. I was upset… would I not get a personal monitor? Then a light went off in my head (it happens every once in a while) and I looked under the seat. Voila! Video screens like the ones in Business were there. I shared my new finding with the Amsterdam bound folks and the lady told me she was impressed w/ my knowledge and I informed her that I knew I was smart.
These little features solidly impressed this new SAS passenger as we were waiting for push back. As we taxi’d out to 30R the best bell &/or whistle ever popped out of nowhere. The cabin screens changed to a video from the nose of the plane (or someplace up front and out side). Granted it was dark and all I could see were lights, but my jaw was agape w/ interest and excitement.
Take off was fine as we headed north past the Emerald City and over to Denmark.
I had borrowed Qip’s portable CD player for the trip and brought along a decent supply of music. Fatboy Slim’s ‘Big Beach Boutique II’ started me off. A beverage service came through not too much later. I asked for a C’berg and I got what I asked for. Seemingly this went down easy as well.
Dinner followed. The menu read as:
The first course is marinated salmon with egg and dill
For the Main Course we serve cheese cannelloni with spinach, mixed peppers and ProvenÇale sauce
Dessert was fresh fruit.
We had real metal utensils and the description extras got a chuckle out of me…
‘As sugar dissolves, it spreads happiness’
‘If you want salt on your meal, don’t cry- use this package’
‘Imagine if the oceans of the world contained pepper instead of salt, well… maybe not’
Interesting enough… the meal that my row received had neither marinated salmon nor cheese cannelloni. But rather some chicken dish w/ mushrooms. Ahh, I didn’t really care. I had moved on to Phish’s cover of the Beatle’s White Album. A bit after the meal was cleared, I knew that I needed to get some sleep. I took this as an opportunity to stroll through the rest of coach and to the back to the snack station where water was waiting. I poured my self a serving and drank down 3 Tylenol PMs to help in the sleeping process.
I tried watching some of the movie, but the pills worked their magic and I was out! I awoke probably 6 hours later as the breakfast cart rolled into my shin. The flight attendant apologized incessantly, but I brushed it off and tried to gain some more ZZZs.
10JAN
We were unable to make up much, if any, time on the flight as we arrived exactly one hour late into Copenhagen. I was given the information for my Estonian Air flight onboard my inbound flight, but I wandered over to the board to recheck. I went through Danish Passport Control and got a new stamp in my passport. Having about 50 minutes to kill, I ambled through the shopping at CPH, went through another Passport Control and went to A17 where my Estonian Air B737-500 (ES-ABD) was waiting to take me to Tallinn.
OV144
After a delay, boarding was announced and everybody ran to the gate… and I mean everybody. I waited through the line and made my way down the jetway. A number of Estonian and Finnish papers were offered upon boarding, but I declined. I made my way through the first class section (seating of 2x3 in 3 rows) and then another section of the same type of leather seats in the 2x3 config. SAS had gotten me and Exit Row seat in 9C. A teenager sat in 9A as the legroom was quite ample for my 6’5” frame.
The flying time of 1:20 was announced in Estonian and English and the all male cabin crew was able to offer a beverage service, a meal (of some pickled fish, some rice and veggies, and a sour tart), post drinks AND duty free in the flying time. Simply amazing, efficient, and well serviced!
We arrived into TLL to snow everywhere. During an interestingly long taxi to the gate, the captain made an announcement which caused the entire plane to gasp. This would be the first time in a series of many that I wished I could speak Estonian. The previous comments were repeated in English (as they all were) and the captain noted the temperature in Tallinn to be a warm -27°C. Whew! Good thing I didn’t pack the warm-weather emergency kit!
The same rush to get on to the plane was met again to get off. I didn’t get it, but I figured to literally go along with the flow or I may get hurt!
Immigration at Tallinn offered two lines, one for Estonian Nationals and the other for visitors. The lines were evenly split 50/50 and the wait-time was minimal. With a new Eesti stamp in my passport and a ‘Welcome to Tallinn Visitor’s Guide’, I made my way out through Customs and shicklingly found myself instantly at the curbside! This wasn’t a big airport.
