We had about three and a half hours in Tallinn. In contrast to our visit in October, the weather was sunny, and I was so glad to have one more opportunity to see the Old Town. On our way there, we passed this building:
It was erected in 1952 and probably symbolized the submission of Estonia to Russian occupation. However, it looks so grotesque with these tiny balconies, which do not go together with the imperial spear with the star on top, that it looks more like a caricature of the Soviet architecture.
It used to be a sububurb..I spent quite a bit of time trying to figure out how they attached the trees to the streetlight poles 🙂
We visited a couple of souvenir shops, where I bought woolen socks for Anna, Nadia, Kira, and myself. Like the day before, we skipped lunch and had coffee with cakes in the oldest Tallinn cafe. I also bought some chocolate and marzipans there. And then we kept walking.
I hardly tolerate hats, and in any case, platok works the best with this weather. However, since during this trip I had constant flashbacks to 1983, I vividly remembered how Kalle was telling me: I will make you Estonian! no more kallinka-malinka! Then I decided – whatever. I want to be warm. What does “Wine library” mean? You only can look and smell?!
When we arrived to board the ferry, I was told to present the recent coronavirus test, which I didn’t have. Fortunately, there was no problem taking it on the boat, and that’s the cheapest way to take it, as we later learned. It was just a bit disturbing that Boris didn’t have to take it, but I had.
I tried not to focus on that situation. Instead, I looked out of the window – the silhouette of the city against the sunset was splendid!
My name is Henrietta (Hettie) Dombrovskaya. I was born in Saint-Petersburg, Russian (actually, back then – Leningrad, USSR) in 1963, and immigrated to the United States in 1996.
I love Saint Petersburg, the city I was born and raised in, and I think it’s one of the most beautiful places in the world. Similarly (but differently) I love Chicago, and can’t imagine myself moving somewhere else in the observable future.
I have three children, Igor, Vlad and Anna, all adults living on their own, and one (so far) granddaughter Nadia. I also believe that my children are the best thing that happened in my life.
As for my professional life, I am working in the field of Information Technologies. When I was twenty, I’ve declared that the databases are the coolest thing invented and that I want to do them for the rest of my life. Thirty plus years later, I still believe it’s true, and still, believe that the databases are the best. These two statements together imply that I think a person can have it all, and indeed, I think so! Keep reading my journals to find out how I did it.
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Hettie's Reflections 