🗁Added 11 photos to album Ukraine, Aug 2018.
The train from Odesa to Lviv.
Posts between 2018/08 and 2018/09 (45 out of 45)
- Survived the ferry journey from Batumi to Odesa. Spent a day in Odesa.
- Took an 11h train to Lviv.
- Hung out with awesome people in Lviv and ate good food.
- (Post about Ukraine).
- Work was mucking about with CoVE and BODS data.
- Boarded a bus to Tartu via Riga.
- Took a slightly arduous bus journey from Lviv to Tartu.
- Hung out in Tartu for a few days, got a cold.
- Took the train from Tartu to Tallinn. Yay, apartment to myself!
- Learned stuff about SaltStack and Postgres.
- Got locked in Tallinn City Library for a couple of hours.
- Caught up on blog posts about Ukraine (not food and food).
- Explored Tallinn. Went for evening walks around Russalka beach, Paekalda and Kadriorg, Linnahall, Patarei prison, the culture kilometer and Kalamaja and through old town.
- Went for a run.
- Worked 3 days, more or less.. (more)
- Spent a day at Stroomi beach and Paljassaare conservation area; swam in the sea and walked many miles.
- Wander around some parks near the Estonian National Library.
- Hung out with vegans at potluck in Toompark.
- Persuade your customer they also need a savings account.
- Require savings account to have an automated monthly transfer in. If not, charge $$.
- Wait.
- Eventually all funds from customer's checking account will be transferred to savings account.
- Charge horrendous overdraft fees on checking account. $$$!
- Important: do NOT alert customer. Make sure their card continues to work for at least a few days while they're in negative, so they don't notice.
- Charge the overdraft fees daily, obviously.
- Wrote some code or whatever.
- Worked from the National Library of Estonia (didn't get locked in).
- Went Night wandering around Tallinn.
- Spent a day wandering around old town and proofreading Someone's thesis chapter in a nice tea shop.
- A day out in Pirita; woods, Botanical Gardens, TV Tower, cemetaries, beach.
- Fleamarket and end of summer festival in Telliskivi.
- Went up the tower of St Olaf's church, the tallest building in Tallinn.
- Watched the sun set from Sea Plane Harbour then stuck around for bonfires and music on the Night of Prehistoric Lights (and made some dreads for M from Spain).
- Applied for Estonian e-residency, did my taxes, and applied for some more Euro/travel-friendly banking options.
I thought I'd tried all the plant milks by now but yesterday I discovered PEANUT MILK and yes it was everything I dreamed.
🗁Added 53 photos to album Ukraine, Aug 2018.
Two days of co-working and hanging out in Lviv with the lovely Quinta Group.
🗁Added 54 photos to album Ukraine, Aug 2018.
Wandering around Lviv, including up Castle Hill.
🗁Added 73 photos to album Ukraine, Aug 2018.
Wandering around Lviv, including Lychakiv Cemetery and Strysky Park.
Week in review: 30 July - 5 August
🗁Added 6 photos to album Ukraine, Aug 2018.
Bussing from Lviv to Tartu via Riga, with many delays and hindrances.
A few days in Ukraine
My impression of Odesa is that it's at least as weird as Batumi, but in subtly different ways. I only spent one day there though, following the ferry from Georgia.
Odesa is mostly Russian speaking, full of tourists, and fancy old buildings. The sea front is madness. The beaches are probably nice but you can't see them for the people, loungers, and sun umbrellas. I actually don't think I've seen beaches so efficiently packed; from the wall to the ocean, not in a inch is wasted. They're also lined, Bali-style, with hip bars with nice seats, DJs, cocktails etc. Of course it's all vastly cheaper than Bali. About the same amount of trash. With temperatures pushing the mid 30s when I was there, you really don't need to go all the way to Asia. I think venturing further south might have lead me to quieter beaches, but I didn't have time. There's a large green park space around the coast too, which hopefully means awful apartment block construction by the sea will be limited (unlike Batumi).
As I was a day later than planned, I ended up not staying in the hostel I originally planned. Hostel Komuna was generally terrible; packed, hot, loud.
