Tallinn to Tartu Bus Ride

The bus ride from Tallinn to Tartu is almost painless. I departed the Tallinn International Bus Station around 1000 HRS and was on the road for 185 km. Somehow 185 km took three hours. I was standing in my hotel in Tartu about 1310 HRS.

The roads in Estonia are in quite good shape, I believe that we went so slow on account of quite a bit of road construction and bridge renovations along the highway. But who am I to complain about a 140 EKK ticket (8,95 Euro).

Most of the highway that you will drive down is somewhat un-scenic, a bit of forested area and natural growth forest, but for the most part you will see farm land of various kinds throughout your journey.

When you arrive in Tartu there is quite a cheap hotel right opposite the bus station's entrance. It's called "Hotell Tartu." Dorm rooms are available for 19 Euro, the place is spotlessly clean, breakfast is 5 Euro, it's 7 minutes walk from the historical centre and only a couple minutes from a McDonalds and a large shopping centre. Not to mention the entire hotel is blanketed in wireless (wifi) internet which I just love. I didn't see anything other hostels in the city during my walks, though I did see a sign advertising one, but I never found it.

Tourist Information Tallinn Estonia

Arched Doorway
Originally uploaded by kden604.

Tallinn is a beautiful city in the northern part of Eastern Europe. The "Old Town" is listed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site and is very well deserved. Tallinn is quite a modern city in the downtown area, which makes a beautiful contrast to the "Old Town" only a couple of hundred metres away.

Tallinn was first mentioned in history in 1154 by an Arab geographer named Al-ldrsi on his "map of the world." Today it is a developing city of just over 400,000 people according to a 2007 census. Tallinn is an important Sea Port city and has multiple daily ferries running between Rostock, Stockholm and Helsinki.

Tallinn is an extremely touristic city. There is roughly 4-5 hostels operating in the Old Town area as well as one in the Kristine area. The airport is only a short 10 minute ride from town with a city bus that runs twice hourly for 15 EKK.

There are several tourist information centres in Tallinn, in the city centre there is a large Viru Plaza Mall just across the street from the entrance to "Old Town" which has a tourist information centre on the main floor. This is also the same building that houses the public city buses (not international ones).

The other Tourism Information Centre is located near the main square in the Old Town:

Tallinn Tourist Information Centre
Kullassepa 4 / Niguliste 2, 10146 Tallinn, Estonia
Phone: +372 645 7777
email: turisminfo@tallinnlv.ee
web: www.tourism.tallinn.ee

The Tallinn card

If you are staying in Tallinn for any length of time, it might be advisable to try and save money buy purchasing the Tallinn Card. This card gives you free admission to many of the cities tourist attractions and it generally a good value. There are several cards you can purchase, from 6 hours to 72 hours.

The Tallinn card can be purchased from the tourist information centres or you can find more information about them at their website.

General Information

Population: 400,000
Currency: EEK (1 Euro = Approx 15.5 EKK)
Time: GMT +2
Emergency Phone: 112

Language

Hello - Tere
Goodbye - Nagemist
Please - Palun
Thank You - Tanan
Sorry - Vabandust
Help - Appi
How Much? - Kui Palju?

More Interesting Language

Hello my dear - Tere, Kallis
Cheers - Terviseks
Hello, I love you - Tere, ma armastan Sind
Marry me - Tule mulle naiseks
Give me a kiss - Anna mulle musi
I can't understand a word - Ma ei saa muhvigi aru
You have a nice ass - Sul on kena tagumik
I am not a stupid tourist - Ma ei ole turistinass

Money Matters

Tallinn is very touristic, sadly that comes at a price. You always pay a premium when you are in a high tourist area. But here are a few prices to give you an idea of what to expect.

Hostel Room (Dorm) - 19 Euro
Hotel Room (Private) - 30 Euro
Hotel Room for 2 - 42 Euro
Apartments - 60-160 Euro
Fuel - 1 Euro / Litre
0.5L Beer (Restaurant) - 3,25 Euro
Slice of Pizza (Restaurant) - 3,50 Euro
Slice of Pizza (Grocery Store) - 1,25 Euro
Cigarettes - 1,50 Euro - 2,50 Euro

Hostels

Tallinn Backpackers - 12 Euro
Old House Hostel - 19 Euro (VERY POSH)
Viru 5 (Part of Tallinn Backpackers) - 20 Euro
Old Town Backpackers - 13 Euro
Chillout Apartments - 12 Euro

Popular Bars

Hell Hunt
Pub With No Name
Scotland Yard Pub
Woodstock
Depeche Mode Bar

Adult Entertainment

There are loads of strip tease and sex clubs in Tallinn, there is about three in the "Old Town" area and at least five more in the city centre. The women are hot and the drinks are reasonably priced, or at least similar to the high tourist prices in most of the Old Town area. There are also many casinos of different sizes in the city if you are in to gambling!

Transportation

The city of Tallinn is very small and can easily be walked across in less than one hour. However you may still need to get public transportation or a taxi from time to time. The airport has an express bus that leaves from the bus terminal in Viru shopping centre for 15 EKK and there are loads of trams and buses to take you to all corners of the city.

Taxi service can be a little bit frustrating, and I would like to share a little quote from the tourist information office.

Tallinn's taxis are somewhat notorious for overcharging - even locals get ripped off. Ask for an estimate of how much the ride will be beforehand. If it is more than 150 EKK then you must be going out of town or they are cheating you [normal price 1km = 6-8 EKK, starting rate 35-45 EKK].