I found an ATM and exchanged for EEKs and made my way to the taxi stand. Here I got my first taste of Estonian cold. Wow! I show the driver the name of the Scandic Palace Hotel and the address and we arrived there about 14 minutes later. The meter was 95EEK which seemed just a bit more than what I read it should have.
The staff at the Hotel Palace was cordial and wonderful at checkin. They were able to process my award stay w/o any problems and I had the key to room 401 in a relatively short amount of time.
I went up to check out my room and was duly unimpressed. The rest of my thoughts on the hotel can be found here:
http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/Forum57/HTML/006207.html
I asked for directions to the Old Town and was given a very handy map of the area. The girl at checkin pointed out an area where restaraunts could be found depending on my tastes of the moment. I bundled up and walked it to the area. I checked out a number of places but I ended up settling for a coffee shop, Kohvic Moskva, where a latte and a vodka tonic set me back 60EEK. I pulled out the tourist guides and started to plan my weekend.
After another latte, I made it back to the Hotel Palace around 9p or so. I decided to take off my shoes and warm up a bit. Knowing that the clubs really didn’t start getting busy until 12:30a or so I got ready and went to warmup at the VS. Bar just down the road from the hotel. A DJ was playing and I had my first ,5L of Saku for 35EEK. A second Saku followed as I had kicked back and taken in the “Estonian Scenery”. It was now a bit after 12 and I made my way down Pärnu Maantee to the Venus Club.
Now was when the -27C temp and wind got to me. Bundled up the walk only took about 5 minutes, but it was seemingly 45. I walked past the Club and the Hotel Viru knowing I had overshot my target. I turned around and saw, in red neon, Venus Club, on a building two blocks back. The cold and wind had caused my eyes to tear and the same cold and wind made those tears turn to icicles on my eye lashes. The Snot in my nose froze as well.
I made it into the club after paying a 100EEK admission and being wanded for contraband! Drinks weren’t any more expensive than where I just was.
The club was hopping with Estonians and the scenery was just lovely. The music was mostly American, with some foreign tunes I had obviously never heard before and I was unable to tell what language they were in. It was fun and culturally exciting. I left at 4:00am and a decent sized crowd was still there.
11Jan
Somehow, I awoke shortly after 9a. I tried to stay in the warm bed but I knew I had to get up and hit the city. Before dressing too warm, I made it downstairs to check out the breakfast spread that the hotel was offering. I ate some eggs, crepes and bacon along with some yogurt.
I bought a 48hour Tallinn Card for 275EEK and made my way down toward the Venus Club to pick up the City Tour Bus at the Hotel Viru. The bus promptly arrived at 10:30 and I got on. The lady informed me that I was “grossly under-dressed in my thermal pants, jeans, sweater, two hats and Patagonia R1 jacket. She said 1 hour of the tour was walking and that I would “be cold and crying to go home”. I had just walked a fair bit and thought I was prepared. She informed me that it would be warmer on Sunday and my card would still be good then. Even though I think that she just didn’t want to give the tour, I complied and walked back through the Old City. Peeking in and out of some shops, I went and hung out at a coffee shop near the City Hall for an hour or so. I popped in an out of some of the Museums gratis with my Tallinn Card and was unimpressed. It was nearing 2p when I decided to hop on the tram. The city transportation was free w/ the Card and I had just gotten on the tram to Kadriorg… wherever the heck that was. After about a 40 minute unguided, uninformative tour of the city, I was back at the Viru Gate where I got on.
I found another coffee shop in Old Town near Molly Maguires. I took the opportunity here to brush up on what else I could get with my Tallinn Card. Then it came clear and obvious… free admission to the other Tallinn club I was hoping to get to, Club Hollywood!
I wandered are some more on the hill, Toompea, and then made my way back to the hotel. It was nearing 5:30 and I was kind of tired from wandering around Tallinn ducking in and out of stores all day to stay warm. I decided to take a quick nap was in order. Around 8:30, I got dressed and made my way to Gaucho100Ks highly recommended Olde Hansa, as soon as I neared the place, I saw all the hokie people in period customers trying to draw customers into their place. When I saw this, I decided it wasn’t for me and I ducked into an Italian eatery for some chicken and pasta dish and, no surprise here, some more Saku.