I took the train at 10am the next day. The station is utterly confounding, even with rudimentary Russian reading. There are loads of signs with trains, times and routes, but none of them had my train. I did find it closer to departure time by just wandering the platforms, but it was a bit worrying that signs appearing to list the full day's departures just didn't include mine. Oh also it was scheduled one minute earlier than my ticket said, and there are two ways to spell Lviv in Russian.
The train itself was 11 hours. I got the ticket the day before, online. There had been no tickets at all in the weeks ahead, but a woman in the hostel in Batumi told me they sometimes add new last minute tickets. Good tip! From Odesa to Lviv is 600UAH - less than 20 EUR.
I thought I was choosing a window seat, but turned out to be a top bunk. Each carriage is divided into small 4-berth compartments, and I was sharing with an older couple and a younger dude who may or may not have been travelling with them.
It was hot as fuck, and burly Ukrainian men of all ages take this opportunity to go shirtless without fail.
Once the train was moving, airflow from the open windows kept us alive. At one point the conductor came through to close all the windows and maybe said something about air conditioning. Half an hour later it may have been slightly cooler, but really that was bullshit and eventually I opened the windows again (when my carriage-mates were asleep..)
There was power, but no wifi. I slept and read and worked. I couldn't see out of the window from the top bunk. There's no storage except for under the bottom bunks, which must be lifted to access it. I asked one of the people in the lower bunk if they would move so I could use it, and succeeded.
We arrived to Lviv on time, just as the sun was setting, and I made it to my hostel before dark.
For the next few days I was thoroughly looked after by members of Quinta Group, of ProZorro/OCDS/open government procurement fame. I worked from their office for two days, and was well fed and entertained. Such a wonderful welcome surely shaped my impression of Lviv, but I'll definitely spend more time there.
First, I had to forget Russian and re-learn key phrases in Ukrainian.
The old town is cute, there are lots of green spaces, and universities. There are many nice restaurants, cafes, dessert places and more, and in the evenings the city center is really alive. Also good second hand shops!
It's a very walkable city, but for further out it's well covered by buses, trams and marshrutkas. Also for when it's raining - which it does, often. Buses and trams are 5 UAH (about 0.16 EUR) for any single ride which is a pretty good deal. Lviv also has a unique fare-paying system which I've never seen the likes of before. You board through whichever door is convenient, then hand your fare to the nearest person, who will in turn pass it to the front of the bus until it reaches the driver. If you only have a 100UAH note, no problem, just say (in Ukrainian) how many people you're paying for and your change will return by the same route. If you're on a packed bus and someone hands you some money.. don't be confused, just pass it forward.
I climbed Castle Hill, which has some ruins but not really a castle. I went to the Lychakiv Cemetery which is incredible. There are huge fancy tombs and headstones and lots of famous people are buried there. It's also beautifully full of trees. Stryisky Park is also gorgeous, with wild and curated places, lakes, trails and cafes. A good place to disappear into nature within walking distance of the city center. While I was there it went from hot and sunny to torrential downpour with dramatic lightning and thunder. Wasn't much to be done, except get wet.
Lviv bus station is inconveniently far from the city. Buses and trolleybuses go there though of course. It also had a big sign of every bus and departure platform, except for mine. (I asked, and was told where to wait.) I departed in the evening, bound for Riga.
Vegan in Ukraine
One evening I spent with a table full of locals, including a variety of dietary preferences, trying to think of a Ukrainian dish that was ordinarily vegan. The criteria being that you could walk into any Ukrainian restaurant and order it without modification. Nobody could come up with anything. The closest we got was borsch without meat - nobody was sure how common it would be, but seemed fairly confident you can request it without. And you need to make sure they leave it to you to add sour cream, and don't dollop it on for you. Someone said they were sure in some places varenyky (dumplings) must be vegan, but I understood the traditional recipe for the dough to involve both eggs and sour cream.
Nonetheless, there were a handful of lovely vegan cafes in Odes and Lviv, so I did not starve to death.
Vegano Hooligano (Odesa)
There are two branches, though I only visited the one closest to the train station. The food is healthy Asian-inspired-fusion. A variety of soups, wraps, burgers, salad bowls and cakes, featuring lots of tofu. Also an extensive drinks and breakfast menu. I ate in a couple of times and took food to go on the train. There's an English menu, and one of the waiters was very friendly and happy to speak English. There's power and wifi, and plenty of seating, and they take card.
