Talinn

I meant to go out last night, I really did. Still, I just couldn't put off finishing East of Eden. It's fantastic, and I'm just giving it some time to sink in before I declare it my favorite book.

Still, I wish I had known last night that today is some Estonian holiday, meaning I now have plenty of time to read. If it were a festival, things would be bangin', but a holiday just means everything is closed. It's a shame, because I was really excited yesterday to see all the great museums. I only made it to the Mine (boat-go-boom mines) Museum, Maritime Museum, and a few of the churches yesterday. So far today, it's been a lot of hiking around the green parts.

I still can't decide whether it seems a more authentic Old Town than others, or more Disney-like. The architecture and churches seem to be older, but there are busloads of retired German dentists arriving every few minutes. Also, a great number of locals have decided to dress in medieval garb while selling postcards or trinkets, which certainly lends a Mickey-Mouse touch.

On that note, yesterday I lunched at 'Olde Hansa', a sort of local Estonian 'Medieval Times', only the servers didn't have New Jersey accents. It was, in all truth, great fun, and it was neat to much on Juniper-flavored beef, orange tongue jelly, French Royal pate, onion jam, quail eggs, herb and nut bread, Hansa house smoked herring, and oven baked herb & juniper cheese. Washed this down with a pint of dark honey beer, joked with the waitstaff for a while, and had a very pleasant time. A bit expensive, but that held me over until brunch today, so it worked out. Perhaps the most famous, most touristy, and most enjoyable fare in the Baltics.

Talinn is however, really, really crowded. I mentioned this earlier, but I didn't mention that all the hostels are booked for about a week. Last night, I managed to find an old farmhouse hostel that still smells like pigs (or some livestock, but something worse than the usual backpacker stench), though it's filled up for tonight. When I got in at 1am Friday, I searched for a place for a few hours before finally finding a cozy bench in the park, and I'm thinking this also may be tonight's accommodation. I can swallow my pride, and this isn't the first time I've been glad to have a sleeping bag. Ferry to Helsinki tomorrow morning at seven, which is a bit early, but it was also half the cost of the next cheapest boat.

I haven't shaved for three days now, so I'm pretty stubbly, but we'll see how things develop. I also bought two more Lonely Planets and a self-study language book yesterday, which I won't say more about. All you lovers of mystery novels, or anyone looking for a hint as to my itinerary, can put the clues together.

I think a little hike by the coast would be nice now. Maybe I'll bust out the Mark Twain.