I came home last night – a flight was a little bit delayed, but otherwise nice an comfortable, and there were very few people on the aircraft. I am on the CTA on my way to the office, and I have a detail appointment after work, and somehow I need to squizz in a conference call on a non-work-related topic.
I still want to post another hundred pictures from Tallinn, which I hope to accomplish in the next couple of days. Life goes on.
And here is… well, I had an “economy light” fare, which meant no luggage… but I know how to use my carry-on wisely 🙂
Until it started raining, we walked along the familiar streets, and each turn made me happier and happier. It’s not like I thought that pandemic is forever, but for a while, I was thinking – will we ever have this freedom again?! And Tallinn… I really love Tallinn – for many reasons, not only because it is Boris’ city.
Remember what I said earlier about going abroad in the time of the Soviet Union? To put it bluntly, we were not allowed to travel abroad, period. But the Baltic countries (no matter they were called “Soviet republics,” we knew better!) were our tiny windows to the Western World. We knew that “we” – Soviet Russia, were hated, and somehow that fact also reassured us that we were in real Zagranitza. An overnight trip to Tallinn by train on student discount cost 6 rubles – something we could afford, and going to Tallinn for a day was one easy way to stay in a fairy tale for a day. A night in the train car, a day there, and another night back.
When we entertained the German student delegation, one of the tours we offered them was a day trip to Tallinn. We even managed to book a tour in German! We endlessly walked around the city, and I can only imagine how our German visitors felt. During the day, we grabbed food here and there, but when it was time to have dinner, our German guests wanted to go to Vana Toomas.
Now, Vana Toomas was (and still is) the restaurant on the Townhall Square, and it was the only “real thing” back then. And it was guarded against “invaders.” I almost forgot about this story, but yesterday, Boris reminded me about it when we passed Vana Toomas (not about the story – he was not a part of it, but how I told him this story).
We told the Germans that we could try, but they had to speak, and we would be silent. They agreed, and about fifteen minutes before the restaurant was to be open for dinner, we lined by its doors. In five minutes, several tall, muscle, and silent Estonians approached and asked one of the Germans in Russain what the hell they thought they were doing here. Following our instructions, the student replied Ich verstehe nicht. This answer created an instant miracle: we were cordially invited in, and the staff even moved the tables to accommodate our big company. We (three Russian female students) kept our mouths shut and whispered to the Germans when we needed something.
We loved Tallinn, loved its unique Medieval spirit, the walls and the gates, and the towers. We loved their independence. We loved that they hated us.
These times are gone. I had this feeling even in 2016, but even more now. We walked the streets of the city with Boris, and he told me that he felt this difference during multiple trips to the Baltic countries in the past several years. He told me: these countries parted their ways with Russia irreversibly and forever. And they do not hate anymore. They just not care. Pretty much like Finns.
Here is to our love and adoration for this unique place …
On Tuesday, I took a day off, and Boris and I went to Tallinn for a day. Tallinn is a two-hour ferry ride away, and it’s one of the most beautiful places in the world if you ask me. Since the beginning of the pandemic, there were restrictions on travel within the EU to the non-EU nationals, but now I wanted to enjoy a newly acquired freedom: if you are vaccinated, you can go anywhere!
Another decisive factor was the option to get a rapid COVID test on the ferry- I still need it to enter the US, and that was, it was cheaper (39 euros) and fasted (no extra time).
The ferry used to be pretty crowded, even off-season, but it’s not the case anymore. We decided to take a 7-30 AM ferry to Tallinn (9-30 AM arrival) and return on a 4-30 PM ferry.
Of course, it was the only rainy day of all the days I stayed here! We knew about that forecast for a while, but I still needed my COVID test, so we decided not to change our plans. And the trip was amazing, even though it indeed started to drizzle shortly after 11 AM, and the rain became serious later in the day. But you know what – because of that we visited a fantastic maritime museum and spent some time in two of dozen tiny Tallinn cafes!
For those of my friends who do not know yet: Boris lived in Tallinn until he was 15 (and then he moved to Leningrad to attend a specialized mathematical boarding school associated with the University). And the reason his family stayed in Tallinn was that his father was a Navy officer. This time, even more than before, we talked about how he and the adults around him felt back then in Estonia.
That being said, he understands the Estonian language (although he does not actively speak it) and has a lot of cultural insights. Each time we go, I tell him that “that’s his city,” and although he says “not anymore,” I still insist on him deciding where we go and what we do.