Zelen (Odesa)
A vegetarian cafe near the train station... which was not open during the hours on happycow.
True (Odesa)
A fancy feeling place, pescatarian, with everything well labelled and an emphasis on health. Lots of raw dishes, and many of those containing honey can be veganised.
I took the waitress's recommendation and ate a very delicious mushroom steak with lentils. It was a pretty big portion. Also latte with hazelnut milk.
Agrus (Lviv)
A vegan (except for occasional honey) bakery 30 seconds from my hostel. I had breakfast here several times and afternoon snacks too. There is a lot of space, power and wifi, and they also sell various eco products like bags. On one occasion I also took a pie to go for lunch later. A welcoming atmosphere, and the food is very good quality.
Omnomnom (Lviv)
All vegan with a nice vibe in the evening, and extensive menu. I regret that I only went once. I ate a burger; it was good, but I should have ordered fries too. The burger had pickles including pickled ginger which was fantastic; and an omnivore at the table revealed he hadn't realised the cheese is vegan. The hotdogs look amazing.
I also tried peanut milk for the first time here! In a flat white. Great. Pear tart with caramel sauce was a delicious dessert.
Dogs Like Ducks (Lviv)
A small hotdog place with power and wifi but fairly minimal seating. A very friendly atmosphere. Also great hotdogs! They're quite small; I ate one which included beans as a topping. Good for more of a snack than a full meal I think, but only 55 UAH (about 1.50EUR) each. They also have some healthy raw cakes, homemade lemonade and milkshakes, and a few vegan groceries for sale.
Green (Lviv)
A fairly large restaurant with more of an upscale vibe and no wifi. They have a really varied menu, all vegetarian with vegan labelled. Fortunately I went with a large group so I got to sample several things. For myself I chose the most unusual dish on the menu; a foamy sponge ball with cashew cheese and vegetables in the center, with salty bubbly not-caviar on top.
They have interesting fruit cocktails, which can be requested without honey or sugar, as well as some fantastic raw desserts.
They have a large range of groceries to buy in the entrance as well.
Little Green (Lviv)
Owned by the same people as Green, but with a completely different menu and vibe. Still no wifi though. Thai noodles and soup are good options, and they have several pitas with seitan and tofu.
Marusia (Lviv)
This is cheap fast food, Ukrainian style. Lots of kinds of dumplings, including a hummus filled one which is ostensibly vegan. Not quite traditional, but at least I got to try varenyky. Pretty good, well seasoned with paprika and very filling.
Other stuff
Lviv and Odesa are both absolutely bursting with cute coffee shops, stands, and windows. None of them have plant milk on the menu, but most of them carry soya, almond and even hazelnut if you ask for it. Probably best to learn the Ukrainian (in Lviv) and Russian (in Odesa) words for these to be on the safe side.
Ukraine is pretty damn good at bread, so dropping into a bakery for some interesting rye or fruity loaf can be a good snack option. Many bakeries also offer coffee and wifi.
I tried kвас (kvass), a traditional drink made from fermented rye bread (non-alcoholic). It's sweetened to varying degrees with fruit or sugar. I had some handy locals in Lviv to directy me to a place where it wouldn't be too sweet. Apparently we don't trust the old ladies selling it from sketchy barrels on the side of Castle Hill. It tastes like across between coca cola and beer.. but like in a good way. In any case it was very refreshing on a hot day.
As soon as I get to a place where I'm gonna stay for longer than a few days, I'm going to buy a jar of peanut butter. I'm so fucking excited about this.
Bussing to the Baltics
Originally I'd planned to take the direct bus from Odesa to Tallinn. The flaw in this plan was that it goes through Belarus and getting a fully visa for a stretch on the bus is not practical or financially sensible. Hence the detour to Lviv.
I ended up with a change in Riga and an end destination of Tartu.
The Polish border is one hour out of Lviv. I was quite looking forward to a border crossing at a sensible time followed by an uninterrupted night of sleep. Hahaha no such luck. The bus was stuck at the border for a full six hours. Four in between Ukraine and Poland, pausing in lines of stopping altogether in carparks. We stopped at Duty Free for a while.
