I hadn’t been meaning to go there.
But then I read about espionage and the Cold War in Estonia, burrowed in my bed at 6 o clock in the morning, in my leopard print, egg-stained dressing gown, while a gale blew a tune on the loose guttering outside.
The pretty pictures of gingerbread buildings and onion towers, the moody snaps of dark alleyways and disused KGB equipment were irresistable. I recalled my travels in Poland and East Berlin, many years ago, before the collapse of Communism and in a soggy nostalgic moment, thought, aw, I want to go to Estonia, it looks sort of gorgeous and sparkly but darkly interesting at the same time and anyway, I need a sodding holiday.
I went into one of those slightly shivery, dream-like states that means the part of my brain marked ‘Warning. Something is about to Happen,’ has woken up and is starting to fizzle. Then I came to and remembered the teeth-rattling cold in Poland and thought bloody hell, bet it’ll be bonkers-freezing at this time of year.
But you know, we live in a house that’s so cold, I sometimes get in bed with a bag of frozen peas to warm up. And like most kids in the north of England my son’s idea of a wrapping up is to button his shirt up. The Baltic winds in Estonia will be just like sitting in our living room but with the front door open.
The Lonely Planet article I was looking at features the Hotel Viru which has a couple of secret rooms which were used by the KGB to listen in on visiting dignitaries and VIPs. Apparently it’s full of knobs and switches and dials. I just love stuff like that.
Then there’s the Museum of Occupations, with exhibitions of life under Communist rule, Toompea Castle, Alexander Nevsky Cathedral (that’ll be the onion towers then) and St Olaf’s Church, tallest building in the world until 1625. Keep watching – I’ll write more about these places after we’ve been.
But there are two more really, really exciting things I want to do in Estonia:
Firstly, Patarei Prison. Or rather, ex-prison, a massive complex of rather terrifying buildings, spread over ten acres, slammed right onto the coast, overlooking the Gulf of Finland. Much of it looks as though it’s been left as it was which makes it even more atmospheric. Patarei Prison is closed until May but the folks in charge have said they can arrange a visit for us. Fantastic.
I’m also hopelessly besotted with the idea of a trip out into the snow near Parnu, on a sledge pulled by a team of dogs. I’ve always wanted my own team of wolves and these dogs look a bit wolfish so they’ll do.
I’ve often seen this on the telly, it looks exhilarating. Fiendishly expensive, mind. But how many chances does anyone ever get to race along in the snow, being pulled by a team of wolf-dogs?
Oops, make that three exciting things to do in Estonia, I just remembered a third – the frozen waterfall at Valaste. It looks so spectacularly other-worldly it would be rude not to.
Sorry I’ve no juicy photographs just yet but here are a few links to feast your eyes on:
https://www.facebook.com/pages/Patarei-Prison/269766519722372
http://www.visitestonia.com/en/dogsledding
http://www.tallinn2011.ee/%27hotel_viru_and_the_kgb__museum_opens_on_13_january
Read a shorter version of Mark Bolton’s article here: http://www.lonelyplanet.com/estonia/tallinn/travel-tips-and-articles/76972