I was done w/ dinner around 9:45 and I decided another Saku was in order. I stopped by the ex-pat bar Nimega on the way back to the hotel, and grabbed another ,5L of beer. After the beer, I made it back to the Hotel Palace and took a shower to get ready for a Saturday night in Tallinn.
As I mentioned earlier, the decision to go to Club Hollywood was made easier when I discovered its’ free admission w/ the Tallinn Card. Plus it was closer to the hotel, thus decreasing the walking time in the sub -20C temperatures. This club was very similar to the music played at Club Venus and the Estonian Scenery was just as enjoyable. As I was making my way back to the hotel around 4:45 I was shocked to see the amount of people in the streets.
12Jan
So today was going to be the day of Official Sightseeing in Tallinn. I somehow awoke before 9:30 again and made my way to breaky before dressing warmly for another day in Tallinn.
I trotted on down to the Hotel Viru to pickup the bus tour at 10:30. Again, it was there on time. However, Sunday brought a smiling, happy tour guide, who was happy to give a tour (it actually was warmer this day) and a married couple from outside of London.
The tour was broken up into two sections of one hour. The first would be by bus. We started out on the same path that I had visited on my Tram tour the day before. But now I learned I was in Kadriorg. We went through the wooden houses and out to the Palace designed for Peter the Great. The Tour then took us to Pirita and Marjamäe where the 1980 Olympic Events of rowing and sailing were held. Here we got a great view of the frozen waters of the Gulf of Finland. This very informative part of the tour ended with a ride around the border of the Old Town, giving me a view I had missed in my self-guided walking tour!
The tour dropped us off at the top of Toompea by the Castle and the Alexandr Nevsky Cathedral. We got the history of the buildings and made our way for a brief peek into the cathedral. We walked around some more on the hill stopping in the Dome Church, Tomkirik. We made our way around some parts of the wall and walked down through some narrow alleys to the Raekoja Plats, the Town Hall Square. Some more information was given about a number of things in the Lower Old Towne that I had walked by the previous day. The tour ended 2 hours after it started at the Viru Gate.
It was so very beneficial to learn about the city via the tour. I never would have been able to see some of the stuff the tour shows you w/o renting a car or knowing a local.
The rest of the afternoon was just a bunch of shopping and, no surprise here, drinking more Saku! I made it back to the hotel around 5:30 and took a desperately needed nap. The late nights, early mornings and walking had been tiring me.
I awoke around 8:30 and made my way back to the Town Hall Square to Molly Maguire’s. They didn’t have Saku there, so I ordered a ,5L A. Le Coq for 30EEK. I also ate dinner here, because I was comfortable. I would have remembered if it was horrible, so it was just typical bar fare… but in Estonia!
I got back to the hotel around 11:30. I asked for a 5:45a wake-up call and a 6:15 taxi to the airport. I packed, got ready for a day of travel and fell asleep.
13Jan
The alarm came promptly at 5:45. Luckily all I had to do was shower, get dressed and pack some last minute stuff and I was good to go.
The same girl, Elena, who checked me in checked me out. I don’t think she ever left the registration desk as she seemingly answered all of my inquiries through the weekend. She somehow arranged a pre-paid taxi ride for 65EEK that I paid to the hotel. The cab was waiting and I was at the Tallinn Airport in about 10 minutes.
Checkin for OV147 was a sinch as I was assigned 5A. Passport Control and Security were quick, but my carry-on had grown and a few looks were garnered.
The boarding time for the flight to CPH was scheduled for 7:10, but we didn’t start boarding until 7:40. At boarding I realized that I had been assigned one of those leather seats in the 2x3 configuration. Cool! I have no idea or clue how or why, but I took it. I sat next to an Estonian businessman who was going to Malmö for, well… business.
We waited in our seats before we departed at 8:20, one full hour after the schedule departure time. The taxi was long, but for some reason our speed was really quick. Then all of a sudden, we did a 180 and took off the exact same way we taxi’d out. That was a first for me. But I guess, with all the constant snow, they only have to keep one run/taxiway clear.
We were up and off to CPH!
Breakfast was served. We had a mushroom omelet/quiche thingy along with spinach and peach yogurt. It was tasty and a good way to start the day!
