WKGB, the only station that listens to you.... seriously, we bugged your room.

Woke up again fairly early. Apparently some large Russian/Estonian family has rented out a bunch of rooms. And they don't watch their kids. At least they seemed to go to sleep around 11pm, instead of running up and down the hallways/slamming their doors repeatedly. Which they were doing for hours.

The agenda for today was visit the KGB museum at the Viru hotel. Afterwards I seen a large concrete building that was marked House of Estonian Design that looked like it might be fun, and then the Patarel Prison - a Soviet era prison on the waterfront. First things first, a stroll down to the hotel itself.


The morning air was refreshing - not too cold or damp, not a lot of people running around on a Sunday. I decided to grab the buffet at the hotel as there are not a ton of breakfast places around. Those that are tend to be of the espresso and croissant variety. I could have actually just walked in and eaten. No one was checking and it didn't seem anyone cared to be honest. Bacon, eggs, pastries, OJ, potatoes, etc. Pretty much standard fare.

At first I thought the museum would just be a tourist trap. You had to schedule an English speaking tour and it was in the hotel itself. I was pleasantly surprised.

Back in the 70s, the tourist trade to Tallinn brought maybe 500 visitors a summer. When the Tallinn/Helsinki ferry started up, this number grew to 15,000. Mother Russia wanted a piece of the action and the ability to gather intel on visiting people of interest. So they hired a Finnish company to build the Viru hotel. Of course, at the very end before they opened - the Soviets had everyone leave for three days so they could "inspect" the hotel.

They ended up taking over the very top floor, where there was "nothing". Just the elevator maintenance access. Riiiight.

The sign on the door to the radio room translates literally to "There's nothing here."

Out of the 400 rooms, they only had 60 of them bugged. They controlled all aspects of the hotel staff and when person of interest showed up, they would place them in the assigned rooms. They also had the sauna bugged and would have the waiters place special bread dishes at their tables and special ashtrays at the bar seats.

"Say hello to my little friend. No really, but speak clearly please." - the dish had a microphone built into it. The camera was for taking picture of interesting people through pinholes in the walls. The compact had a small explosive device with a red dye pack. Hotel staff were strictly instructed not to touch anything of any guests - bring it unopened to the hotel manager. Then they would plant these purses. Staff caught "red handed" tended to have exciting new employment opportunities in Siberia.

The top floor was used as a place to spy on other buildings around town from either of the spacious balconies.


The floor consisted of basically two rooms. One where the manager sat. In it where two phones - one direct to the KGB and another this a built in scrambler to call other places with the right equipment. Here is where the day to day orders on who to watch and how to arrange things came from.


The other room was the radio room. Not a lot was known about it as the Soviets gutted the room before they left and no one was allowed to even look into it. The theory is that this served as a base for communications with operatives in Scandinavia. Regardless, there were only around four people at any one time in the room. Plus file cabinets, which were also gutted - though unmarked files were left scattered.



Overall the tour was pretty cool. It was definitely something you want to have a tour guide explain, plus the stories she gave of various hotel experiences were troubling. Its weird to think this was still happening up until the late 80s.

From there I wandered back to my room for a quick 40 minute nap, then out to check out the House of Estonian Design.

Not sure why that was on the map. I found out later that it was actually called the Linnahall Terminal and it was a structure built years ago for the summer Olympics, then later was used as a possible military structure in case Finland attacked.

Its now just a huge concrete thingy covered in graffiti that people climb up the stairs to relax on.




So I did my part and wandered around on it. Looking out over the Baltic Sea. Didn't add any artwork to it though.

Mimekitteh rules your world.

Since that was a bust I walked to the prison, which was closed. Likely for the season. And breaking into it was not going to happen.


So I ended up wandering the city and checking out the night. One cool place I found was an artist startup. They were trying to raise money to afford heaters and building repairs to make an old dock building usable. Currently they only had a small coffee shop and a book store working. I told them they reminded me of home.


A stroll back to the Old Town for some fried dumplings, lime and chicken soup, and a schnitzel. G'night yall. Tomorrow I board a ferry to Stockholm.

Commie commie commie chameleon!

