Wandering

I attempted to go to the Gay Christian coffee this morning...

I was the only one who showed up.

Actually, that isn't true. One other person showed before I got there, plus some reporters from Tallinn TV. But the organizer overslept. So there was no coffee.

I did get to spend some time chatting with one of the organizers of the gay center, where the coffee was to be held.

My plans for the morning scrapped, I headed towards home. But a band playing in Vabaduse Valjak drew me into the Old City. I listened to them for a while (it was a concert supporting recycling), and then decided to wander through the Old City some more. This time I just went whichever way the mood struck me, taking pictures.

I have discovered that no matter where I am in the Old City, it is pretty easy to find your way back to some place that you know. So I wandered for a couple hours, checking out galleries and listening to all the Russian tourists. You'd think they had a sign somewhere...yesterday was French tourist day, today was Russian tourist day. Occassionally you hear an American, British or Irish voice, often accompanied by another person speaking Estonian-accented English.

I also got to watch a glass maker plying his trade.


Yes, I know there is a no photography sign there but what they meant was no flash photography while he was working. I asked.

I stopped at the store on the way home to pick up some cheese and orange juice. I have a favorite brand here already, Cappy, which always makes me think Crappy. A woman asked me something about the cheese (why she asked me, I don't know) and I didn't catch what she said, so I said "Kuidas?" (which means how but is the Estonian way of asking what did you say). She started asking me something in a mixture of Russian and Estonian, so I just answered as best as I could in Estonian. Finally, she asked, "Is good?" about the cheese. I said I thought it was...only because Estonian cheese is generally good. I wasn't buying that brand...I was getting cheddar...

And what a beautiful day here today...the days are getting shorter by six full minutes each day, a noticable difference, but still, I love it here. A friend said if you can't be happy here, you can't be happy anywhere.

And I agree. (Not sure this section of the city wall does though...)