Arrival into CPH was fun. I didn’t know it was right on the water and the approach was fun to view. Again, no time was gained on our 1:20 flight. We all got off the plane, including my big carry-on and went through passport control to enter Danmark.
It was now 9am. I went to the SAS Business lounge and inquired about my seating for the SEA flight. She informed me that I was all set. I told her I was off to visit downtown Copenhagen and I wondered if there was a place to stash my bag. She said there wasn’t but wished me a fun time in the city.
The Copenhagen Trip Report (http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/Forum81/HTML/003416.html)
I got back to the SAS Lounge around 1p and made my way to the beer. Mmmm. More Carlsberg for me! I set my carry-on in the corner and began drinking. A good time was had, as I first found the internet terminals, then the massage chair room and then the rest of the lounge. I got in trouble for attempting to take my picture with the orange guy at the top of the stairs, but oh well.
SK937 to Seattle was an hour late due to mechanical so I wandered around the Terminal getting rid of my DKKs. Boarding was called and I went back to 22F. Unfortunately a couple and their infant were taking up the rest of the row. I was sensing an uncomfortable trip back to Seattle.
Luckily this didn’t happen. Shortly after takeoff a FA informed the family that they could have an entire row, so they moved back. Unfortunately, these seats didn’t have the armrests that could be moved, but it was still better than sitting shoulder to shoulder with someone. I moved over and proudly took up the entire row. With noone in the Economy Extra seats in front of me, I was able to stick my legs through there. I feel that I did a good job in finding comfort with what I had to work with!
Beverage service came around, and I grabbed a Carlsberg. Actually, this one tasted weird. It was in a white can, Yuck! But I drank it anyways.
I lost the menu, but it was a Cheese Tortellini served with a white sauce and ham chunks.
Shortly after dinner I started watching ‘Sweet Home Alabama’. I don’t know if it was the movie or my beer drinking, but I fell asleep quickly. I was in and out of sleep for the next 7 hours or so catching up on my lost sleep in Estonia.
I stayed awake for good listening to Robbie Williams’ 'Escapology' cd. We arrived at S14 at 6p sharp. Customs and Immigration was a breeze and I was out side waiting for my shuttle to the car.
All in all, Estonia was a great place with great scenery. Definitely a good place for a weekend jaunt. I have promised myself to go back… in the summertime though!
[This message has been edited by chexfan (edited 01-14-2003).]
09Jan
It was a seemingly busy day of running non-stop errands and everything else around Seattle. I left the house a tad before 5p, jumped on 99 South through the city, on the Secret Freeway and made it to Ajax parking in an average 22 minutes.
The Parking Shuttle driver was seemingly new by his driving pattern around the lot and his green-ness was show when he tried to drop me off at Island 1. When I retold him again that I was flying SAS, he said, “Oh I thought you said USAirways.” I think to myself that US and SK could be possibly mistaken for sounding the same, BUT the USAirways check-in is the very last counter at the airport next to SAS. Oh well.
I get off at Island 2, take the escalator up to checkin. I saw two queues for economy and business. I figured that my Star Gold status would let me check in via the Business Line, but I hopped in the Economy line anyways. I handed over my ticket and was given my seat assignments to København and then on to Tallinn. The exit row was not available so I accepted 22F with an empty D seat. I inquired about an upgrade. The agent looked at the status of the flight and informed me that there most likely wouldn’t be any today. Oh well. A trans-atlantic flight for me in coach was meant to be I guess.
Security was a breeze and I hopped on the tram to the South Satellite. Seemingly enough I have only been in the South Terminal at SEA only in the morning or late evening for my USAirways flights. I had passed the SAS Business Lounge, but never really taken much notice to it.
The SAS Lounge is in the mid-tier level between the doors for the train and the level where the gates were. I made my way to the door, rang the bell and checked in. The agent noted my UA status and bid me a fond time.
As soon as I walked around the bend, I thought I was in IKEAland. Well, heck, I guess I was going to Scandinavia. Woo-hoo for me! I made my way to the bar area where the same lady who checked me in was the acting bartender as well. She was helping other passengers so I kind of made my way behind the counter and helped myself to a bottle of Carlsberg. Along with some Chex-Mix, the first beer went down amazingly quick and easy. I obtained a second from our Ticketing Agent/Bar Matron and kicked back watching the Kings beat up on the NJ Nets by 40 points or so.
