Talinn, Estonia easily makes my top 30 list, possibly even my top 20 list,
of most beautiful cities, based almost entirely on the strength of its
compact but fairy tale picturesque, walled and moated old town.  I don't
know -- I'll have to see which other cities on the list it would displace.
Perhaps, it's time to expand the list to top 40, since I'm expecting that
Vilnius, Lithuania (to be seen later this week) will earn a place on the
list, and I have some other ideas for cities that ought not be ignored.

There's a lot to be said for Talinn.  During the Cold War, travel agents
talked up places such as Venice and Paris, but Eastern Europe has some real
gems as well, Talinn among them, face-lifted and ready for the hoards.
Prague, still my choice as the world's most beautiful city (to be visited
again next week) is now suffering from too much loving.  Just try to move an
inch in any direction as you attempt to walk across the Charles Bridge
during mid-summer.  Talinn, by comparison, though becoming more popular,
still has elbo room and quiet nooks and crannies to explore.

Outside of the walled gem of old town, however, and aside from some shiney
glass towers, smokestacks and construction cranes that mar the skyline, is
the standard gray and ugly Soviet era architecture.  I'm convinced that the
people of the Baltic Republics as well as the rest of what was once
Soviet-dominated Europe and Asia will never feel completely free of the
Soviet era until they tear down these old ugly structures in which they live
and replace them with something new, far less ubiquitous, and of their own
designs.  The people I met in Lithuania acted embarrassed about showing me
where they live, and they asked my opinion about it while indicating that
they hate it.  Actually, on the inside, their apartments seem  comfortable,
pleasant and, although perhaps small by American standards, if they saw the
humble shoebox in which I and many Americans live, they probably wouldn't
feel so badly.  Still, the buildings are gray, weather worn, poorly
maintained and dilapidating on the outside, much as are many American
housing projects from the 1950s and 1960s.  Many folks try to brighten up
their areas by planting flowers and trimming hedges, but this seems to be
window dressing upon a neighborhood that otherwise seems to undermine
everyone's spirit.  The typically 12 story structures seem to go on
endlessly as you ride past them.  They're all made out of ticky-tacky and
they all look just the same.  The hallways and stairwells are dirty and the
cozy elevators are not always dependable, a real issue if you live on the
12th floor.

The only thing that capitalism seems to have brought to these neighborhoods
is crime.  The folks I visited make it a policy not to go out after dark,
and since their communal parking garage is over a kilometer from their
apartment, they usually do not go out.

Still, these places functionally house a majority of the population.
Anything that would replace them might be of a similar nature or, if
converted to low-rise or single-family housing, would add substantially to
sprawl, traffic and time getting to and from places.  These may be
trade-offs people would be willing to accept if they could afford to do so.

I am sitting in Talinn's town square having a $5 half-liter beer called
Saku, and for some reason, the rather large square has suddenly become
filled with a couple hundred noisy motorcyclists and some scantilly dressed
women cheering loudly from the top of several convertibles.  They're leaving
now.  There's no telling what that was about, but this is the sort of
unpredictable thing that helps to make travel interesting.  Now there are
some mafioso types -- several big guys with shaved heads in black leather
outfits shouting across the square at someone who is also shouting, dressed
in a cape and vail, and who appears to be something of a town crier -- part
of a show that doesn't make sense to those not fluent in Estonian.

The mafiosos, my travel guidebook says, tend to dominate in some of the
evening establishments while tourists are more common in the others.  These
big guys don't tend to bother anyone who stays out of their business.
Everybody kind of gets the joke.  They've become something of a cultural
icon, kind of like the American cowboy or perhaps some legendary American
criminals, whose image many normal folks try to imitate in lesser
intimidating ways.  Not everyone feels this way.  My Russian acquaintences
in Lithuania worried aloud that Russia may becoming something of a state
controlled by criminals and could become a genuine threat to the world.  Who
knows?  I figure that the reality is often overstated.

Although tourist inflation has hit this city, the large helping of kung pao
vegetables and rice I'm eating costs a mere $3 and includes a free glass of
wine.  A cappacino on the town square costs $2, but one block off the
square, it's just 50 cents.  I'll know next time.

My hostel is located conveniently smack dab in the middle of the old city.
It's clean, quiet and even though it's located directly above a 'non-stop
strip tease' joint, it is promoted as a 'cozy family hostel'.  In the
States, such a strip-tease place might be zoned to a seedier area of a city.
  In Europe, such places may be found right off the Central Square, where
families commonly frequent, and Europeans find no issue with it.

