The sunrise in Estonia is not a joke. At 4:30am I opened my eyes and with great venom and bewilderment wondered why I was awake yet so tired. Oh it’s sunrise at 4:30am and the sun is at power level noon so it feels much later then it actually is. Eventually I got back to sleep for an hour and then got dressed. I wasn’t sure when Tonis would be around today or really what we would be doing and I didn’t feel like laying around doing nothing today and my stomach was grumbling so I put on my shoes and went for a wander. Unsure of where to go I started towards the nearby coffee shop but then thought that’s dumb there’s other shops I haven’t been to before that I can try so I turned around and headed to old town. By the time I was crossing the street Tonis let me know what time we would be meeting up and said he would meet me wherever I ended up. I wandered through old town and revisited the areas that Tonis and Martin had brought me to on my last visit. This time there were about a dozen walking tours going on as well and I later learned that a cruise ship was in town and that’s where most of the tourists came from. I just barely stayed ahead of the hoards of older tourists spending money on everything they saw and ogling each souvenir shop they passed. When I made the trek to the second scenic outlook I heard from Tonis again with a location (the Fotografiske museum) and a time (in 40min). I felt my stomach rumble again and went looking for a cafe. It turned out to be right next to where I was standing (except under ground and beyond a small narrow staircase) but I didn’t realize that until I had gotten a few blocks away and rechecked my map. The cafe looked to be hewn out of the mountain itself. I picked up a latte (that was made as a cappuccino) and a croissant then made my descent on the switch backing stairs that lead from the outlook down to the park. Through the park, an underground walkway, and then I found myself at a farmers market. There were so many fruits and a few vegetables. I saw the wild blueberries that Tõnis had fed me the day before, after galloping into the forest like the long legged mountain goat that he is, as well as raspberries, cherries, all kinds of currants and some veggies I didn’t even recognize. I bought a container of raspberries and munched on them as I continued my walk towards the museum. There were all sorts of unique shops in the mall/marketplace and when I reached the other end it was a court full of food trucks. I kept going and saw a restaurant in an old train, a cafe made of shipping containers, and tons of amazing graffiti. I thought to myself why haven’t I been here before, and again later learned that I had on my mini bar crawl with Tõnis last, visit but it was so dark then and so light now that even thought it felt familiar it was still totally new. I found a great bench to sit on and enjoy the sun while I waited for Tõnis. About 30min I opened my eyes and saw a familiar face followed by another - Martin was joining the fun!
The three of us entered the museum and the boys immediately started debating in Estonian. I took the moment to peruse the gift shop. When they finally had an agreement on what we were doing I got handed a ticket barcode and followed them up the stairs to the first exhibit, Jimmy Nelson “Homage to Humanity.”
The exhibit was amazing. This guy traveled all over taking images of tribe members, all of which are endangered from disappearing all together. I was excited to see the aboriginal tribe near Broome, AU as well as tribes from Peru, Argentina, and Mexico. I wondered to myself why Honduras didn’t make the cut? I know from my aunt that there are at least a dozen Indian languages still spoken in Honduras and that some of them only have a handful of speaking members left. The coolest part of the exhibit however were the videos associated with the images. They were all behind the scenes and about the author meeting the people. I had trouble viewing them since the WiFi was spotty but some of them were interesting.
Once we finished soaking in the unique cultures of the world it was up another couple flights of stairs to a different exhibit from a photographer. Just as we were turning the first corner a message came on over the loud speakers and shocked me. It was only a moment later that the siren could be heard. Tõnis and Martin translated for me and it turned out to be a fire alarm. The boys asked if I wanted anything to eat from the cafe on the ground floor as soon as we were clear of the hordes of people coming down the stairs behind us. I decided to forgo the snack but got a matcha latte. Martin got a raspberry tart and Tõnis got an almond croissant which must have been good because he literally licked the plate clean. I couldn’t bear the thought of walking all the way back up the stairs again to the third floor so I called the elevator and told the boys I wasn’t walking up again.
The other exhibits were solid. One was like watching both a western themed movie of the struggle to be single/solo and the other was a bunch of cool looking landscape photos in black and white. All cultured up we headed across the road for some gourmet organic local Estonian ice cream. I got the black white chocolate one just because it was black colored. We kept on walking and backtracking my steps to the market place. I thought at first we would walk the entire way but after backtracking our way through the market place to where I had entered from the underground tunnel and instead the boys announced they had an idea for lunch and we got in the queue for the tram.