So I skipped a couple days of posting since I was content to just wander the streets of Tallinn without much purpose. I tend to do this on travel - I go with whatever whimsey takes me. Sometimes I'll get up early and wander back streets and main roads from sunrise to sunset. Other times I'll say "fuck it" and sit in bed for the whole day, reading a good book and only wandering out to get some nice munchies. The last couple days were more towards the slack end of the spectrum - I think a mix of lingering jet lag, cold weather and only about 6 hours of sunlight.

My hotel room looks almost pathetically out of the Soviet apartment handbook. The beds are small and have the thinnest mattresses in any hostel I've been in. Not a big deal as its just a place to rest my head and I'm not picky. But food for thought if anyone is planning a trip to Tallinn. Old House hostel might not be your bag. I like the ambiance though.

Friday was spent getting clothes washed and wandering out of old town to see the city.

"Portland says hi. Miss me?"

The laundromat was populated by very serious Russian women, though they were pretty damn cute. One thing I noticed is the women here are very thin with startling green or blue eyes. I definitely am a fan of the ex-Soviet block gals it seems. I'm not sure if everyone just has a washing machine, but the place was mostly for business clothes and suits. I was to only on the entire time using the coin machines, and this place was the only place like it for miles.

A stroll around the block bolstered by a steaming bowl of soljanka (Estonia spelling of the Russian solyanka), a latte, fold, pack, and on my way. I managed to find some good chocolate (sokolaad) - a couple Bailey's and an amaretto - for snacks in the room at night.

The night walks through old town were fun. The cobblestone medieval streets and old world buildings/architecture with stops for mulled hot wine or glogg formed a perfect soporific. I put in early hoping to knock out some of my jet lag.

The next morning I got up early, snacked on some tasty Estonian pastries and homemade elk sausage (bought the night previous), followed by a latte from the downstairs breakfast room. A light mist and lingering fog highlighted my walk down towards the Occupation Museum. Every east block ex-Soviet country I've visited had two museum that were geared more towards the population than tourists. One would be the history of the region, generally from the 5th century or so up to modern times. The other would focus on the German Nazi and Soviet Russian occupations (1930s to 1990). While the Nazis reign was horrible, it usually was very short (2-4 years). The Soviet occupation was far longer and took a bigger toll on the population. In the US we usually focus on the Holocaust and don't realize that for some countries - far more people were killed being worked to death in Russian gulags over a longer period. You can get a feeling from reading the vitriol laced passages in the occupation museums of just how repressed they were under the watchful eye of the KGB.

Freedom Square in Tallinn

The museum had a neat art piece on the outside. A series of suitcases made of concrete with steel handles. Some marked with luggage tags from various countries, signifying the dream and impossibility of escape from the Soviet regime.

The museum was filled with memorabilia from the two occupations, along with video segments detailing the various periods. The pre-occupation (starting with the non-agression treaty between Germany and Russia), German occupation, Soviet occupation, and the peaceful revolution to eventual self-governance. 

One of the most interesting exhibits was a collection of photographs released from the KGB section in Estonia. It detailed the surveillance of ordinary citizens with photos and the stated reasons from keeping tabs on them., Pretty chilling stuff when you realize there really wasn't a lot of reason most of the times. The total photos recalled were around 3000, which was actually quite a lot considering nothing was digital at the time and they all had to be developed secretly on site - and this was just from Tallinn. They also shown the tools they used for surveillance, They are crude by modern standards, but its fascinating the technology used for bugging apartments back in the 60s. These were the real deal spy hardware that you sometimes see eluded to in old James Bond flicks. It gives you are eerie feeling that makes you look over your shoulder, just in case.

They also had a display about Ingrid Bergman on entry. I searched high and low through the display looking for some tie in to the Soviets or Nazis - to no avail. The only thing I could think of was that maybe a curator had a crush on her and snuck in at night one evening to set it up.

Uhm...wtf?

There was a section dedicated to rock and roll also. While you may find this puzzling, rock and roll was actually a huge part of the ex-Soviet block countries' revolution. I seen this in Prague and in Warsaw. Western 60-70s music was considered decadent and the epitome of capitalistic corruption by the Soviet secret police. The fearless change came mostly from the youth as the Soviet Union fell and this was fueled by the rock music of the 60s and 70s. The roots of the peaceful revolution were laid out in the rebellious lyrics and poems of that time. As such, there is usually a section of these museums dedicated to the local bands that lead the way.


