Rainy rainy rainy days

Safe and sound in Tallinn, Estonia, the first stop on my solo trip! Last post (which I wrote on my flight from Copenhagen to Riga, en route to Tallinn) I said I was a little nervous and lonely, but as soon as I landed in Tallinn, all I could think was "this is it! This is where my trip starts!" and all I felt was excitement (though I'm missing my travel buddy cum photographer!!). Yesterday I decided to walk from the airport to the hostel, because I knew it wasn't too far away. I walked down a really busy road for a while, but just as I was thinking it might not be designed for pedestrian traffic, it became a more residential area and it was fine. It was a slightly longer walk than I though: it took about 45 minutes, carrying my backpack and baking in hot, hot sun, but I made it. The hostel is so cute: a little wooden building that looks like a ski lodge from the outside, but it's in kind of a weird area; I guess it's the middle of the city, with steel and glass office buildings all around it, and at first I was thinking that it looked like just a city. I checked in, then spent the afternoon in Old Town. It was very touristy, and I hated feeling like a tourist (I know I am one) and like everyone I passed on the street who saw me pull out a map was judging and loathing my tourist self (I live in a pretty highly touristed city, and I know my reaction to people who don't know where they are going is not positive). So with only a few furtive glances at my map (which I folded up as small as I could possibly get it) I made it to the medieval gates, which were very cool, and started strolling the cobblestone streets, in the general direction of town square. There were a lot of restaurants where the servers were dressed in traditional clothing (I assume, but I don't really know what traditional Estonian clothes look like) and serving people things like elk soup. Also lots of shops selling handicrafts, warm socks (anyone who saw my suitcase on the way home from Tajikistan knows those are my weakness, but I resisted), and amber jewelry. The town square was packed! There was a performance of traditional Estonian music and dancing (again, just a guess) going on, and everyone and their mother had showed up to watch. Luckily, it started to drizzle, which scared all but the most diligent tourists (really just me) away so for most of the afternoon I was the only one around. I hit most of the major sights, except the pharmacy because it was closed until the 16th. The pharmacy actually sounds really cool and I am disappointed I didn't get to go: it is the original apothecary from the 13th century that is still functional (except right now, apparently) and sells Advil and also frog eyes in jars, and glasses of wine. I think I read that it's the oldest running pharmacy in the world. The best thing I did was climb the tower of St. Olav's Church. If you have the chance to visit Tallinn, don't skimp: shell out the 2 euros and go up to the top. It is by law the tallest building in Tallinn and has the most incredible views of Old Town, the rest of the city, and the harbor looking out toward Finland.

After sleeping for eleven hours (have I ever done that before?), I finally dragged myself out of bed today to go see the north and east of the city. My plan was to walk up to the western point of the harbor and then walk along the water essentially across the city to a monastery way over at the eastern point, and then circle back through the neighborhoods in the east to get home. On my way up to the harbor, I stumbled on a huge market, where people were selling second hand clothes and toys, fruit and vegetables, pastries, meat, fish, etc. I wish I had found it yesterday before I went to the grocery store. I walked through a weird area near the prison, but eventually found the water. It was a pretty crummy day so there weren't a whole lot of people around, and I had some doubts about where I was allowed to be, but once I got to where the cruise ships dock there were actual streets. Unfortunately the view from the harbor wasn't as great as it probably is on a sunny day: the beaches seemed gloomy and the whole city had a kind of run down look about it. I bet it gets crowded around the docks when it's nice out. I found a row of signs depicting the road to Estonian independence which is pretty complicated and involved a lot of soviet occupations, so it was cool to read about it (in English!). I was on my way to a park where Peter the Great started building a palace that was supposed to be a summer seaside getaway for himself and his wife, but which he died before completing. It has been restored a few times, and now houses a museum, which is unfortunately closed until February, but the building is still supposed to be pretty impressive. The park is also home to some gardens and a swan pond, so I figured it would be a nice place for lunch today. When I got there the sun was trying to peek through the thick layer of clouds, and every now and then I got a little warmth, but not much. Still, the gardens were pretty and it was nice to have a break after walking for a few hours. Suddenly, though, I looked up and saw pretty intimidating rain clouds moving in. I decided to keep moving. I was headed to Pirita, a neighborhood about 2 miles further along the river, about which all my maps and guide books say "take public transportation here" but I was determined (read: stubborn and not wanted to spend the 2 euros on the bus) so I just started walking. Not a minute after I got up it started raining, but not hard and I figured it would pass (okay Emily, have you looked at the sky? It is dark and getting darker as far as you can see. Just get on a bus. Really. Take a bus.) so I kept walking. After a few minutes the rain picked up, and soon I was pretty wet and cold. I figured I would find a cafe where I could have some coffee and wait out the rain, but by then I was pretty far outside the city center and not passing anything or anyone. I came to a museum, where I figured I could hide out for a while, but it was closed on Mondays. Right. That's why it wasn't on my to do list in the first place. I did have an awesome view of the city (with terrible storm clouds above it), so that made the rainy walk somewhat worthwhile. By the time I reached Pirita (not quite to the monastery that was my destination) it was absolutely pouring. My sweatshirt was soaked and the streets were flooding, and on top of that I was seeing lightning over the city (now that was a cool view) and imagining how absurd it would be if I got struck by lightning in Estonia and figuring that if it would happen to anyone it would happen to me, so I got on a bus back to the city center. It was only 3:30 and I wasn't ready to go back to the hostel, so I found a cafe and sat reading and people watching for a few hours. Finally, I could see that the rain had stopped, and decided to walk down to an area of the city I hadn't seen yet, and then head back home. As soon as I got outside, though, I was freezing in my still damp sweatshirt, and changed my mind and went back to the hostel. Tomorrow I head to Tartu, a city in the south west of Estonia, for the night, and then on to Riga! Looks like the weather will be nicer in both of those places, so looking forward to that!

Here's the Old Town wall, with the tower of St. Olav's, and some roofs of other buildings:

Here's the storm I got caught in. See that city alllllll the way back there? That's where the hostel is.

In the cafe where I sought refuge, there was not only a mirror on the ceiling of the bathroom, but also a clock there. Why?