Thanks to it being Feb half term it was time for me to go on holiday again. This time the boys were left at home as 8 girls from NLIS took to the streets of Tallinn and Riga. Luckily the temperature in London had taken a dive before we flew out as this helped us acclimatise to the -10 temps of Tallinn. The holiday got off to a good start when the hotel reception offered us free mulled wine upon arrival and then a top up of white or red after that. From then on it was eating out with long lunches and delicious dinners with a spot of sight seeing thrown in around all the restuarant stops. One of the highlights was a tour of the KGB museum. In the Commy era a hotel in Tallinn was famous for being a tourist drawcard. The hotel had 22 floors but the KGB operated on a secret 23rd floor of the hotel. We heard some fascinating stories of how the KGB spied on people in the hotel and we got to see one of the rooms exactly as the KGB had left it.
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| Free beer! |
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| KGB spy equipment |
Four of us were keen enough to take a 4 hour bus ride to the city of Riga. The bus had free wifi, coffee and so much leg room I couldn't reach the footrest in front of me!! We had fun looking around the city and discovering the Kiwi Bar where Lisa and I received a free pint for being Kiwi. Nice. We so nearly missed the bus back to Tallinn as we couldn't find the bus stop. It turns out its not across the road from where it drops you off to head back in the other direction. A frantic phone call and a mad dash across traffic and we found the bus waiting for us. Thank you bus driver for waiting for us for 10 minutes.
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| Beautiful doll like buildings of Riga |
We arrived back in Tallinn with it snowing and Lisa and I the only ones brave enough to face the cold. We walked along the old city walls and walked to the other side of the old town to see the cathedral. After we warmed up inside with a nice baileys hot chocolate and our final meal before heading back to London.
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| Alexander Nevsky Cathedral |
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| Looking out over Tallinn from the KGB museum |
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