Estonia

Wednesday, September 15, 2004

Had a brief layover in Prague… ...Czech Republic, I think. All I know is that it's cool, it's rained here, the souvenir t-shirts all have to do with drinking beer, and everyone talks like Ahnold, but the computers in the Air Frnace lounge have fast connections & US keyboards!

Saw a great sign as I entered the international departures area at the Joburg airport. It said "enter at own risk"! (Have I already mentioned this? Jet lag is a worrisome thing) Anyhow, I got a picture and I'll post it when I can.

Something that happened on the flights out of Cairo and Joburg that I've heard about, but have not experienced up to now, is the spraying of insecticides on board. After all the people have gotten on. They announce it, then the stewards and stewardesses zip up and down the aisles holding these small aerosol containers that are set to go off like bug bombs. They claim it's safe and approved by somebody--indeed, it's not very stinky--but I have to think that either it's so weak as to be ineffective, or all those staff members spraying the stuff are going to be filing some major lawsuits in a few years. Likely, it just helps to breed stronger bugs.

On to Tallinn in an hour and a half, then about two weeks without a flight. Looking back over my Lonely Planet guide, though, indicates some pretty long rail journeys ahead. I suspect the distance is less than I covered in Japan or Australia, but the speed will be considerably less. It also appears, from the book, that there could be a snag getting from Vilnius to Krakow. I'll start looking into that now with my friend in Tallinn, and see what can be worked out. I may choose to buy a flight if I have to.

Tallinn looks great, with it's wonderful old town. It will be even better having someone there to help show me around a bit.


Thursday, September 16, 2004

Arrived in Tallinn about 2:30 in the afternoon. Not much to customs, but they did have a nice black dog walking around sniffing suitcases at baggage claim. Looking for illicit doggie treats, no doubt. My friend Steven met me in front of the airport in his new Honda Jazz—something we don’t get in the US. A smallish wagon, probably Civic based. Steven dropped me off at my hotel, I grabbed a shower, and walked around the old town a bit.

Wow! Big stone walls, red tile roofed towers, medieval churches. I visited the newer—to Tallinn—Alexander Nevsky cathedral, a Russian Orthodox church.

Steven picked me up at 6:30 PM, and drove me around the outskirts of Tallinn to see more sights. Especially interesting was the “singing dome”, where hundreds of thousands of Estonians gathered, singing, to demand their freedom from the USSR, which was eventually won. I also saw some of the Soviet-era housing, a very gray monolithic contrast to the beauty of old town. We swung on by the beach at the Baltic Sea and the Bay of Finland, and watched the sunset over the shipyards and old Tallinn.

We found supper at a traditional restaurant, where Steven’s brother Ando joined us. He brought me a big box of Estonian chocolates as a thank you for showing him around the southwest several years ago. My meal was a spicy meatloaf with porridge (what we would call red-eye gravy back home), potatoes and beets. My appetizer was meat jelly (no comment) while Steven got smoked herring.

Had a great night’s sleep at the hotel, and wandered downstairs for breakfast. Big vaulted stone and brick ceiling and archways supporting the old restored building above. Lots of the expected foods, plus one not expected: caviar (also had this on the Czech Air flight in—these guys know how to eat!).

Spent the morning chasing down my ferry ticket to Helsinki for today, and also the bus ticket to Riga. Explored the Vilnius—Krakow connection, and it looks like flying will be the best bet if I want any time in Krakow. Train ride could total 16 hours.

Finally toured more of old Tallinn after a quick lunch in a bakery (it’s my vacation, I’ll eat what I want). It was rainy, so I ducked into churches and museums in between drops. Organists were practicing in several of the churches, including St Olev’s, whose steeple was the tallest structure in the world for several hundred years.

Tallinn has been an important port city for several hundred years, and its political commitment, shall we say, has bounced around because of that. In between periods of independence for the Estonian people, they have been ruled by Sweden, Lithuania and Russia, among others. Their port would not freeze in the winter, where St Petersburg’s would. Most recently, they fell to Russia in 1944 at the end of the second world war, and gained their independence in 1991. They have made great strides since then.

As I write this, I’m logged on to the hotel’s wireless at about $2.00 an hour. It let me upload pictures, but it won’t let me load the Java software to get them on the website—aarrrggh! So, maybe later this morning before the ferry, I can do it standing up from their free computer in the lobby.

I have an appointment in an hour with the dean of the United Methodist seminary here in Tallinn. I have passed by it a couple of times, and will get pictures today. They serve, I believe, all of eastern Europe and Russia. It will be good to learn more about what they are doing.

Then, after lunch, Ando picks me up for the ferry to Helsinki. Until later,

Friday morning, September 17

Tallin has a number of fine museums, including a city art gallery, a museum portraying life in Tallinn leading up to and including the 20th century (the Soviet-era kitchen was perhaps the most interesting display), and the maritime museum ( a plaque outside and display inside memorializes the sinking of the Estonia, a ferry to Helsinki like the one I’ll ride today; several hundred lives were lost).

The cathedrals are astounding. St Olev’s , whose tower was once the tallest structure in the world, had an austere white stucco interior that inspired with it’s soaring interior heights; the Virgin Mary Cathedral held many large carved wooden plaques that seemed to be coats of arms; the Holy Spirit Cathedral and Alexander Nevsky (both orthodox, I think) were the most ornate, with many icons, gold, and other shiny stuff. Each of these were topped with a high dome, painted blue inside with gold gilt stars looking down. The pews in all the cathedrals were short of seat, tall backs set at 90 degree angles from the seats—no sleeping in these pews!

The streets of the old town are cobbled, some leading to dead ends, some with tourist shops and inns, many with tempting restaurants. Buildings range from freshly restored and painted to barely standing; an area near my hotel has been preserved to show aerial bomb damage from 1941. A decrepit building across from St Olev’s indicated that it would be turned into luxury apartments by summer, 2005—I believe it will happen.

I visited the Baltic Methodist Seminary this morning, where I was shown around by the dean, Andros Norak. The seminary has been in existence for 10 years, has about 140 students, and serves Russia and the Baltic states. Their first graduating class was the largest so far, made up of the many lay ministers that had come for formal training. Students pay about 10% of their fees, the remaining is supported through donations. About $1500 would cover a student for a year, an investment that many of us should consider making.

The building is new and beautiful, but is not yet completely furnished, again a need for funding. It is shared with the Tallinna Metodisti Kirik (Tallinn Methodist Church), a congregation of about 700, the largest of the 20 some-odd churches in Estonia. Andros pointed out the spot where the organ will go; he thinks at the current rate of donations, it will take 100 years to purchase.

The building includes a cafeteria, classrooms, a computer room, a library, and dorm rooms. The teacher’s office area is a series of desks in one large room. I stopped in one class, and met the youth leader for the Tallinn church.

Finally got pictures uploaded from the computer in the lobby of my hotel, so things on the web page are up-to-date for now. Typing this on my laptop to upload later, I’m starting to get confused about key location, thanks to the numerous variations from the international keyboards I’ve been using. I can’t wait to get behind the wheel of a car after two months of switching which direction traffic flows…