When border control came aboard and collected all the passports, half an hour or more later they were all returned except for mine. The bus driver looked worried and tracked it down for me pretty quick.
Eventually we progressed to entry to Poland, and the bus was fully unloaded. We hauled our luggage through customs and then.. the bus disappeared. A further two hours were spent perching on suitcases in the carpark outside Polish customs. Nobody had any idea what was going on. I wondered if this duration of delay was factored into the schedule, but figured I'd probably be missing my connection. At least it was still warm.
At 0230 the bus finally materialised and I got to sleep.
Around mid-morning the next day, it broke down. We waited for a couple of hours by a highway in Lithuania. Other buses stopped and picked up the passengers they could fit. I ended up on an Ecolines from Vilnius to Riga, sitting next to someone who was planning to make the same Tartu connection as me. This bus was scheduled to arrive shortly before the Tartu bus departs, and the latter often waited for it. Hope!
And indeed I did make the connection with one minute to spare, and successfully got to Tartu. The funny part is that if the original bus hadn't broken down I probably wouldn't have made it.
I am struck by the attitudes of people in authority on public transport in different regions. The guy from Vilnius told me that even if you're late for a bus, usually they will wait for a while, and call you, and make every effort to see you aboard. In Western Europe I get the distinct impression that the rules matter far more than people; if you're late you miss it, and it's nobody's fault but your own. I once had to elbow my way through Victoria Coach Station with a minute to spare after a 3 hour delay on the District Line, and was technically on time for my bus and it hadn't actually left yet, but they almost didn't let me board because I wasn't 15 minutes early, and gave me a really hard time about it like I had done this on purpose. On the other hand, if you go much further east, they just sort of don't give a shit. They'd leave you at a service station because counting the passengers is too much like work. So maybe the Baltics is where one finds the peak of public transit customer service?
Me: why does nobody send me emails any more?
Also me: never replies to or even opens emails I do receive
🗁Added 106 photos to album Estonia, Aug 2018.
A few days in Tartu, walking all through the old town. Including the university campus, botanical garden, Toom hill with cathedral ruins, a swim in Anna Kanal mini-beach, and Supilinn, the Soup District. Tartu has lots of statues, sculptures and ancient houses, all well signposted with the history and interesting facts.
I love tiny apartments which make creative use of vertical space.
One thing isn't even that amazing and is totally normal and common the Baltics is having the drying rack over the sink, my god it's life changing, why hasn't the rest of the world caught onto this yet??
But also ceiling beds up ladders. If there's anything that will make me go overbudget for an AirBnB it's a bed up a ladder.
In Bratislava in April I stayed in an absurdly small place but it worked for a small person. In Tallinn I have a very similar place, but a levelled up version. It's bigger (but still wee), less structurally dodgy and has two ceiling beds up a ladder.
My kingdom for restaurant websites which have a text-only one page version of the menu without so much javascript that google translate can't even parse it and nothing is copypastable.
Re: #FlyingLess
In reply to: https://mobile.twitter.com/ClimateHuman/status/1027240444936089601
I'm a perpetual digital nomad, but committed to not flying at the beginning of 2018.
I'm not a climate scientist, but as a recent academic I took major advantage of the international conference circuit to travel as much as possible during my PhD. I never liked flying, but I wanted to see the world and that just seemed like what you had to do. In retrospect the sheer volume of academic travel is quite obscene - especially given the number of people I meet who complain about having to do it so much!
In 2014 I found myself four events in continental Europe a week apart each, and persuaded my institute to pay for a three week Interrail pass instead of a bunch of flights. I took a bus from Edinburgh to Paris (W3C Working Group meeting), hitchhiked from Paris to Dusseldorf (IndieWebCamp hackathon), then a train to Innsbruck (tourism), train to Florence (World Wide Web Conf), trains to the coast and a ferry to Croatia (tourism, chillin'), buses and trains through Croatia to Slovenia (Extended Semantic Web Conf). Then one flight back to Edinburgh.
Since then I dreamed of slow-moving ongoing travel with no date I had to be back by. Now I find myself with all the time in the world, no ties or dependents, and a remote job, and can finally live it.
It's a great way to discover new places, get a better grip on international geography, and have diverse experiences.
