Partying in Tallinn...

We made it our mission to find Tallinn’s best mulled wine. James and Bob decided that Kate’s booth was the winner; she explained that she uses cherries to add extra flavor and rum to spike it (perhaps that’s the secret of surviving the dark winter).  

We also enjoyed searching for some nightlife in Tallinn. We bumped into several other AWC couples our first evening when we stopped for some margaritas at a Tex-Mex restaurant, then went en masse to an Irish pub. On our last night, we went bar hopping with Jan and Bob after a group dinner at an authentic Russian restaurant. Perhaps it shouldn’t be surprising that we ran into some trouble at a bar called Hell Hunt. There was quite an international mix involved when Jan’s purse was almost stolen: a Hungarian woman alerted an Australian man who tackled the woman who was trying to steal an American’s purse (we never did find out what nationality the unsuccessful thief was). Afterwards, we went dancing at the club in the Hotel Viru’s basement; we couldn’t help but wonder what the KGB in its heyday might have used the basement for. Jan and Bob headed back to the hotel around midnight, but James and I danced like fools until 3 a.m. despite having a 5:30 a.m. bus ride to the airport.

KGB Museum...

After our walking tour, 14 of us met up at the Hotel Viru, the largest hotel in Estonia, to visit the KGB Museum. The hotel elevators showed 22 floors, but there was actually a hidden 23rd floor where the KGB had their offices. Not only would important visitors stay at this hotel, but also ex-residents who were prohibited by law from staying with family. Apparently, the hotel rooms were all bugged, just like in spy movies.

When Estonia gained independence in 1991, the KGB made a hasty retreat and left some of their equipment behind. In 2011, Tallinn was the European Capital of Culture and the KGB Museum was opened. It might only consist of two rooms, but the tour was enhanced greatly by the stories the guide gave.

The hotel was the first skyscraper built in Estonia in 1972 and the views from the 23rd view were fantastic.

Museum of Occupations...

We met two other couples at the Museum of Occupations, which was fascinating although depressing. These doors were from Soviet prison cells. This museum concentrates on occupations by the former Soviet Union from 1940-1941 and then again in 1944-1991 and by Nazi Germany from 1941-1944. In fact, we learned that during the last 800 years, Estonia had only been independent for 40 years! When we took a walking tour on Sunday, the guide told us that 11% of Old Town was destroyed during WWII. She also said, “Singing is our secret weapon.” Starting in 1987, there was a series of mass demonstrations featuring spontaneous singing of national songs and hymns that were strictly forbidden by Soviet authorities. The “Singing Revolution” lasted from 1987 to 1991, resulting in Estonia regaining its independence on August 20, 1991 without any bloodshed. Estonia joined the European Union in 2004.

Lovely Architecture in Old Town...

We visited  a few churches including St. Alexander Nevsky Cathedral. Built in 1900, this onion-domed Russian Orthodox cathedral was intentionally built directly across the street from the Toompea Castle, the seat of power in Estonia since 1229, as a symbol of the tsarist Russian empire’s dominance.

There was lots of bright colors in this small historic area. This yellow building was built in 1430 as the Great Guild House. Now it houses the Estonian Museum, which was very interesting.

Tallinn Christmas Market...

The Christmas Market was small, but we enjoyed it. The booths sold a variety of local crafts and I came home loaded up with ceramic Christmas decorations, wooden spoons and amber hedgehogs.It was interesting talking to an American at the market who grew up on a cattle farm in Colorado. He blamed the spread of corporate farming in the US for his inability to afford to farm as his forefathers had. After researching his options, he moved to Estonia where he now owns a farm with 1,000 sheep.

The setting was lovely with a giant tree in the center of Town Hall Square; there is some documentation that suggests that Tallinn actually had the first decorated Christmas tree in the world in 1441. I wish I could take credit for taking this wonderful photo, but it was actually shot by our friend Darren.

It was quite entertaining watching teenagers dressed in ski jackets dancing to songs from Grease on the main stage. Father Christmas met  kids in a small cottage, then came onto stage to sing some songs.

A Beautiful Medieval City...

It has taken six years, but James and I finally went on our first AWC trip together. As you can see, we were clearly not alone in our excitement to visit Tallinn, Estonia, as this trip was the most popular that the club has hosted in years. In fact, it was so popular that our group of 33 had to be split into two separate hotels. Of course, we joked that all the cool people were at our hotel; the bummer is that the only time we saw the rest of the group was during the group tour on the third day when we met up at this viewpoint for a photo.

We had made our way to this viewpoint with a few other couples earlier in the weekend. The Old Town is so well preserved that it is an UNESCO World Heritage Site. There was a light dusting of snow over the city when we first arrived, which added to its fairy-tale charm, but it rained much of the rest of the weekend.

A Successful Panto...

Another very funny scene was when Aladdin (played by a girl, which is another panto tradition), his mother, his brother and a lesser genie used magic carpets to “fly” to rescue the captured princess.

Two of the shows star’s were Abanazer (the villian, who was perfectly cast) and the Genie. James had actually auditioned for the Genie, who was fashioned after Austin Powers, but this Dutch fellow was better suited. After seeing how much fun everyone had, I made the mistake of saying that I’d consider auditioning for a small part next year.