One of my favorite parts of the museum was the propaganda poster section. The blatant brainwashing attempts coupled with fairly decent artwork (for the time) is just fascinating to me. Cheerful and proud, reading the words send tiny shivers down my spine. The creep factor is strong with this one. Especially considering behind every smiling face on a posters - there were hundreds of not so happy faces dying in Siberia in the gulags.

"LONG LIVE THE 30^TH ANNIVERSARY OF THE GREAT OCTOBER SOCIALIST REVOLUTION! (1947)

The poster depicts a mini-parade, the mandatory “elements” of which needed to be a worker, a pioneer, a communist, and a young woman in folk dress."

"WE THANK GREAT STALIN FOR A HAPPY CHILDHOOD! (1952)

Socialist-realism posters made during the Stalin era have an especially hyper-realistic effect by way of their Soviet symbols, gestures, and slogans; reflecting in this way some virtual ideal world in the place of actuality."


After all that oppression, I needed to head out for a brisk walk around old town. I wandered the upper hill which housed the old battlements and fortifications, now housing their parliament and prime minister. I found the old church that was built in the Russian Orthodox style with its colorful domes. Apparently after the Soviet Union collapsed - they wanted to tear it down. Luckily cooler heads prevailed and they preserved it for future generations. Now its not viewed with the hate it once brought, its a beautiful reminder of a bitter past - nothing more.

I got the rest of my Christmas shopping for the US folks done, though yalls will have to wait until I get back. Frankshten is gonna love his, And if he doesn't, I'm keeping the sucker.

The rest of the day was filled with Sicilian style pizza (yay Pulcinella's!), hot mulled wine, and fantastic views.

The only other thing of note was maybe my meal at the Napalese place down the street. While the food was so-so, there were two waitresses with only three groups of people in the whole place. Which they largely ignored. Even by European standards, its was shitty service. Oh well, another day - another meal elsewhere.

What? Are you Delft son?

The train ride back from Luxemburg was pretty grueling. For some reason, they like heat. A lot. ON the train ride in, the 1st class section was baking. Everyone had their coats off and I was sweating. The hostel room was also abnormally warm, to where I had to toss my blanket off and sleep on top the bunk in my undies. So a lack of sleep was in order. This made the seven hour train ride less enjoyable. Meh.

The next morning I woke early and headed out. I stopped by a nice little cafe to have breakfast and made a friend. I know he was a friend because in an amazing display of loyalty, he fought off the evil Backpack Strap - thoroughly trouncing it and preventing it from killing those around me via a preemptive strike.





After parting ways with my new friend, I headed down the block to check out KattenKabinet, a small cat art museum.



I was actually fairly impressed. While the museum was only the first and second floor of the place - apparently it was the private collection of the owners and has been open for 25 years. Mainly reprints, paintings, and drawings - but some of them a couple hundred years old.

They also had a copy of the Russian animation from 1968 "The Cat That Walked Itself". Never heard of it, but it was a fun bit of Russian folklore. I might have to get it.

The trip to Delft was short, only an hour. The station was neat in that it had a HUGE bike locker for people in Delft that commute.



The town itself was small but a greatly preserved old Dutch town. Canals all throughout with cobblestones, everyone walked - I seen bikes but very few cars. It was pleasant, very quiet and serene. Pretty much just what I needed to relax.





"Well, it look like someone didn't get laid last night."






Obligatory windmill shot. Though it seemed more of an annoyance to people that some heritage thing.

I had a delicious lunch - some kind of potato/celery soup with bacon that was delicious. Then BBQ (deer?) meet sandwich with a herbed mayonnaise. Pretty tasty.



Belly filled and relaxed I head back in to get some early shuteye prior to taking a flight to Riga, then ending in Tallin.

The flight itself was uneventful. Going through security was pathetic. In order to accommodate the first class passengers - the took over a screening checkpoint to get them through. So besides their two checkpoints for twenty people, they then had three.

Which left exactly ONE checkpoint for roughly 200 people.

Its good to be the king.

Anyway, I got into Riga safely. Checked into the room, relaxed, then went out for food at a small place called Thule. It was in the cellar of an old building. Great atmosphere - the music was a light background of electronica. The chairs and tables where handmade from wood with the restaurant  symbol intertwined with the functional parts. Plus the benches had soft sheepskin furs arranged on them to sit on. It had a very Gothic feel to it and was actually named after something in an Edgar Allen Poe poem. I had a honey beer (incredible), meat soup (very good), and dumplings in a wild mushroom sauce wit sour cream (tasty).

