Night Tallinn

Tallinn, Estonia

Arriving in Tallin was kind of like getting off one of those moving sidewalks at an airport. All of a sudden things slowed down and I felt a bit uneasy but I kept on moving forward. The two weeks prior to that moment of disconcert saw some 6 thousand miles of travel by plane and train and automobile, 6 cities on 2 continents, 2 official "bonne-voyage" parties, and countless good-byes with friends that didn't last long enough at all. As soon as we hit the ground in Estonia, I stopped worrying about who I wasn't spending time with and if I was forgetting anyone or anything. Any last good-byes will have to be made on the phone or via email and any final details will have to remain unresolved or be taken up by one of the numerous "cleaning-up-Mike's-mess" volunteers out there (propz to those kidz - you know who you are). I have very much relaxed and started thinking of "going to the park for a bit" as something that takes half the day.

I manged to make some time for exercise today. I used the local cultural center and concert hall (an embarassing Soviet-era eyesore) as a giant stairmaster then had a short run near Tallinn harbor. In an effort to meet the locals, I jogged a bit down a dock before being turned back by angry shouts of what must have been "you are scaring the fish, stupid gringo" in Estonian. That incident aside, it felt good to work up a sweat. Physical activity is something that can easily slip to the back of the queue when you are traveling. I am trying to have a run at least every 3 days.

Since arrival, I have shot only 25 minutes of video. This isn't enough to do much at all with. I am taking the camera everywhere, but not using it. Two problems here. One - it is hard to identify subjects when you still have not decided what you are making. Two - I feel like a massively dorky tourist loser holding a video camera in front of me all the time. I am going to dedicate some time soon to working out a framework for the documentary and actively make time to do nothing but record video.

The plan for tomorrow is to take a trip outside of Tallinn to see a bit of countryside before returning to the capital for a night in a dance club. The nightlife here is meant to be good and the women are numerous and very exotic. Let's hope for a rockin' last hurrah before we jump the ferry to St. Petersburg on Thursday night.