Our journey from Tampere in Finland to Vilnius in Lithuania followed the journey of the Soviet Union, from the early plans for revolution to its grim consequences

Lenin first met Stalin in 1905 in the Tampere Workers’ Hall in Finland, the same building which now holds one of the world’s few remaining museums dedicated to the life of Vladimir Ilyich Ulyanov.

You see, the Finns have a reason to be grateful to Lenin as it was he who championed their cause for independence. At the time Finland was a province within the Russian empire and Lenin was a firebrand revolutionary plotting his next steps while staying in the relative safety of Finland. In the aftermath of the Bolshevik Revolution in 1917 Finland did indeed gain independence and throughout the 74 years of the USSR’s existence the two countries managed to maintain cordial, if occasionally tense, relations.

The Lenin Museum paints an image of Lenin as a family man, an idealist driven by a sense of destiny to create a fairer world. It’s easy to leave the museum feeling sad for a man whose dreams of a utopian society became bogged down in violence, paranoia and corruption. How did this man with a grand vision become the leader who signed the execution orders for the Russian Royal Family along with a large number of his political opponents?

Lenin Museum in Tampere – Lenin slept several times on this couch

After a brief stop in Helsinki, in which several prominent monuments remain to the 19th-century Russian Tsars, we headed over to the Baltic States. It was here that the ultimate consequences of Lenin’s revolution were clear to see.

Estonia’s Lameema National Park is a place of beauty: wild forests and a secluded coastline which attracts many visitors. That was certainly not the case during Estonia’s years as an unwilling member of the USSR, when a high barbed wire fence ran along the entire shore of the national park, preventing anyone from getting close to the sea in case they had the crazy idea of trying to escape to the other side of the Baltic Sea. Is that the revolutionary dream that Lenin had planned back in his days in Tampere?

Estonian coast at Lahemaa – out of bounds for Estonians during Soviet times

In Latvia we made a stop on the west coast and paid a visit to Karosta, an important naval base in the latter years of the Russian Empire and, during the years of post-war Soviet occupation, home to the Soviet Baltic Fleet. Now Karosta is a run-down town, a set of dreary flats overlooking the ruins of former military buildings. We visited the Karosta Military Prison, where the Soviet Union’s misbehaving troops would be sent for a sharp dose of re-education. It’s a truly grim place where prisoners suffered terribly, especially so when you think that it was their own who were dishing it out to them. The field behind the prison where executions would take place is unspeakably sad. During a tour of the prison we visited the Commandant’s room – there’s a bust of Lenin beside a bookshelf bearing every one of his numerous works in both Russian and Latvian. Was this the world he’d spoken so passionately about during his years in Finland?

Karosta Military Prison

The worst was yet to come. In a solid building in the centre of Vilnius,  the former KGB headquarters are now open to the public as a museum. The upper part of the building is the Museum of Genocide Victims, which tells the story of Lithuania’s partisans and their wartime struggles against both Nazi and Soviet rule. But it is the basement however where the worst horrors are found. Here people were brought, tortured and in many cases executed by Soviet authorities for being considered enemies of the communist regime. The long line of cell doors, some chillingly fitted with padded doors and straitjackets attached to the walls, are hard enough to see; the room where the executions took place is unbearable. It’s particularly hard to reconcile that these are not horrors from the distant past, but events which took place in the lifetime of many of the city’s elderly residents.

Straitjacket in padded cell in basement of former KGB HQ, Vilnius

Standing in the bright sunlight again in modern-day Vilnius, I can’t help but wonder: What Lenin would have thought back then in the Tampere Workers’ Hall in 1905, if he could have travelled into the future and along the same route as we’d followed? Would he have acted differently if he’d been given a glimpse of the way his revolution would turn out?

What would Lenin say now? is a post from: 501 Places

After five days in Tallinn, we are on our way home. It’s been a busy yet relaxing week, and I will leave Estonia with many happy memories (and a few pounds heavier too!)

This morning we saw a little more of the Old Town and noticed how much more activity there was as the weekend approached. Many more tourists were being led in groups through the town; mainly Russian, but we also observed the guides leading groups from Japan and Germany. Tallinn certainly took on the air of a lively A List European capital, a long way from its sleepy appearance only two days earlier. The cafes were buzzing with activity, and the shops selling more marzipan, amber and roasted nuts than during the week.

After a small garlic themed lunch (the garlic ice-cream is highly recommended) we packed our bags and slowly headed out of town. The airport is so near to the city here that it only takes 15 minutes to get here on the local bus.