In short if you can swing it, finding alternative ways to travel without flying is the bomb. Learn how to sleep and/or work on buses, make some time, and give it a shot. Academics with flexible schedules and hours (by which I mean, you tend to work all the time and mostly it doesn't matter where from) are in a superb position. If you're in a position to fund (time-rich, schedule- and location-flexible) students to travel, persuade them to look at alternatives before jumping on a plane.
I always start investigating a new route with Rome2Rio. Sometimes finding connections can be daunting and time consuming, and I'm also happy if anyone wants to ping me overland/sea travel questions I can try to help based on my experiences so far.
Disclaimer! I know many people, academics or otherwise, are not in a position to devote days to getting from A to B! I know many people are not physically or mentally able to spend long durations on buses. I know sometimes flying is just the only option if you don't want to miss out altogether! Consider this post aimed at those who can, and just need a bit of a nudge to step out of their comfort zone.
JESUS airbnb freaks out every time I log in from a different country LIKE A COUNTRY WHERE I HAVE BOOKED ACCOMMODATION THROUGH AIRBNB put 2 and 2 together christ
One time it absolutely refused to send me a confirmation code by any other means than SMS to a number which I couldn't get reception on where I was and I had to jump through hours of support hoops when trying to deal with a time-sensitive host-contacting issue which was definitely not in any way stressful. At least now it seems to be consistently offering me the email confirmation option.
although right now I just get a 500 every time I try to log in did i mention i hate computers
Day 2 in Tallinn
I went to Tallinn City library this afternoon. It's small, but a nice place, good fancy ceilings, some nice rooms with nice chairs and old books, the wifi is good, lots of power sockets, very quiet. I hung out with my laptop for about an hour and a half. Just before 5.30pm I realised I had thought the library closes at 5, but hey I guess not. A short while later I packed up my stuff and went downstairs.
The front door was locked. All the lights were off. Not a soul was in sight.
I went back upstairs to ask the other person sitting on her laptop there if she this was normal and she knew another way out. She did not. We wandered around and tried a few doors.
Haha. We were locked in the library. It didn't open again until Monday.
We proceeded to call and email every contact number on the library webpage we could find. She also called the 24h Tallinn city general helpline, and they promised to call back. She called her mother, who called someone she knew who worked at a different library, who also promised to call back.
Meanwhile we found a window that was big enough to climb through and not too far off the ground to jump out if necessary. We decided this or calling the police would be an absolute last resort.
We made an effort to get through to the pub next door, in case they either happened to have a spare key or the library employees had gone there after work.. but no answer.
M and I introduced ourselves, and bonded over veganism (<3!) and travel and chocolate and the small art display in the library we would not have bothered to look at if we weren't trapped there.
M's family members turned up outside the window, and went to see if anyone was in the pub who could help.
The city helpline called back and said the director had been contacted and was on her way, but lived 30 minutes away.
She eventually showed up, and turned out to be a distant relative of M, and the daughter of the person M's mother had called earlier! It's a small country. She was accompanied by a surly security guard who took photos of our IDs. Apparently we'd set of a silent alarm when we opened the window earlier and security were already quietly surrounding the building.
Then they let us out and I had dinner with M and her family at a nearby veg*n buffet.
Just another day..
(Also this morning I went on a walking tour and found a SPECTACULAR vegan chocolate shop, really enjoying Tallinn so far.)
🗁Added 65 photos to album Estonia, Aug 2018.
Arrival in Tallinn. A walking tour, and getting locked in the City Library.
Today it rained in unpredictable and torrential bursts in between blue skies, and I bought loads of really cheap kale. Estonia is basically Scotland.
Week in review: 6 - 12 August
🗁Added 46 photos to album Estonia, Aug 2018.
The closest beach to where I'm staying is a small one called Russalka beach. A little further around the coast is Maarjamäe Park, with a big obelisk, some Soviet-looking concrete statues, and lots of open space. This leads to hilly and wild Paekalda. On the way back towards town is Kadriorg, with Kadrioru Park containing a vast palace estate with fancy buildings hundreds of years old, and beautiful grounds; also home to various museums.
🗁Added 97 photos to album Estonia, Aug 2018.