Lunch was in a cafe in a very residential yet old neighborhood. It felt like sitting in someone’s backyard and eating lunch, a perfect pair to go with the beautiful bright and hot sun bearing down. I had a delicious shrimp wonton dish and a beer with a giant shark on it. Kyto, Martin’s younger brother, was on his way as well and I got to chuckle at Martin trying to give Kyto directions to the cafe since he doesn’t have a smartphone. I couldn’t believe how much older he had gotten from the last time I saw him while he was still a little kid in America. Now he’s a grown pre-teen out there sailing boats on his own and playing Fortnite.
Well fed on more then just sugar we walked down to the park where Kyto and Martin said their farewells. They were headed to Tartu tonight and the plan is to join them tomorrow for my last full day in Estonia. Alone again Tõnis and I just kept walking and walking through all the different parks, pointing out the different buildings and landmarks.
The next museum was Estonian art and for the most part was also solid. There were so many Russian pieces and even a whole exhibit about an avant guard artist who specialized in propaganda posters. They were really good posters. As we traversed the halls of the museum I found myself at times laughing so hard at some of the works that I thought for sure security would ask me to leave. We ended the museum on a high note with a special exhibition from Tommy Cash, an Estonian artist, and a Californian artist. Their exhibit was irreverent enough to be good. The pieces were at times hysterical, like the mannequins positioned to mimic an Estonian traditional contest of wife carrying and a video memeing traditional art pieces with animation and their faces painted over the other works, and some that were thought provoking like a painting of one of the artists as a pregnant woman.
Our next stop on the road to 20k steps was the Presidential palace/pink house and the old Kong’s summer home. Once the walking group of tourists descended upon our peaceful spot we left and went to the Japanese garden which is still a work in progress but was very peaceful. After the garden we sat on a bench for a bit so Tõnis could figure out what to do next while he complained his knees hurt and we checked how many steps we took for the day. He figured out a bus stop we could take and soon enough we were off again walking through the park. We reached the other end and stopped off at a hotel but left soon afterwards finding no draft beers available. Back on the road again we kept walking and Tõnis brought me to the great song and dance festival grounds. It was absolutely amazing the size and potential the space has. The dome works so well I could hear someone’s conversation when they were so far away sitting on the bleachers underneath the band shell. Walking through the space and then out the other side we hit a snag. A closed fence preventing our exit. I watched the man in front of us hop the fence as we continued walking and slowed my pace. I was in no condition to attempt such a feat. Thankfully I had a smart and very tall companion who figured out (and could reach) the latch on the other side and unhook it so we could open the fence and walk through. On the other side was the city urban camp grounds with a dozen or so camper vans and RVs. Finally our journey brought us to another restaurant and even though they didn’t have draft beers either we stayed because the view of the sun and ocean were great. I was grateful for the break again and the glass of water and cold beer. Tõnis made arrangements for dinner where we’d be joined by his wife Meri. I was more then happy to welcome another family member to our band of merriment, it makes it feel even more like being home. When we were ready to continue our trek across Tallinn Tõnis called a waiter to bring the bill. The Russian man who brought it over was quite good looking and since he was off in his own world and Tõnis was futzing around with his wallet and paying I took the chance to admire the waiter. Of course my companion noticed and I spent the rest of the night getting poked for it as his story of me ogling the waiter only grew more elaborate and hyperbolic as he retold it.
Thankfully we didn’t have to walk to dinner which was close to the starting point. We hopped a bus then a tram and thankfully the tram stop was only a few streets away and the restaurant had a wide variety of draft beers. It was a great ending to a long walk. Once Meri joined the three of us told stories and discussed travel and food. I ate amazing lamb dumplings in a broth and wondered why no one had thought enough to put lamb in a wonton wrapper and feed it to me before. The family discussed the wide uses for sour cream as I turned away using it on my food. I had a great stew and plenty of delicious beers and little donut hole zeppolli things in a raspberry dipping sauce. While it was a little different then the other meals I’ve had with Tõnis having a third person there it was still a wonderful experience. We made plans for the next day’s activity and my Estonian friends quickly convinced me that my next trip here not only needs to be soon but needs to be longer and that I’ll need to find a way to work remote from here so that they can show me around more parts of Estonia and I can really immerse myself in some of the more intense experiences like living on one of the islands. Honestly, you don’t have to ask me twice. I already can’t wait to come back and will have hard decisions to make in the future as to whether I use my time to hang out in the home style living of Melbourne or the home style living of Estonia.
For now I will simply enjoy the moments and look towards the next adventure of a road trip to Tartu.
Location:Tatari,Tallinn,Estonia
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