So what are my thoughts on Estonia and Tallinn? Overall they are very positive. Tallinn is a truly beautiful city, and it is hard to imagine anyone visiting here and not being impressed with the incredible buildings and maze of alleyways that still hold their medieval charms. Local business owners are still very welcoming to tourists and their politeness and interest contrasts sharply with over-run cities such as Prague, where many visitors complain of rude and shabby service and of a general dislike of tourists by the locals. Tallinn’s tourism boom is still relatively young, so it has every chance to make it successful for the long term.

Visitors coming to Tallinn for a weekend will probably not see outside of the city, and that is a shame as the coast and the national parks offer another side to Estonia; wild, lonely and beautiful. If I am recommending a visit to Estonia for friends and family (and I certainly will) I will encourage them to stay here for several days and experience life in Estonia beyond the capital.

Spending a week here we met universal politeness and hospitality from the Estonians we met. The streets felt safe to wander, driving standards are among the more considerate in Europe, and we took a while to get used to waiting for the green man on pedestrian crossings, coming from a country where jay-walking is the norm.

It’s also been a pleasure blogging at the end of each day and putting down my thoughts and experiences while they have been fresh. While the internet connection and this netbook have combined to give a reliable if slow access to the net, I will look forward to getting home and reading what I have written!

Thanks to www.europenethotels.com and the Tallinn City Tourist Office for their partnership and support of Estonia Week on 501 Places.

Estonia Week on 501 Places – reflections from the departure gate is a post from: 501 Places

It’s hard to beat a whole day spent surrounded by beautiful and varied landscapes, finding some great short hikes to do, and hardly meeting another person for the whole time in the park.

We had set off from Tallinn in our rental car (very expensive compared to UK/US prices: around £55 for the smallest car). Lahemaa NP is less than an hour’s drive away, and soon we were getting maps and information from a kind and very enthusiastic lady in the park’s visitor centre. Sensing we would be one of her only visitors of the day, she ushered us into the impressive auditorium and set up a 17 minute slide show. It was interesting but at the same time was standing between us and the outdoors we had come to see. We didn’t have the heart to step out early though, so we dutifully watched the full film.

Soon enough we were walking, and during the day we completed three walks, each around 5-7km in distance. One was set in woodland, one was coastal and one involved a march through wetlands to a high watchtower. Lahemaa has many highlights; the giant rocks (erratic boulders), some bigger than a house, brought over by glaciers from Scandinavia; diverse and thriving native forests with the biggest variety of mushrooms I’ve ever seen; and a coastline whose tranquil beauty was hidden from the local people during Soviet rule, when a high barbed wire fence ensured the beaches would not be used as an escape route.

And here’s my issue. Lahemaa is a very impressive park (it was the first designated national park of the USSR) and no doubt receives many Estonian visitors in the short summer season. I would recommend a visit to anyone who is in Tallinn for more than 2 days. There is so much to see and enjoy, and we didn’t even get the chance to explore any of the newly restored mansion houses within the park. And yet if you are driving to the park, there is no signage to help you find it. Far lesser parks in the UK and elsewhere would have a brown sign every mile from 20 miles out. Here, nothing. It’s either a total indifference to promoting this special place as an attraction, or another example of the Estonian trait of under-statement and modesty. Either way, the weather was perfect and we had the park to ourselves.

Another such example is the highly impressive Jagala waterfalls. More spectacular than many famous falls in Europe (and we caught them at a dry time) and yet absolutely no signs to point you there. Nothing off the motorway, nothing from the nearest  village 1km away, and only a small interpretative board when we pulled up in a small car park. It doesn’t even get a mention in Lonely Planet. And yet it is probably one of the single most impressive sights in Estonia. Whoever’s job it is to promote these attractions to an international audience probably has a clever plan somewhere, but it is beyond my understanding. We were alone at this amazing place, free to take pictures, climb under the waterfall, all with no-one else in sight. Come on Estonia, you have the special places to attract so many people to visit the great outdoors here. Why are you keeping it secret and bringing in the party gangs instead?

The evening consisted of more Estonian food and yet more great coffee and cakes to follow. Getting home tomorrow night it will be good to get back to eating normal size meals again. But for now, there is one place I want to try for lunch tomorrow, and it is only for their dessert speciality – garlic ice-cream!