After a few more C’bergs, I had to help a fellow American out explain the playoffs of our major sports to a kind a patient Dutch gent. He was thankful of my understanding and knowledge of European sports to draw comparisons and differences to help his learning. He mentioned he was impressed w/ my knowledge and I informed him that I knew I was smart.
The flight inbound from CPH was late and this pushed our departure time back an hour or so to 8p. The announcement was made for boarding and I went to the bathroom. Upon my exit, I realized that the Lounge had completely emptied out.
I made the way up the final set of escalators (actually I took the steps), and went to S14 for a flight of many firsts: trip on an Airbus 340, trip on SAS, trip to CPH, European trip from SEA, and of course, first trip in coach (on a paid ticket) in a long, long, time.
SK938
I apologize to the PIDs (Plane Information Dorks), but I didn’t note the registration of this particular… heck it was dark and I truly didn’t care.
So I entered the jet and made my way back through some rows of Business and Economy extra to find my seat directly behind Economy Extra. It was easy to notice the difference in pitch and width of the two “Economy” seats. However after I securely placed my bag and jacket in the overhead, I was happy to notice that this middle section of row 22 offered much more room than the rest of coach (sans the Exit Row).
As promised at checkin, the seat next to me was unoccupied. The two folks sharing the middle section with me were heading to Amsterdam on the same Christmas sale fare. What they were going to do in AMS for 6 days was mind boggling to me, but I didn’t say much.
So, as I was sitting in my coach seat, I started playing around with the features of this fairly new plane. Everyone had a video monitor in the seat in front of them except for my row. Go figure. The two other row-mates are trying to figure out how to get a screen out of the seat in front of us, but I knew that would be fruitless. I was upset… would I not get a personal monitor? Then a light went off in my head (it happens every once in a while) and I looked under the seat. Voila! Video screens like the ones in Business were there. I shared my new finding with the Amsterdam bound folks and the lady told me she was impressed w/ my knowledge and I informed her that I knew I was smart.
These little features solidly impressed this new SAS passenger as we were waiting for push back. As we taxi’d out to 30R the best bell &/or whistle ever popped out of nowhere. The cabin screens changed to a video from the nose of the plane (or someplace up front and out side). Granted it was dark and all I could see were lights, but my jaw was agape w/ interest and excitement.
Take off was fine as we headed north past the Emerald City and over to Denmark.
I had borrowed Qip’s portable CD player for the trip and brought along a decent supply of music. Fatboy Slim’s ‘Big Beach Boutique II’ started me off. A beverage service came through not too much later. I asked for a C’berg and I got what I asked for. Seemingly this went down easy as well.
Dinner followed. The menu read as:
The first course is marinated salmon with egg and dill
For the Main Course we serve cheese cannelloni with spinach, mixed peppers and ProvenÇale sauce
Dessert was fresh fruit.
We had real metal utensils and the description extras got a chuckle out of me…
‘As sugar dissolves, it spreads happiness’
‘If you want salt on your meal, don’t cry- use this package’
‘Imagine if the oceans of the world contained pepper instead of salt, well… maybe not’
Interesting enough… the meal that my row received had neither marinated salmon nor cheese cannelloni. But rather some chicken dish w/ mushrooms. Ahh, I didn’t really care. I had moved on to Phish’s cover of the Beatle’s White Album. A bit after the meal was cleared, I knew that I needed to get some sleep. I took this as an opportunity to stroll through the rest of coach and to the back to the snack station where water was waiting. I poured my self a serving and drank down 3 Tylenol PMs to help in the sleeping process.
I tried watching some of the movie, but the pills worked their magic and I was out! I awoke probably 6 hours later as the breakfast cart rolled into my shin. The flight attendant apologized incessantly, but I brushed it off and tried to gain some more ZZZs.
10JAN
We were unable to make up much, if any, time on the flight as we arrived exactly one hour late into Copenhagen. I was given the information for my Estonian Air flight onboard my inbound flight, but I wandered over to the board to recheck. I went through Danish Passport Control and got a new stamp in my passport. Having about 50 minutes to kill, I ambled through the shopping at CPH, went through another Passport Control and went to A17 where my Estonian Air B737-500 (ES-ABD) was waiting to take me to Tallinn.
