So, here I am, having slept 15 hours after one long day travelling to Estonia yesterday! I haven’t seen too much so far since I spent most of my time sleeping but the few impressions I got so far are stunning! The old town still looks like a snapshot from the medieval times and foster that impression, the market at Pikk is covered with stands selling traditional such as wooden cutlery and hats made from sheep wool. Prices are more than moderate (despite the obvious tourism spots) and even though I haven’t even made my way to a supermarket, I have spent very little on groceries. However, with an exchange rate of 15 kronen worth 0,96€, the costs of 10 kronen for 1 beer (in the hostel though) are considerable disastrous 😉
The city at night is like a re-enactment of medieval living styles, with fire player and celtic music and bright yellow streets lights which illuminate the square!
About the match I watched: Estonia won 2:1 over Faroe Island with two goals in the extra time, which have them just the succesful entry in the 2012 European Championships campaign they needed. With Italy, Slovenia, Serbia and the so-called “Northern Ireland” in the group, booking a ticket to Poland/Ukraine will not be easy. The stadium is fairly nice, with 5,470 spectators dressed in blue. The ban of cigarettes and booze are no obstacles to a joyful evening out. Most likely I will return in October to watch Estonia take on Slovenia! While I saw a team that tried really hard and could have beaten the football no-names Faroe Islands by 6:0, a lack of precision and a “non-eager-enough” attitude once the opponents scored left a bad impression on the Estonian possibility to qualify.
Before I will finish this post I need to mention something about the lack of pictures presented on this blog: Since I was smart enough to purchase a digital camera with the amazing memory card of 10MB, I could take 1 picture until the memory was full. So I will buy another memory card in Tartu and start including pictures in my posts!
Update 1: I am sitting in the train towards Tartu! 1st class, since that costs like 1,60€ more than the 2nd 🙂 I am getting free snacks served at my table and can use the (regardless to mention) free Wi-Fi! Trains from the outside look like the Cold War never ended but once you approach the railroad car, warm and friendly atmosphere is striking you!
J. Linke: explordinary journeys 