This year i decided that I didn’t want the typical holiday. I mean i love beaches, cocktails and warm nights but this year I felt the need to explore something different...So thats what I did. I had heard off my friend Ellie that Tallinn, the capital of Estonia, was a beautiful place to visit and the flights didn’t cost an arm and leg so I looked in to it and finally settled on the idea that it was the ideal place to go. However since I have been well and truly bitten by the travel bug I didn’t want to stop there. I decided to look at a map (this will disgust my friend Jen who believes people should already know where every country is ;)) and realised that Russia was an hours flight away from Tallinn. I was sold. With the flights and hotel booked excitement was quick enough to set in.....This was until I realised my research methods had been seriously flawed and I had over looked the fact that you need a visa for Russia. Now this is not a simple Visa you buy online when booking your holiday nor is it a visa you can get much information on from english travel agents, especially as their typical holiday bookings are Benidorm and Ibiza (no judgement...well...:p) this was a visa that was going to give me a few sleepless nights and hours of worrying over. However I eventually got through the whole process and once everything was submitted and I was financially ripped off things went a lot smoother :D
Saint Petersburg, Russia
Now to write in compete detail about my trip will take far too long and probably bore a lot of you s***less however if you do have an interest in Russian history then St.Petersburg is the place to go, formerly known as Leningrad during the communist regime. Full of betrayals, and blood thirsty monarchs Russia is defintely an interesting place to visit, during my three days there we managed to visit many of the top spots for tourists including the Bronze horseman, the Winter palace and the Yusupov palace (my personal favourite as this place was where the legendary Rasputin was murdered.) However the language barrier is a big thing to take into account if you are wanting to visit Russia...they don’t speak english or smile that much so ordering food for the full three days was a big problem especially if your partner’s main hobby is eating (Jeff ;p). But overall it was an interesting place to visit and i’m glad I went. I also managed to pick up a Russian doll :D
Tallinn, Estonia
This has gone down as one my favourite holidays so far. Defintely a place I would revisit. With it’s quaint little streets and medieval feel any one can get lost in Tallinn’s charm. The Old Town is beautiful and full of atmosphere, there are restaurants of all kinds and every corner you turn there is some old church, museum or castle to look around. Estonia welcomed the Euro is 2011 so it’s not as cheap as it used to be, however it wasn’t overly expensive either. The tourist spots cost a few euro a time and you had the choice to go in to the old tunnels underneath the city walls, learn about Tallinn’s occupation, climb the highest tower in Tallinn (only recommended for people with strong legs), go round ghost tours and visit an old KGB prison. It was a fascinating little town with plenty of things to do and lots of fruity cider to taste. Despite the country only being free from occupation a little over twenty years ago most people speak english and were very friendly. Overall I had an awesome time and would love to go again.