I have to say it has also been great to have an apartment to call home for the last week. The only drawback (lack of maid service) is also a major benefit, in that we have been able to treat the place as our own and come and go as we please, without worrying about what is left out and what needs to be packed away. With serviced apartments now as easy to book as hotels online, it is a great option for a city break if you don’t want to have all the extras that come with a hotel (and most of which you pay for whether you use them or not).

I was hosted by www.europenethotels.com.

Estonia Week on 501 Places No.5: Lahemaa National Park, and what I don’t get about Estonian tourism is a post from: 501 Places

We finally dedicated a full day to see Tallinn today, and use our Tallinn Cards (24 hours of included sights and activities within Tallinn). Having stayed in the city, we have been waiting for the right day to visit. On Monday many of the museums are closed, and on Tuesday we had ventured out to the coast, so today was the day.

The first thing we wanted to do was to take the bike tour of the city. Having arrived at City Bike, we chose a cycle and set off in a very small group (a guide and two Belgian girls). Apparently they frequently take out groups of 30+ in the summer, but as we learned yet again, we had arrived off-season. As a pure coincidence, we took exactly the same route on our cycle tour, through Kadriorg Park, through the Song Grounds and on to Pirita Beach, that we had walked on Monday.

Despite this it was a really enjoyable ride. In any case, the view is very different on a bike and on foot, and of course we had a local guide who told us about places we had barely noticed before. For example, we learned that Tallinn had hosted the sailing part of the Moscow Olympics in 1980 (there are still relics of the Olympics around the marina if you know where to look). We also heard a fascinating account of the last days of the Soviet era in Estonia, when the independence movement grew into an unstoppable mass.

Dropping the bikes off, we even had a short ride on a Conference Bike (a 7 seater where the cyclists face each other in a circle while pedalling) before heading out for an afternoon of sight-seeing.

Having the Tallinn Card we ended up visiting a lot of places we wouldn’t otherwise have gone to; small museums that might only take 10-15 minutes to visit and that would normally be overlooked, or a little climb on the city wall. In this way we got good value from the card. To make the Tallinn card work for you it is important to ensure you do at least one “big ticket” item: a bike hire, a discounted car rental, a Segway ride or an out-of-town day tour with the generous discounts on offer. I have to say it was great to be able to visit so many places in such a short time and not dip into our wallets at each point!

There were two highlights for me: one was climbing the tower of St Olav’s church to enjoy fabulous views over the Old Town and the harbour, and the other was the Museum of Occupation. This fascinating place described in excellent and graphic detail the hardships and injustices suffered by this tiny nation at the hands of the Soviet Union between 1940 and 1991, and a short but equally horrific period of German occupation during the war. It was sobering to hear again the inhumanities that people heaped on one another, yet at the same time inspiring to see how the spirit of the Estonians was not crushed despite the terrors they faced. There were also many interesting artefacts from the Soviet era, including telephone boxes, old cars and the Lenin statues that would have been pulled down at the first opportunity after independence.

We had wandered past Olde Hansa several times, and tonight was the night we finally paid a visit. A Tallinn institution that has been described as unmissable, a tourist trap but one where Estonians bring their guests, this restaurant serves up food according to researched recipes from Medieval times, with waitresses dressed in olde worlde costumes to match.

It did not disappoint, and the herb beer was different to anything I had tried before (although I don’t know if I would have another one). The portions were good without being too big, and the ambiance was just right. I will happily join in the recommendation of this place.

Being in Tallinn in mid-week in September, it’s easy to imagine this place as being still largely undiscovered. It’s a beautiful city, and there are so few visitors even in the main attractions that it is a real pleasure to have the space to explore (although it is frustrating that one or two activities have already scaled back their operations at the end of the summer). But it is clear that the place gets busy at weekends (Tallinn would not have so many clubs and bars if this was as busy as it got!) and I think we have struck lucky for our arrival, given that neither of us will choose to be in crowded places.

We have still left a little of the Old Town to explore on Friday before we leave, while tomorrow we have booked a hire car and are heading to Lahemaa National Park, about which we have heard so much. And we hope to get some decent hiking done to start to compensate for all these delicious cakes we have enjoyed.

I am grateful to www.europenethotels.com and the Tallinn City Tourist Office for their partnership and support of Estonia Week on 501 Places

Estonia Week on 501 Places No.4: A proper look at Tallinn is a post from: 501 Places

Our third night in Tallinn, and we are yet to explore the Old City in daylight! That is the plan for tomorrow, but today we took the chance to venture out of town, 100km out to be precise, to a small coastal spa town of Haapsalu.

