I wound up buying a new camera to replace the one that went lame on Saturday. While it was not as much as I had initially feared, the price was still pretty steep, but it's a nice one and I'm happy that I can now take pictures! So I took the ferry to Tallinn (Linda Lines, 1.5 hours as opposed to the 3 hour Viking Line), very nice and smooth ride, went by pretty quickly.

Old Town Tallinn reminded me a bit of Old Town Prague, with its storybook medieval architecture, but overall the city seems a lot smaller. I didn't wander out of the old town much, partly because it was cold and rainy most of the time (I ducked into a modern shopping center to stay dry). Lots of cool shops and restaurants abound, but overall probably not worth more than about 2 days, which is about how long I stayed. A standout attraction for me was the Kalev marzipan shop. I'm not a fan, but it was cool to see the marzipan shaped into cool figures. My last dinner was at a restaurant on the Old Town square that served modern Estonian cuisine (though I'm not quite sure what the traditional cuisine is like), where I had orange braised chicken with smoked cheese sauce and vegetable risotto.

Lola - you should stay at Old House, which runs both a hostel and guesthouse, and has private rooms, apartments and dorms. It has a great location in the Old Town and very decently priced. I actually was the only one staying in my dorm room, so I got a single room for the price of a dorm bed. 

This morning I took the bus to Riga and along the way saw the stark contrast of the countryside versus the modernity and constant change of the cities. Many Soviet-era buildings remain, while some North American-style shopping complexes have also moved in.

So far, Riga seems a little bigger and busier than Tallinn. I'll be here for another 2 days, during which time I plan on heading to the beach resort of Jurmala. Yeah it is a little cold now, but it's supposed to be nice all year round. If I ever do come back here, especially Helsinki, it would have to be during the summer, when it's warmer and there is more going on.

Right now certainly is a great time to be here. The countries have been independent for about 17-18 years now, and it shows. While the Old Towns retain their original charm, modern businesses move in without disruption. And the people seem to be looking forward. In 5 years, this is going to be a different place.