To the ferry ports, and around the coast to Linnahall - an enormous Soviet concrete structure. The interior is closed but the exterior is available for clambering all over. There are great views out to the ocean, and little scrappy beaches nearby. It's beautifully dystopian.
The 'culture kilometer' starts here, but I diverged from the path to follow the cost, and saw the abandoned Patarei sea-fortress prison which is also pretty dystopian.
The culture kilometer ends in the Kalamaja district which people keep saying is the hipster area. It's behind the train station, and full of nice wooden houses and cute bars, artisanal stuff and street food.
Status update
My default state is absolutely sleeping late, not going outside, not interacting with people, staying in my pyjamas all day, not showering and eating only toast. I work every day to operate outside of this.
Staying in hostels and shared accommodation can actually be really good for me, because I usually have to get dressed and interact with people on some level. Staying in places with shitty internet mean I have to go find a library or a cafe to work from. Staying in places for a short length of time means I have to go out every day if I want to see 'everything' or at least get a good sense of the place.
Of course constantly moving around brings its own set of exhaustion and other problems, which is why I inject solo accommodation for longer periods into my travel schedule.
I love living on my own, but I have to ramp up effort to not spiral into a sad smelly hole. Some days are easier than others. And it's such a vicious circle. Some days I'm on the sofa absolutely unable to function and wondering what's even the point and I am getting better at realising OH I probably just need to fucking go outside for an hour and I'll feel better. And then actually making myself do it.
Last couple of days I've been working on brain-melting server-y stuff and ending the day in a total haze, but managed to go out around 7pm, picked a direction to walk, and discovered new beautiful areas of Tallinn and felt infinitely better, which is much better than curling up with Netflix for the whole night.
Relatedly, now I have a job with regular video calls I tend to get mostly dressed for those. Though recenty I bought a nice loose jumper which I can put over my pyjamas and it makes me look semi respectable from a distance. So uh, work in progress. Sorry colleagues. Doesn't help with the showering thing. When I started this job I was quite terrified of how much facetime I would be having because from experience there are days when I just can't but actually I'm getting used to it and it's quite nice to have 15-30 minutes each morning of seeing friendly faces. Even if I wake up in a nope mood and don't think I want to dial in, I tend to feel better afterwards.
This is vastly better than in-person office job which involve being around people all day and render me unable to even go out to buy groceries at the weekend. As ever, it's a balance I suppose. And trying to be in tune with my moods; to figure out the difference between what my brain and body are telling me they want on the surface, versus what would actually help me to feel better.
My favourite yoga teacher needs some help getting to Thailand for her dream job this winter: GoFundMe. It would be a shame for a silly thing like the cost of transit from Bosnia to Thailand to be all that gets in the way.
Aida taught me yoga in Sarajevo last year, and took me on some nice retreats as well. She's a fantastic teacher, and I find the pace of her classes - whether vinyasa or yin - perfect. I've also learnt a lot from her about other topics, from Ayurveda to trauma release. Aida has the opportunity to teach in Thailand this winter (and getting out of Sarajevo in the winter is always a good idea) and she's taking her mischievous little daughter with her too. I hope they make it, they deserve every minute of sunshine :)
Thinking about going to a library, but compelled to buy supplies beforehand in case I get locked in again.
Who is going to MyData2018 in Helsinki at the end of the month?
It's horribly expensive for some reason, and I'm too lazy to volunteer, so I won't be at the conference itself but I'll be in town for a couple of days if anyone wants to hang out.
dudes your settle down / have a family joke is not funny and maybe you didn't realise because you haven't been bombarded your whole life with the idea that this should be your sole purpose for existing but seriously shut the fuck up
If at any point you feel like joking about settling down / having a family to someone you know expressly doesn't want to settle down / have a family then take a second and try just not.
Week in review: 13 - 19 August
🗁Added 88 photos to album Estonia, Aug 2018.
An evening run through Kadrioru Park and a little beyond.
A walk to Stroomi beach for a swim in the sea. Then a long trek around the coast through Paljassaare wildlife conservation area which is absolutely beautiful and contains many tranquil spots for swimming and an amazing variety of flora and fauna.
🗁Added 20 photos to album Estonia, Aug 2018.