I do not know yet how many blog posts I will make out of this one day, but I am going to start 🙂
We left the house at 6 AM, because we wanted to walk to the terminal (the public transport does not run so often in the morning, and there is no direct route to the port). We bought the tickets with breakfast, because it was too early to have breakfast at home anyway, and because there is no other place to sit on the ferry except for the cafes. The breakfast selection was outstanding, and I liked that all the food was of a really small size to I could try many different things Continue reading “Visiting Tallinn: The Ferry And More”→
While in Helsinki, I try to combine work and doing something interesting together. Until today, the weather was great, sunny, and not as cold as everybody told me it was going to be, so we went on long bike rides every day, including the very first day I came.
Boris discovered several new bike routes, and each day, our ride was different and very scenic. Boris often reminds me the story which happened to me on one of my early visits, when I thought that if I needed to get from one point on the shore to another point on the shore, I could do so by walking along the shoreline:)
I am not making this mistake anymore, but all three of our rides were along the shoreline (for my love of it :)).
Nobody bothered to tell me that the pictures in the previous post were not visible (and I know that many people saw that post). I just realized it and fixed the pictures, so if you are curious about what you’ve missed, you can check it out :).
Now – more pictures! This morning, my friend Natasha gave us a tour of the famous Oodi library. Boris and I visited it shortly after it was opened, but even then, we realized that we needed a tour with a Finnish-speaking person :). Then, it was COVID, and finally, it happened!
I think everybody heard about the Oodi library in Helsinki. One might say that none of the features is unique, but being brought together under one roof of the building designed to host the best library you can imagine makes it one of a kind.
That robot scans the books you return and directs them to different transporters to be dropped into a different binThis DNA-shaped staircase lists all the kinds of people this library is for (Natasha says, no word is repeated:))THe second floor is the library of things, a digital library and a library of activitiesIn this area, you can use sewing machinesContinue reading “Oodi Library”→
Except for everybody wearing masks, I do not see any material difference between traveling now and pre-pandemic. There are not that many people traveling, but close to that. First time in a year and a half, I didn’t need to present a copy of my marriage certificate, just the passport, and the vaccination card. That’s all that was required for boarding, and the same thing in Helsinki – my passport and vaccination card. The border control office even joked like in old times about me visiting “for just a couple of days” and about being torn between two countries.
The food was close to normal (almost), and the new cameras on the aircraft are just OMG!!!
I tried to post this from the plane, and the WP was telling me “Post published”, but it turned out that it was not! So here it comes – on Thursday on Chicago River
Mom came back yesterday, and her journey back was way less stressful than the one in the opposite direction—less stress for her and me. There were no issues with the wheelchair on the way back, and she was very pleased with the service. Moreover, the plane landed 40 min ahead of schedule, and there was almost no wait! I was late to pick her up because there were no trains on the Blue line for 25 minutes. She said that she was “glad to be back alive,” but I have we didn’t talk much: it was 8 PM, she was tired and I needed to get home to finish my packing . Although my trip was going to be very short, I still needed to pack, and I didn’t have time to do it – none.
I am glad that mom is back safely, and I am immensely thankful for my friends Olga and Irina who helped mom with everything. One bad thing still happened – mom fall down on the street once, and almost fall down one more time. Irina blames herself for “not looking after her,” but honestly, it had happened many times already, and it does not matter whether she is alone or with somebody.
So far she is saying that she “has a lot to tell me” about her trip when I will come back. But knowing who she is these days, I won’t be surprised if she will end up not telling me any more details.
When we went out for dinner with Igor on the day after his birthday, I told him that I want to stop trying to explain anything to mom, and I should stop trying to explain things to her. It just makes her unhappy and she is not listening or rather she is not trying to understand what I am saying to her. I am going to try really hard just to listen – period.
The Siskel Film Center had a special event today, and Igor and I thought it would be a great way to celebrate Igor’s birthday.Â
This special event was a screening of the lost and recently rediscovered silent film “The First Degree.” It turned out that today was National Silent Movie Day, so it all came together perfectly.
I didn’t know that the majority of the silent movies are lost forever and that often, the studios themselves would destroy the negatives. And it’s very interesting what they say about “rural melodrama” and the fact that this film is geared towards the male audience.
Unseen for 97 years, it’s a real gem. And the live score!!! How can you beat that?!
It was the only screening of this movie, but I hope the Siskel Center will add more later!
I am going to Helsinki. Yes, after Boris and I decided that we are not making these super-short trips anymore, first he came for three days, and now I am going there for three and a half days. A perfect illustration of all these discussions about “whether there can be love after 40.” Or 50. Or whatever 🙂
As it always happens when I travel in the fall, I can’t wrap my head around the fact that I need to dress warmly. When Boris said that I needed gloves, I was like “what gloves? why gloves? what are gloves? and anyway, I still wear sandals!” I can’t get a feeling of how it is going to be when it is 45F outside.
And actually, I just checked, and now the weather forecast says it’s going to be 56F, not 45F. I think I can leave gloves at home 🙂
