Bastion Tunnel & Amarillo

Today Georgia, Dan & I went to the Bastion Tunnel tour. Highly recommended!! They first show a little video about the history of city’s bastion systems. It was done with our sense of humor in mind.. and narrated by what sounded to be a drunk Brit. At the beginning of the tour the guide suggested that we take some blankets with us downstairs on account of it being 8 degrees Celsius. He did not lie. 

 

Great museum. A few years ago they repaired a portion of extensive tunnel network and created pretty entertaining multi media experience there. The tunnel we were in is designed as series of rooms. They used different rooms to show different moments in the history of the city. They start from current times – these rooms show how a tunnel looked  just a few years ago when it was used by the homeless some of whom lived in the system for 30 years.

Then a fun punk exhibit to show illegal music movements, then some highly entertaining cold war exhibits complete with a good collection of paraphernalia and propaganda video in Russian. The picture of some Russian soldiers in radiation gear brushing themselves off with a birch broom to decontaminate – hilarious. 

Then they show some other periods in the past. At one point they have a live outside video feed showing where we are in relation to the surface. At the end of the tunnel there is a pressurized glass plate showing the rest of the tunnel that has not been cleaned up yet. That was one of the most impressive points of the tour – a kind of a window into the past.

  

The guide said we are done with the tunnel so we turned around and went back to the surface. He was panting when he caught up and said there is another tunnel. Hurray! We came back. At the beginning of the other tunnel there was a futuristic looking bench that we thought was a dehumidifier at first. We sat down on it and one of the walls came down and it turned out to be a monorail that slowly progressed along the tunnel as a video about the city was shown. The whole trip was about 15 minutes and we moved maybe 50 meters. One might call it the Estonian train J The video was very entertaining and we did not even notice the passage of time. It really zeroed in on the multicultural history and background of the city. In the end there was another humorous exhibit about the future of the city.

For dinner we went to Amarillo at Viru. Very nice. Portions are American-sized and arrived at the right speed and tasted good too. Waitress really waited on us. And there was a kids room right next to us with a single exit. I had to carry out Isabella kicking and screaming in the end. It is disappointing but I have nothing else to add about that.

Song and dance festival is on near Pirita so the town is full of youths in ethnic costumes singing and dancing to make an extra euro. Further adds to the great mood in the city.

At night we went out for a walk at around 11pm. The city was full of people of all kinds. There were crowds, conversations, laughter. And not just one single street of the old town. It is really exciting to be in a middle of this. Wish we could share this with others.    

A quick note about Isabella. She has insatiable curiocity. She could spend an hour on one stop picking up various things: cigarette butts, stones, gum and examining them. However horrific it is to observe it and utterly fruitless to try to stop it. Yesterday she spotted an ant. She squealed in delight. Picked up the little creature and rubbed it between her fingers. I said no Isabella - it is a living thing, let it go. So she did. And then she stomped it out enthusiastically. Jain she ain't at this point.

They play really well with Georgia except for the moments when Georgia has her daily cries. When that happens Isabella slaps Georgia, presumably to comfort her but usually it does not help. But the funny thing, most recently when Georgia sees Isabella approach her with her fists ready, she stops crying.