Once we finally found the right bus station (how often do we make that mistake?) we bought our ticket for the bus to Haapsalu, a two hour trip west of Tallinn. An unremarkble journey across flat countryside (although I did almost manage to knock myself out on the TV which was positioned at just the right place for a 6ft 2in person coming from the loo- the swelling is coming along nicely…)

Haapsalu is a sleepy town of around 12,000 inhabitants. Known as a spa town for the healing properties of the local mud, the lakeside houses were once the prized dachas of the Soviet elite. Now they are likely to be inhabited by retired Finns, lured to the town by the cheap cost of living as much as the magic mud.

Haapsalu is dominated by its episcopal castle, and although the 13th century cathedral was closed the castle grounds were free for all to wander around and explore. There was even a kids’ playground within the castle walls, as well as a giant chess set on wheels!

We took the path along the coast and ventured across a barricade into what turned out to be a fascinating out-of-bounds area on a headland. Now full of derelict buildings, we learned later that this entire corner of the town had been a restricted Soviet military zone that had been destroyed as the Russians left and was now left to ruin, despite talk of redevelopment for luxury seaside housing.

Venturing back into town we came across an old man, probably in his late 70s, dressed in a very shabby way and with long blond bedraggled hair. He stopped us with a few words of German, and soon we were conversing, with me trying desperately to remember the little German I knew. I let him talk, and once we had worked out that he had an aunt in Halifax in Yorkshire, he told us of his life in Haapsalu, and specifically during the war.

As half Swede and half German, he recalled how most of his family, as well as many local people, reacted as the Soviets advanced into Estonia. Everyone who could do so got into a boat, and he recalled the harbour full of small boats leaving Estonia to get away from the Russian army. Fearing they would end up in Siberia or worse, they sailed for Sweden, Germany, or in his aunt’s case, England. Much of the Estonian population left suddenly at this time.

He was later educated under the Russian system, and now despite his hobo-like appearance speaks six languages (but not English) and lives exactly where he had once been raised before the war. It was great to linger and chat with him, and I regret not taking his picture, although this blog will help me to keep a record of our conversation.

We left Haapsalu happy to have visited this pretty little spot. As the owner of a cafe told us, and like many equivalent places around the world, it is very appealing to older people because nothing ever happens there. For the same reason the young people of the town get out at the first opportunity. Speaking of Estonian cafes, much as I am enjoying the fantastic cakes on offer, we have also heard more 1980s Brit and American soft rock classics than we have for many years – is anything else ever played on Estonian radio?

Back in town tonight, we visited Elevant, an Estonian Indian restaurant. We had a korma and a regular curry, the only twist being the meat, which was wild boar and moose. Very tasty and high quality food and service, with a price tag to match. Yet again we planned on having a cake and coffee in a cafe after dinner, and yet again we were foiled by over-eating. Tomorrow maybe?

Having seen so many teasing glimpses of the Old Town at night I am excited to be finally exploring it fully tomorrow. We have a Tallinn 24 card, which includes access to all museums in town and a number of tours, so we will be making sure we get our money’s worth! A full report on Tallinn will follow…

I am grateful to www.europenethotels.com and the Tallinn City Tourist Office for their partnership and support of Estonia Week on 501 Places

Estonia Week on 501 Places No.3: A trip to Haapsalu and an old man’s memories is a post from: 501 Places

Everything in Tallinn is close; most things are certainly within walking distance. This is a view from Pirita Beach, apparently popular in the summer but today almost deserted, looking back towards the Old Town, little over an hour’s walk away.

Having learned that most museums in Tallinn are closed on Mondays, we decided to take a long walk along the coast today. Besides, with me still nursing the cold I had picked up just before we left I didn’t fancy spending the day getting dirty looks from people every time I sneezed (you should have seen the folk on the plane yesterday – I think they could almost feel the H1N1 virus leaping over my seat and onto their flesh when I failed to suppress a small sneeze (it seems it is not permissible to have a cold in 2009).

We headed up the coast from the Old Town, through parkland and along a long promenade. Those who have seen my previous posts will be aware of my fascination with public art, and Tallinn is rich with examples of  statues, war memorials, abstract shapes and the downright weird. Some hail from the Soviet era, although many of the strangest are from the last decade. Here is one of my favourites.

