Estonia - Tallin - Ian Arthur

Leaving Latvia I headed into Estonia. Both countries are very similar, but in Estonia the architecture is slightly different. I found a guesthouse in Tallin, the gateway to the Baltic as I intended to stay for a few days.

TALLIN is a very big city. In the centre there is the 'Old Town' which has the castle and many grand old buildings and churches. And surrounding the 'Old Town' is a large, vibrant and modern city. I did find the riding a bit scary at first because of the bus lanes, which sometimes are in the centre of the road, and sometimes to the side. There was also lots of trams and tram tracks to contend with, which you have to always be on the lookout for. The traffic is also very busy in Tallin, so you have to be on your best 'game' when riding a motorbike.

My first stop was to walk around the oldest part of the 'Old Town', which includes their Parliament building and many other fine old buildings and churches. In the newer 'Old Town' I went to visit the old KGB cells, which were established by the NKVD in 1941 in a rather grand art-deco building. It was also used by the Nazis, and then passed back into KGB control after WW2. The information provided was just enough, and it was a sad and poignant reminder of how fascist states work, especially when looking at the uncomfortable looking torture chair. Many Estonians passed through the KGB cells between the 1940's to 1991, usually for a brief stop before heading off to jail, deportation to a gulag in Siberia or a 9mm bullet.

Estonia – Tallin

Tallin, gateway to the Baltic

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