With nice full belly, I strolled through some streets, got some drinks and pastries for tomorrow, and headed back to the room. So far I'm pretty impressed with Tallinn. They also have a winter market in the center of old town from 10am to 7pm daily.

Nice.

Luxemborg. Were you will be assimilated, but more politely.

Woke up early via the cheapo travel alarm bought last minute at Schipol. Glad it worked, but if it lasts past this trip I'd be surprised. Nice early morning tram ride. Amsterdam is very serene in the early morning on Sunday. Nobody walking around, morning light making everything pretty.



Off to the station and on the train out. I LOVE the trains in Europe. I've always loved train rides, but 1st class (Eurail passes are always) - in a big comfy seat and a huge window, watching the scenery go by. I could do this forever. Give me a backpack and let me loose through Europe.

Anyway, arrive and Luxemburg and find the hostel simple. Its one of the big Hostel International ones. Clean, big, impersonal, but nice. I dump off my stuff (roommate trying to take a nap) and heading into downtown.

Luxemburg city is small, but fairly built up, They also are having a festival of lights, though much smaller. So two night markets, an ice skating rink, and an amusement park. I wander the streets, people watching. My impression is that Europeans take care of themselves a LOT better. They look fit and healthy, plus they dress nice. Luxemburg city is built on top of a hill, with bridges and battlements in various states of disrepair.

The hostel itself is at the bottom of a steep walkway, right next to an ancient bridge.

I have a nice brot in a bun with sauerkraut for dinner, then wander about and drool at the chocolate (this one's for you Janie - Luxemburg shares Belgium love of chocolate).

People watching aside, I head back to the hostel and have a couple beers. I meet my French roommate more formally and find out he lived in Medford on a student thing in high school. We talked about Oregon and how he should come back and check out Portland if he liked Medford so much.

Anyway, tired wop needs to head to bed for a snooze. I'll be up early to check out Luxemburg before I start heading back to Amsterdam.

Ddduuuudddddeee, look at the lights man!!!

The trip was long but somewhat uneventful. They upgraded the movie thingy in Delta flights. Oddly enough they went for the 21st century, whodathunkit? Each individual console can stream from a large selection of movie or TV shows. There is even a USB slot so you can watch or listen to whatever you want to bring.

About time.

However, this meant I didn't get to sleep. But I did see some cool movies including Inside Out. Wow. That one actually surprised me. Definitely for a younger audience, but it dealt with sadness and depression very well. Got a little teary in the end, gotta admit.

Anyway, landed in Amsterdam around 9am and had to figure out what to do about it. Word of warning folks, if you get a Eurail Pass - be VERY careful filling it out, I had a month long pass and I filled out the start date correctly, but mistakenly put in the end date in the standard US way (month, day, year). So I crossed it out and wrote it correctly underneath.

Well apparently they can't figure out that a month long pass, that they have to date stamp in the beginning with their stamp btw, lasts a month if there is any error on the end date. Sssoooo I got charged 30 euro to get it reprinted. Which was better than the beginning when they initially told me I have to buy a new ticket ($250). Yah. I'll write them when I get back home and tell them they are kinda messed up.

So I landed, wandered around the Red Light district (basically the closest place to the train station) and got some food while I waited until it was a bit later so I could check in. Not much different in the early morning between summer and winter. Not a lot of gals out, some frat boys (stag parties over here) drinking early. Meh. I don't even remember what I ate. My plan was originally to maybe visit Delft or The Hague, but jet lag was hitting me pretty hard. No surprise and I thought this might be the case.

However, this actually worked out in my favor. Apparently to ward off the long nights, Amsterdam has a Festival of Lights where they have big public light based art on a easy followed art walk.









It was really rainy and windy, which didn't matter to me since I'm from Portland, but it did make taking pictures a pain since I had to wipe the camera down all the time.

And then on the way back, there was a really cool night market where I picked up some sweet local pastries. Not sure if it was a night thing, a celebration of some new public art, or ? Whatever, it was actually pretty sweet.





So after the market it was up four flight of VERY steep stairs (seriously, in Amsterdam - some of the stairs are basically ladders with a slight angle) with a cup o lemon tea, I tucked my tuckered furry ass to count sheep and dream of sex with Dutch supermodels. Or vice versa. I'm not picky.