The beach itself is a delightful spot. A busy and impressive marina is soon left behind for quiet woodland, before emerging on a long sandy stretch of beach. We wandered along here for a while before stopping at a very nice cafe for a spot of lunch and a rest before the walk back. There were a few people on the beach; a young group of girls doing some aerobics, a few joggers and a scattering of others who, like us, were wrapped up against the stiff breeze and talking a stroll in the sun. It was a very pleasant place to pass an hour or so, but we were left to wonder how it would look when it’s busy, and left to believe that it can actually be warm enough here to take a dip.

The walk back was long but fascinating. We visited the giant Song Festival Grounds, built by the Soviets and then a site for the independence protests that took place in the 1980s. This was a great place to sit and enjoy the classical music coming from a musical bench (which was a first for us).

We passed both old 1960s style Soviet built appartment blocks and high end luxury houses, built in recent years and homes that must have cost millions of euros to build. The rich-poor divide is clearly alive and well here as it is elsewhere. Our contact with local folks is limited to date but on passive observation it is easy to concur with others who have pointed out the status of  the large Russian minority as a poorer part of Estonian society.

It was with some pleasure therefore that we experienced Russian culture at its most proud this evening with a meal in the well-known Russian restaurant, Troika. Recommended to us by both an Estonian friend and our Lonely Planet, it did not disappoint. We passed on the black caviar (over 200 euros a go!) and the bear stroganoff (dependent on success of the hunt, as it says on the menu) and settled for some more mainstream dishes.

It was certainly a filling meal, so much so that I had passed up the chance to have a second cake of the day, preferring instead a good stroll around the Old Town after dinner to settle the stomach.

Tallinn is the destination of choice for an increasing number of stag and hen parties from the UK, and it’s easy to see why. Strip joints, sex shops and massage parlours advertise their wares freely in between the cafes and bars of the Old Town. Clearly there is a balance to be struck between making the most of the income generated from these high spending large groups, and not destroying the romantic mystical atmosphere that the old buildings eminate. I hope the city finds it and doesn’t sell its soul too far to the boozy gangs.

Tomorrow is hopefully a day trip out of the city to the west coast, depending on getting a bus in the morning. For now I am off to nurse this man flu of mine…

I am grateful to www.europenethotels.com and the Tallinn City Tourist Office for their partnership and support of Estonia Week on 501 Places

Estonia Week on 501 Places – The beach off-season, and a Russian feast is a post from: 501 Places

One of the nice things of writing on the road is that you can capture your feelings, your impressions and your experiences as they happen. They are not altered by subsequent events; events which may confirm, contradict or deem irrelevant that which you noted at the time.

Arriving in Tallinn, my initial impressions were a feeling of having arrived in Scandinavia. The people on our Easyjet flight, the clean wooden decor of the airport and the sense of order and calm that was evident as we collected our bags and made our way out.

We had booked an apartment in the old city with Tallinn Apartments, and they had arranged a driver to collect us and take us into the city. It’s one of those cities where the airport is practically in the city, which means a thankfully short ride into town. I must learn some words of Estonian. He was a Russian so I could at least thank him in his language, although I understand it’s best not to dive in with Russian here, as history is still a bit too recent and resentment still raw with many people. I will try to find out more about this.

A young girl showed us into our apartment, which looks as though it will make a comfortable home for the next week (we stayed a year in NYC in an apartment that was smaller than this one!). And given the chilly evening I am pleased to have worked out how to max the heating. Oh, and there is free wi-fi, which was a must for my project.

We had a few moments to stroll around the Old Town before it got dark, and being a Sunday night the town seemed very quiet. We found an Estonian restaurant which was very touristy but served up some decent home-style cuisine. I went for the pigs’ ears and fried liver, both nicer than they sound, although I will desist from pigs’ ears in the future, happy to have tried them once. A visit to a coffee bar on our way back and we are now relaxing in a warm apartment, ready to hit the town properly in the morning.

The people we have met so far have displayed that reserved politeness and friendliness that is a trait of many northern countries. I have encountered a similar manner in the Nordic countries and even in the Scottish Islands. It is a sense of hospitality that is very comfortable for the visitor to enjoy. I look forward to speaking more with people in the next few days. The city itself is beautiful, with coloured and ornate facades around every corner. It is quite and peaceful, but I am only too aware that it is probably very different when the British stag and hen parties descend. Thank goodness we are not here on a Friday or Saturday.

Next post on 501 Places Estonia week tomorrow.

I am grateful to Tallinn Apartments for their partnership and support of Estonia Week on 501 Places

Estonia Week on 501 Places – Finding our bearings, and a plate of pigs’ ears is a post from: 501 Places