OV144
After a delay, boarding was announced and everybody ran to the gate… and I mean everybody. I waited through the line and made my way down the jetway. A number of Estonian and Finnish papers were offered upon boarding, but I declined. I made my way through the first class section (seating of 2x3 in 3 rows) and then another section of the same type of leather seats in the 2x3 config. SAS had gotten me and Exit Row seat in 9C. A teenager sat in 9A as the legroom was quite ample for my 6’5” frame.
The flying time of 1:20 was announced in Estonian and English and the all male cabin crew was able to offer a beverage service, a meal (of some pickled fish, some rice and veggies, and a sour tart), post drinks AND duty free in the flying time. Simply amazing, efficient, and well serviced!
We arrived into TLL to snow everywhere. During an interestingly long taxi to the gate, the captain made an announcement which caused the entire plane to gasp. This would be the first time in a series of many that I wished I could speak Estonian. The previous comments were repeated in English (as they all were) and the captain noted the temperature in Tallinn to be a warm -27°C. Whew! Good thing I didn’t pack the warm-weather emergency kit!
The same rush to get on to the plane was met again to get off. I didn’t get it, but I figured to literally go along with the flow or I may get hurt!
Immigration at Tallinn offered two lines, one for Estonian Nationals and the other for visitors. The lines were evenly split 50/50 and the wait-time was minimal. With a new Eesti stamp in my passport and a ‘Welcome to Tallinn Visitor’s Guide’, I made my way out through Customs and shicklingly found myself instantly at the curbside! This wasn’t a big airport.
I found an ATM and exchanged for EEKs and made my way to the taxi stand. Here I got my first taste of Estonian cold. Wow! I show the driver the name of the Scandic Palace Hotel and the address and we arrived there about 14 minutes later. The meter was 95EEK which seemed just a bit more than what I read it should have.
The staff at the Hotel Palace was cordial and wonderful at checkin. They were able to process my award stay w/o any problems and I had the key to room 401 in a relatively short amount of time.
I went up to check out my room and was duly unimpressed. The rest of my thoughts on the hotel can be found here:
http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/Forum57/HTML/006207.html
I asked for directions to the Old Town and was given a very handy map of the area. The girl at checkin pointed out an area where restaraunts could be found depending on my tastes of the moment. I bundled up and walked it to the area. I checked out a number of places but I ended up settling for a coffee shop, Kohvic Moskva, where a latte and a vodka tonic set me back 60EEK. I pulled out the tourist guides and started to plan my weekend.
After another latte, I made it back to the Hotel Palace around 9p or so. I decided to take off my shoes and warm up a bit. Knowing that the clubs really didn’t start getting busy until 12:30a or so I got ready and went to warmup at the VS. Bar just down the road from the hotel. A DJ was playing and I had my first ,5L of Saku for 35EEK. A second Saku followed as I had kicked back and taken in the “Estonian Scenery”. It was now a bit after 12 and I made my way down Pärnu Maantee to the Venus Club.
Now was when the -27C temp and wind got to me. Bundled up the walk only took about 5 minutes, but it was seemingly 45. I walked past the Club and the Hotel Viru knowing I had overshot my target. I turned around and saw, in red neon, Venus Club, on a building two blocks back. The cold and wind had caused my eyes to tear and the same cold and wind made those tears turn to icicles on my eye lashes. The Snot in my nose froze as well.
I made it into the club after paying a 100EEK admission and being wanded for contraband! Drinks weren’t any more expensive than where I just was.
The club was hopping with Estonians and the scenery was just lovely. The music was mostly American, with some foreign tunes I had obviously never heard before and I was unable to tell what language they were in. It was fun and culturally exciting. I left at 4:00am and a decent sized crowd was still there.
11Jan
Somehow, I awoke shortly after 9a. I tried to stay in the warm bed but I knew I had to get up and hit the city. Before dressing too warm, I made it downstairs to check out the breakfast spread that the hotel was offering. I ate some eggs, crepes and bacon along with some yogurt.
