It was a brief but lovely visit to Tallinn. The old town is cute and quaint with hints of stag tourism while the modern city has fascinating remnants of Soviet history in hidden corners.
I crammed in a visit to the KGB museum – the top floor of a hotel with objects like a numberless telephone and an ink spraying purse, a visit to the museum of medieval torture which I expected to be really gimmicky but turned out to be pretty respectable and informative. And I stayed in the oddest little hostel. It was just a single apartment with bunk beds all around the living room. This morning when I was trying to leave I fumbled my way into the tiny dark entrance hall where everyone keeps their shoes. I heard a voice in the dark shouting at me “No! No! No! No! No!”. Bewildered, I asked “How do I get out? I just need to get out!”, but the person just kept shouting at me “No! No! Don’t shut the door!”.
It turned out some guy who lives there sleeps in that tiny space by the front door. He was crammed in with all the shoes, coats, umbrellas and 3 bikes. I’ve no idea why he didn’t want me to shut the door (perhaps he would be locked in there forever?!) but it was a nightmare getting out. I had to scramble over him and all the bikes plus bend down to put on my shoes, all whilst wearing my giant backpack. Quite an experience for any time of day, let alone early in the morning!
And now I’m on the bus to Riga…
Postcards from Mel 
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