Tallinn, Estonia

I've just escaped the rabbit-hole that is Tallinn, the capital of Estonia. 3 awesome weeks spent, much longer than I had allocated or anticipated. I've now learnt this is commonly referred to as the Tallinn Trap. The people were what really pulled me in, mostly the eclectic group of staff from the 5 sister-hostels within the old-town—the dozen or so neat people whom I spent the majority of my time with, watching many short-trip travellers come and go. There were only a couple nights where I didn't venture out, and I've now elevated my beer-pong talents to an art form. Alcohol in Estonia is essentially free, but things were kept in check and never got messy, despite the particularly gregarious beer-funnel that often did the rounds, and the hour of free drinking each night. I managed to collect 9 pub-crawl arm-bands, and had a fun but unique time each outing. Tallinn is authentic. There's never a touristy feel, and the cobblestone streets are always quiet, or filled with bleak-expressioned locals. Estonians take a while to get used to — (greatly generalising) they are a no-nonsense bunch, and are quite to the point, not wasting time with false-pleasantries. I got to know a few locals and they're certainly among the best of people, but there are a couple interesting things you eventually pick up. Asking "how are you?" quickly diverts from small-talk to a potentially interesting conversation, and they're often very blunt, which I thought was fantastic. They'll keep you at an arms length, but once you've broken bread you really appreciate how genuine the people are.

One of the things I'll miss the most is the food. There's a medieval style restaurant III Draakon (3 dragons) set within an authentic-era building/dungeon — very low ceilings (frighteningly so), outlined only with candlelight. The menu is simple; elk stew, sausages, meat/vegetable pastries and the choice of honey-mead or mulled wine. The staff add to the atmosphere and are very brash — completely in character, despite the many misunderstandings I sat and watched. People requesting utensils would always be told "If you want a spoon, bring your own". I spent a short while enquiring about the food, just to explore the extent of their creative rudeness. Fishing for pickles with a large wooden spoon was also quite neat — you could fill your bowl with as many as you can carry, and cleaning up your own plates was definitely something new.

The photos of the city basically speak for themselves — although limited, Tallinn has been my favourite old-town experience so far. Despite the challenges of the sandwich meat not really being meat, and the bread definitely not being bread, I could see myself living here. The buildings create so many photo opportunities, and getting lost on the cobblestone paths makes for a magical day trip. I loved the pink parliamentary buildings most, and felt I was visiting the real-life Grand Budapest Hotel.

The last week or so I spent volunteering my top-notch house keeping skills in exchange for a free bed, despite it being the cheapest accommodation I've had for 5 months. In other words, I was playing a fun new game called Is this a folded sheet, or duvet cover?. I actually had a neat time, and promised to head back to volunteer again, which fits in with my plans to visit the other Baltic countries I missed while I was just a short distance away. Part of the deal meant sleeping in the literal dungeon. Pitch black, quite the mess, with a door that locks only from the outside, myself not having a key. I often ended up trapped either in the dungeon, or outside sleeping in the common room after enjoying a late night sunrise on many different occasions. The combination of the Elk Stew, some great boutique coffee houses, and insanely cheap, insanely massive Estonian-style pancakes from another of my favourite spots, meant I could quickly recover, enjoy the beautiful weather and be ready for the gauntlet again.