To the Estonian National library, only it was closed (with me on the outside this time). A wander around nearby parks.
Food at Vegan Inspiratioon. A potluck in the Toompark with local and visiting vegans.
Does anyone know of (or want to write) a tutorial for querying JSON in postgres for people who know SPARQL..?
🗁Added 14 photos to album Estonia, Aug 2018.
The National Library of Estonia. A nice place to work, good seats and corners, epic architecture.
Reading people arguing about decentralised social web stuff makes me 50-50 want to pick back up my own implementations and make them work, and leave computing forever to hide in a cave.
The compromise between these tensions tends to be go back to my day job / pick up a book / go to the beach / make a sandwich.
🗁Added 12 photos to album Estonia, Aug 2018.
Night wandering around Tallinn old town.
🗁Added 79 photos to album Estonia, Aug 2018.
I walked around the coast to Pirita; a little over an hour. After the harbour is a ruined convent. Usually it's accessible, but there were restoration works or something when I went and it was closed. It looks pretty cool though.
I walked through the woods to the Botanical Gardens, which was further than I expected. I detoured through some nice modern cemeteries.
The Botanical Gardens are beautiful and serene, and well worth a visit. A combined ticket with the TV Tower (which is next door) is €15, or separately they're €5.50 and €13 respectively.
The TV Tower itself is also really worthwhile. It's super high with fantastic views for a start. (If you go on a day with poor visibility, you can get a stamp on your ticket which lets you come back for free any time! I didn't have this problem though.) It's a wonder of Soviet concrete glory, and was largely built by 'volunteers' (unpaid workers..?). Inside on the ground floor is a detailed exhibition of its history and construction. At the top in the main dome are changing exhibits. I saw futuristic clothes designs from a local fashion school, and an electronic interactive set of displays about Estonian digital innovation and current day e-infrastructure.
There's also a restaurant at the top, and an outdoor balcony.
On the way out after the gift shop is another exhibit about life in Estonia in Soviet times which was really well done and informative.
Then I walked a different route through woods and cemetery to Pirita beach. I stopped for food at Vigri, a vegan buffet with an amazing cake selection, which is in the large boat-shaped building at the harbour. Then I chilled on the beach with a book for a few hours, and swam in the sea, before walking back.
How to make $$$ (when you're TDBank):
Bonus points if you continue to charge overdraft fees after customer has realised and transferred money back into checking from savings*.
* Seriously what is happening? Is this forever now?
I admire the dedication of the workers who are refacing the building I'm staying in. A solid 8am to 8pm schedule of banging, drilling, scraping, and crashing around, often directly outside my window. I thought they'd at least take Saturdays off so I could sleep in though. Apparently not.
🗁Added 40 photos to album Estonia, Aug 2018.
I met V and his couchsurfer M and we went to Telliskivi creative city. There was a flea market and music and foodtrucks and general festivities. We found vegan doughnuts. We showed M around the old town, and went up the tower of St Olaf's Church, the tallest building in Tallinn - it doesn't look like it, but none of the skyscrapers downtown are taller (you can tell from a distance). They're not allowed to be. Entry is €3 and it's a dizzying narrow climb.
We wandered around Linnahall and around the coast to Seaplane Harbour. For a change the boats were open for climbing in, and there was a stage with musicians. It was the Night of Prehistoric Lights, when every coast around the Baltic Sea and further afield are lit up with bonfires and celebrations. We watched the sun set, and sat by the fire for a while.
Week in review: 20 - 26 August
🗁Added 8 photos to album Estonia, Aug 2018.
Misc, and lunch at Vegan Italy.
🗁Added 15 photos to album Estonia, Aug 2018.
Hair update. Channeling Beth a bit. It's warmer tones than I was going for but apparently purple shampoo and time will make it grey-er. Or a second round of bleach.
🗁Added 10 photos to album Homemade food.
Various delicious things I made with chanterelle mushrooms, and some dumplings with soya and berries.
🗁Added 10 photos to album Estonia, Aug 2018.
Last night in Tallinn; a sunset walk to Paekalda.
(And the stuff I left for Red Cross.)
🗁Added 14 photos to album Estonia, Aug 2018.
The ferry to Helsinki from Tallinn (and a late night).