My dormitory room comes equipped with the standard issue Aussie, Kiwi (New
Zealander), Brit, Canadian, Scotsman, American (me), and has an Icelander
thrown in to boot.  Aside from the Icelander, much discussion has been heard
over the years as to who amongst these have the greatest tendancy toward
being loud and obnoxious.  Americans don't always have the best reputation,
but in this case, it's the Canadian who, although filled to overflowing with
amusing anecdotes about picking fruits and vegetables in New Zealand, grabs
everyone's attention and WILL NOT LET GO!  Most of these guys are in their
20s and 30s and on the extended travel plan -- 6 months or more.  They're
generally tech-savvy guys on recovery from their profession.  A coworker
asked the guy from Scotland why he would want to travel at all when he can
do it much more easily via his computer.

Talinn has more of a Scandanavian feel than other cities in the Baltic
republics.  There are more tall blonds here who are not just daytrippers
from Finland.  What I want to know is why it seems that four out of five
women are blond here while only one out of five men are.  Is that the kind
of question Andy Rooney would ask?

It's 10:00 in the evening on Monday April 30th, and Talinn's town square is
well lit and occupied with hundreds of people, some in ghost costumes,
witches outfits, etc., but mostly people just standing and mingling.  It's
not exactly Arbor Day here, but perhaps the six-month antipodal to
Halloween.  There are four policemen to provide a comfort level and make
sure things don't get out of hand.  That would probably be an insufficient
number in a similar situation in the States.  A saxophonist is playing
'Summertime' and various other mostly American classics.  A couple of broken
bottles have been heard crashing and the police are escorting the trouble
makers away.

One thing Estonia has that's rather unique, so far at least, is the annual
cops-versus-hooligans soccer match.  Somebody had the bright idea that it
might be an opportunity for both sides to work off a little steam.  One side
is in blue with badges and the other in pin stripes and in some instances
multi-colored mohawks.  The quality of play is hampered by kegs of beer and
profanities flying every which way.  The crowd roundly supports the underdog
hooligans.  I don't know.  Perhaps ESPN is already on to this and it will
become just another global phenomenon, like every country's version of
'Survivor'.

The crowd in the square now exceeds 1000 and has become quite loud and
boisterous.  Turn television cameras on people and watch the behavioral
change, as predictable as Pavlov's dogs.  At first, police ignored the
people who were jumping up and down on the wooden platforms trying to add
volume to the sounds echoing through the square.  Some folks appeared bent
on jumping hard enough to break the platforms, but now more police have
shown up to clear them away before they do damage or someone gets hurt.

I retire at midnight into the first of the 12 dorm beds to be occupied.  My
dormmates show up at various stages through the night.  They are amazingly
considerate in their efforts to avoid disturbing those of us who are
sleeping, particularly considering how obliterated some of them are.  When
we awaken at around 10:00 AM, some are amused or red-faced to discover that
they do not have complete recognition of the previous evening's events and
how they embarrassed themselves, but their companions remember and won't
ever let them forget.

It feels strange shaving my face as I stand before a mirror between two
women I don't know who are applying makeup.  The coed shower room at least
provides quasi-privacy behind the partial partitions for the showers
themselves.  Meanwhile, the push-button shower is a curiosity.  You get 30
seconds of hot water for each push of the button, but since you're also
entitled to unlimited pushes, it is probably a rather ineffective method for
promoting water conservation.

Karl at work recommended that I pay a visit to Eelitsal, a restaurant which
directly translated means 'donkey stable'.  There's been a restaurant in
this building since the year 1362.  I hope they don't have any leftover
gruul in the cellar.  Actually, the food is fabulous.  Thanks, Karl.

Estonia has nary a million speakers of the native language, a language
related distantly to Finnish, to Hungarian and to nothing else.  In the
summertime, foreign tourists outnumber the locals in the capital city
Talinn, so young Estonians are probably beginning to wonder what's the point
of learning Estonian at all, since English is the Lengua Franca more likely
to put money in their pockets.

I may end up traveling with that talkative Canadian, since he's on a similar
travel route and schedule.  He also has a similar broader  agenda -- to
visit 100 countries.  I'll reach that auspicious number later this month.
He's currently at 84 and counting.

Before I put you all to sleep, if I haven't done so already, here are some
photos:

One view of Talinn:
http://deanoman.com/0501/estonia1577.htm

Dean at city walls of Talinn:
http://deanoman.com/0501/estonia1599.htm

Alexander Nevsky Church:
http://deanoman.com/0501/estonia1572.htm

Promoter of a medieval restaurant:
http://deanoman.com/0501/estonia1606.htm

Happy May,
Deano