I bought a 48hour Tallinn Card for 275EEK and made my way down toward the Venus Club to pick up the City Tour Bus at the Hotel Viru. The bus promptly arrived at 10:30 and I got on. The lady informed me that I was “grossly under-dressed in my thermal pants, jeans, sweater, two hats and Patagonia R1 jacket. She said 1 hour of the tour was walking and that I would “be cold and crying to go home”. I had just walked a fair bit and thought I was prepared. She informed me that it would be warmer on Sunday and my card would still be good then. Even though I think that she just didn’t want to give the tour, I complied and walked back through the Old City. Peeking in and out of some shops, I went and hung out at a coffee shop near the City Hall for an hour or so. I popped in an out of some of the Museums gratis with my Tallinn Card and was unimpressed. It was nearing 2p when I decided to hop on the tram. The city transportation was free w/ the Card and I had just gotten on the tram to Kadriorg… wherever the heck that was. After about a 40 minute unguided, uninformative tour of the city, I was back at the Viru Gate where I got on.
I found another coffee shop in Old Town near Molly Maguires. I took the opportunity here to brush up on what else I could get with my Tallinn Card. Then it came clear and obvious… free admission to the other Tallinn club I was hoping to get to, Club Hollywood!
I wandered are some more on the hill, Toompea, and then made my way back to the hotel. It was nearing 5:30 and I was kind of tired from wandering around Tallinn ducking in and out of stores all day to stay warm. I decided to take a quick nap was in order. Around 8:30, I got dressed and made my way to Gaucho100Ks highly recommended Olde Hansa, as soon as I neared the place, I saw all the hokie people in period customers trying to draw customers into their place. When I saw this, I decided it wasn’t for me and I ducked into an Italian eatery for some chicken and pasta dish and, no surprise here, some more Saku.
I was done w/ dinner around 9:45 and I decided another Saku was in order. I stopped by the ex-pat bar Nimega on the way back to the hotel, and grabbed another ,5L of beer. After the beer, I made it back to the Hotel Palace and took a shower to get ready for a Saturday night in Tallinn.
As I mentioned earlier, the decision to go to Club Hollywood was made easier when I discovered its’ free admission w/ the Tallinn Card. Plus it was closer to the hotel, thus decreasing the walking time in the sub -20C temperatures. This club was very similar to the music played at Club Venus and the Estonian Scenery was just as enjoyable. As I was making my way back to the hotel around 4:45 I was shocked to see the amount of people in the streets.
12Jan
So today was going to be the day of Official Sightseeing in Tallinn. I somehow awoke before 9:30 again and made my way to breaky before dressing warmly for another day in Tallinn.
I trotted on down to the Hotel Viru to pickup the bus tour at 10:30. Again, it was there on time. However, Sunday brought a smiling, happy tour guide, who was happy to give a tour (it actually was warmer this day) and a married couple from outside of London.
The tour was broken up into two sections of one hour. The first would be by bus. We started out on the same path that I had visited on my Tram tour the day before. But now I learned I was in Kadriorg. We went through the wooden houses and out to the Palace designed for Peter the Great. The Tour then took us to Pirita and Marjamäe where the 1980 Olympic Events of rowing and sailing were held. Here we got a great view of the frozen waters of the Gulf of Finland. This very informative part of the tour ended with a ride around the border of the Old Town, giving me a view I had missed in my self-guided walking tour!
The tour dropped us off at the top of Toompea by the Castle and the Alexandr Nevsky Cathedral. We got the history of the buildings and made our way for a brief peek into the cathedral. We walked around some more on the hill stopping in the Dome Church, Tomkirik. We made our way around some parts of the wall and walked down through some narrow alleys to the Raekoja Plats, the Town Hall Square. Some more information was given about a number of things in the Lower Old Towne that I had walked by the previous day. The tour ended 2 hours after it started at the Viru Gate.
It was so very beneficial to learn about the city via the tour. I never would have been able to see some of the stuff the tour shows you w/o renting a car or knowing a local.
The rest of the afternoon was just a bunch of shopping and, no surprise here, drinking more Saku! I made it back to the hotel around 5:30 and took a desperately needed nap. The late nights, early mornings and walking had been tiring me.