Bus Station Adventures

Cathedral Entrance
Originally uploaded by kden604.

This morning for lack of things to do, I decided to walk to the bus station. Tomorrow I will probably take a cab in the morning, just because I'm a bit lazy and taxi's are reasonably priced.

But this morning I met this elderly woman, I would estimate she was about 80 or so. She travels on her own quite a lot and was on her way to Latvia. She had some really major physical problems in terms of walking, stairs and spoke only broken english. She headed to the Bus Station around 10am by bus and tram to save money.

So I walked to the station, but left an hour later than her and when I arrived at the Eurolines office she was there having a dispute with the desk clerk. Eurolines only takes local Estonian currency not Euros. So she had to go to the currency exchanger just down the hall. However because she isn't the most technically inclined person she only uses travelers cheques and only had 10 euro in hard currency.

When I had finished purchasing my ticket I heard her disputing the rates with the exchanger at the Tallinn Bus Terminus. 10 Euro would be enough for her ticket if he was to give her 15 EKK to the Euro, which is the going rate in most of the city. But he was only giving out 12.5 or 13 EKK. This left her short of money with no way to get cash from a machine and no banks around, not to mention her bus was going to leave soon.

So I offered to just give her the difference she needed which was just a couple of euros, but she insisted that I just change the 10 euro bill at the "decent" rate of 15 EKK. Anyways, long story short I changed her money and made sure she got one the bus and she was very happy.

Now as for my ticket, I am going to Tartu Estonia tomorrow, it's about 4-5 hours on the bus and cost 140 EKK (8,95 EUR). I don't really know too much about Tartu, it's a university town and there is a 19 Euro a night hostel just near the bus station which I already confirmed my reservation.

Tallinn Estonia International Bus Station

Naked Statue
Originally uploaded by kden604.

One of the beautiful things about Tallinn is its size. The entire city centre can be navigated easily in short order. Most Tourists stay in the "Old Town" which coincidentally is located right next to "New Town" or rather the modern city centre.

The bus station is one step further.

To get to the International bus station you walk from old town, through the city centre and then about 10 more minutes. From the edge of Old Town it takes roughly 30-35 minutes (approx 3 kilometers) to walk to the Bus Station.

The bus station is known to locals as "Tallinn Autobussijaam" and is located at Juhkentali (street name) 46-11. The station is at the corner of Tartu Mnt and Juhkentali.

The bus station has a restaurant, casino and there is a grocery store about 2 blocks away along Juhkentali for some cheap eats. There is also a currency exchanger that gives really horrible rates, nearly 2-2.5 EKK below market value. Additionally there is several ATM machines in the station too.

Please keep in mind this is the International Bus station as well as long haul domestic buses. Inner-city and suburban buses depart from the big Viru Plaza basement bus station which is just outside of Old Town.

Another Canadian Blogger

Garden Statue
Originally uploaded by kden604.

Yesterday I was at the hostel and I saw a lady at the computer. Later, I saw that lady again at the same restaurant I was at. So back at the hostel I introduced myself and went out for some beers at a fine restaurant and bar called "Hell Hunt" in Tallin.

It turns out Lisa is a Canadian. Originally from Saskatchewan but has lived on Vancouver Island and Calgary. Now she is an English teacher in Moscow though!

It was cool meeting up with another Canadian. The best part about it though, she's a blogger too. So, check out her website: http://lisahuck.blogspot.com/

I spent most of the day wandering the city, both the old and new. I think I have seen most of the attractions, I will of course blog them more specifically later, but for now I'm just reading a new book (new to me) called "are you experienced?" by william sutcliffe given to me by Ralf. I laugh, and wonder if there is a hidden meaning.

I sort of received a package from Canada too. Sort-of because it's at Siri's place in Germany, but I won't be going back there. So she is mailing it to another friend of mine so eventually I'll be united with my mail. It's from my good Bro John in North Bay, and I know for a fact it includes some Tim Hortons Coffee!

One of my other friends made this funny logo.

Tallinn Estonia Arrival

Tallinn's old town
Originally uploaded by digikuva.

I arrived in Tallinn Estonia about 1 hour ago. The airport is quite small and it was a breeze passing through customs and getting the baggage. It seems they are building another terminal or expanding on the current one.

The moment you walk out the door and do the right you will see a "Bus to city" sign which takes you to down town Tallinn. The bus ride costs 15 EEK (1 Euro) and takes about 10 minutes until the last stop. It's about 5 minutes walk to enter in to the edge of "Old Town" which I found the Viru entrance.

There is a beautiful guest house I found for 19 Euro for Dorms. There are 6 people per room but they give you towels, the washrooms are clean and the entire place has antique looking wood furniture and looks extremely posh.

The address for the "Old House Hostel" is as follows:
Uus 22, Tallinn, Esti
Telephone: +372 6 411 464
Email: info@OldHouse.ee
Web: www.oldhouse.ee

I've booked in for three nights and am just about to do my first exploring of the city. There is massive amounts of beautiful women here too... wow!

Estonia Bound!

Well it is 0730... been up for several hours... had a great time hanging out here in Hamburg with my friend and now I'm off to Tallinn in Estonia. My flight is at 1250 but I've got to get there a couple hours before and I haven't picked up my ticket from their office at the airport yet either.

So now begins the next adventure in Eastern Europe, hopefully the weather is warmer than last years and things aren't too expensive. Hopefully the internet connections are a little faster this year too.

Hopefully will post tonight from the hostel.