"Tallinn~ BRAVO ESTONIA!" a Tallinn County Travel Page by Michael_D

The unexpected treasure was Tallinn Estonia, whose cobblestone streets and pleasantly eerie evening shadows conspired to steal the show. The old town streets were as anciently impressive as the modern hotels and new car dealerships in the city center. After years of struggle and oppression against the yoke of communist Russia I can proudly say Estonia is marching into the 21st century with confidence and grace, BRAVO ESTONIA!

The Russian occupation had an unexpected benefit. The Russians didnt "cementise", sovietise or erect statues to the "glory"(sic) of the USSR like they did elsewhere(think about it...the economies of almost every country they once occupied are doing multiple times better than the RF present day).

So luckily the cultural area of Toompea was ignored to a great degree(except for the initial soviet bomber invasion that leveled about 1/3 of the area) and no "improvements" were made untill Estonia broke away. Now Toompea is a World heritage Site and has an almost mystical atmosphere, while the Estonian nieghborhoods(at least on the #36 bus line) are FULL of nice stores, Mercedes dealerships and beautifull homes and apartments.

If you want to assess the Estonian feelings toward the Russians left behind, take a #1 tram to the Baltic Jaam train station that is VERY depressingly soviet-style and even further north to the poor district. You will swear you are in Russia with the cookie cutter bloc apartments with replete with hanging plaster, fading paint and the dumpster like yards/parks where the grass is never cut and the trash never picked up. It spoke volumes.

ONE vestige of the Russian ere in Toompea in the form of the onion domed Nevsky Orthodox church atop of the fortress hill.

But another bizarre vestige of Soviet times for those on the lookout for off-beat tourist attractions is Kadriorg Tivoli, just east of the city center; Narva mnt. 65a (B-5), an almost horrifying yet bizarrely intriguing carnival park.

Originally built during Soviet rule, it featured cranky attendants, low tech rides and is preserved in the classic disrepair of all things soviet.

The planners were obsessed with two contradictory goals: (1)to ape Disneyland by making all the rides appear free, and (2) to maintain the thorough system of control and snooping for which Soviet life was famous.

Hence the requirement that customers must show their internal passports(internal passports still exist in Russia today!LOL) when they buy tickets. The passport number is then entered in a ledger by a bad-tempered old crone (the reason she is bad-tempered is the soviet-style washrooms..a must see!) and the visitor receives three pieces of paper, the corners of which are rudely stapled together, folded over and stamped. The visitor receives a stamp at each attraction, making it easy for the "KGB guards" at the door to see if enough attractions have been visited to "qualify" for an exit permit.... LOL

On the high iron doors to SovietLand there are two signs. One, which is permanently glued there, says simply, "FULL." giving the doorkeepers the classic ready-made excuse for taking breaks and leaving members of the public in soviet-style lines outside. Another sign exhorts workers of the world to unite and spread the glory of the soviet; it's often replaced by another sign extolling the virtues of atheism.

In recent years the roller coaster became so dangerous that only foreigners from uncomplaining countries like Belarus and Bulgaria were allowed to use it. Finally, it was dismantled and sold to Angola...."

—From an article in "CITY PAPER-The Baltic States"