I awoke around 8:30 and made my way back to the Town Hall Square to Molly Maguire’s. They didn’t have Saku there, so I ordered a ,5L A. Le Coq for 30EEK. I also ate dinner here, because I was comfortable. I would have remembered if it was horrible, so it was just typical bar fare… but in Estonia!
I got back to the hotel around 11:30. I asked for a 5:45a wake-up call and a 6:15 taxi to the airport. I packed, got ready for a day of travel and fell asleep.
13Jan
The alarm came promptly at 5:45. Luckily all I had to do was shower, get dressed and pack some last minute stuff and I was good to go.
The same girl, Elena, who checked me in checked me out. I don’t think she ever left the registration desk as she seemingly answered all of my inquiries through the weekend. She somehow arranged a pre-paid taxi ride for 65EEK that I paid to the hotel. The cab was waiting and I was at the Tallinn Airport in about 10 minutes.
Checkin for OV147 was a sinch as I was assigned 5A. Passport Control and Security were quick, but my carry-on had grown and a few looks were garnered.
The boarding time for the flight to CPH was scheduled for 7:10, but we didn’t start boarding until 7:40. At boarding I realized that I had been assigned one of those leather seats in the 2x3 configuration. Cool! I have no idea or clue how or why, but I took it. I sat next to an Estonian businessman who was going to Malmö for, well… business.
We waited in our seats before we departed at 8:20, one full hour after the schedule departure time. The taxi was long, but for some reason our speed was really quick. Then all of a sudden, we did a 180 and took off the exact same way we taxi’d out. That was a first for me. But I guess, with all the constant snow, they only have to keep one run/taxiway clear.
We were up and off to CPH!
Breakfast was served. We had a mushroom omelet/quiche thingy along with spinach and peach yogurt. It was tasty and a good way to start the day!
Arrival into CPH was fun. I didn’t know it was right on the water and the approach was fun to view. Again, no time was gained on our 1:20 flight. We all got off the plane, including my big carry-on and went through passport control to enter Danmark.
It was now 9am. I went to the SAS Business lounge and inquired about my seating for the SEA flight. She informed me that I was all set. I told her I was off to visit downtown Copenhagen and I wondered if there was a place to stash my bag. She said there wasn’t but wished me a fun time in the city.
The Copenhagen Trip Report (http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/Forum81/HTML/003416.html)
I got back to the SAS Lounge around 1p and made my way to the beer. Mmmm. More Carlsberg for me! I set my carry-on in the corner and began drinking. A good time was had, as I first found the internet terminals, then the massage chair room and then the rest of the lounge. I got in trouble for attempting to take my picture with the orange guy at the top of the stairs, but oh well.
SK937 to Seattle was an hour late due to mechanical so I wandered around the Terminal getting rid of my DKKs. Boarding was called and I went back to 22F. Unfortunately a couple and their infant were taking up the rest of the row. I was sensing an uncomfortable trip back to Seattle.
Luckily this didn’t happen. Shortly after takeoff a FA informed the family that they could have an entire row, so they moved back. Unfortunately, these seats didn’t have the armrests that could be moved, but it was still better than sitting shoulder to shoulder with someone. I moved over and proudly took up the entire row. With noone in the Economy Extra seats in front of me, I was able to stick my legs through there. I feel that I did a good job in finding comfort with what I had to work with!
Beverage service came around, and I grabbed a Carlsberg. Actually, this one tasted weird. It was in a white can, Yuck! But I drank it anyways.
I lost the menu, but it was a Cheese Tortellini served with a white sauce and ham chunks.
Shortly after dinner I started watching ‘Sweet Home Alabama’. I don’t know if it was the movie or my beer drinking, but I fell asleep quickly. I was in and out of sleep for the next 7 hours or so catching up on my lost sleep in Estonia.
I stayed awake for good listening to Robbie Williams’ 'Escapology' cd. We arrived at S14 at 6p sharp. Customs and Immigration was a breeze and I was out side waiting for my shuttle to the car.
All in all, Estonia was a great place with great scenery. Definitely a good place for a weekend jaunt. I have promised myself to go back… in the summertime though!
[This message has been edited by chexfan (edited 01-14-2003).]