The night started off at Shimo, a tiny lounge-bar in Tallinn Old Town. It’s an alright place with decent prices, the atmostphere is quite nice :

We got the boys there and eerybody opted to buy either beer or shots . Awesome way to start the party.

Some of the boys were worried that they wouldn’t be aable to get into Nimeta (The No Name Bar) as apparently the guys have to be over 21 to get in. This bar has the strangest policy about letting peple in. First of all, the bouncers are most of the time rude pricks. I think there’s only one guy who’s genuinely polite to the customers there. For instance, I mentioned to one of them last night that several people in the bar were underaged and all i got was a shit load of f***s and c***s and just nasty attitude. So, we decided to hang out at the Embassy Lounge which is one of my personal favorites

The night ended early for me as me an my…ummm….guy, had a bit of a fight and we’re talking things straight but according to my very reliable sources, everybody else had a blast at Levikas, which is more of an underground grunge place…awesome to hang out at when everything is closed…and at the hostel

I’m celebrating my 24th birthday on the 25th of November! Quite a few years in a row I’ve opted for a quiet celebration, not this year though! I’ve decided to celebrate my birthday out in the Old Town.

Now all I need is a guest list, a menu and an outfit to wear

I’ve chosen to use Shimo bar as my venue. It’s a small Asian themed bar in Old Town, very cozy, plus I know some of the people that work there….easier to organize tables etc.

PS! Does anybody know any good party games, like ice-breakers or something???

Around 2 years ago I was doing some grocery shopping in Kaubamaja when suddenly a man approached me, Wim, and said that I had amazing eyes (I kid u not ).  He introduced himself as a documentary photographer and gave me his card, asking me to contact him regarding an exhibition he was organizing.  Obviously I was very skeptical. I wasn’t born yesterday, you have to be careful in this world, there are so many scammers out there.

http://www.wimlamboo.nl/gallery2/v/Streetlife/Talinn/

http://www.galeriepiculiar.nl/pageID_5100280.html

That night I went home and I google him to make sure he was legit.  After browsing through pages after pages of his work I decided to call him and give it a shot.  We met the next week for a photo-shoot. I’m gonna say it right now, wow, long, difficult, and I’m no model…heheeeee. 5 hours of work and I was beat.

Wim is a great conversationalist even though it was hard as English is not his first language. We did however get along, he is funny with a great sense of humor, and an odd vision regarding his photography.

About a year ago he called me up and said that he’s going to use a photo or maybe two in his book. He is currently composing a book called The Women of Tallinn . Needless to say, I was excited, I’ve never been part of anything like this before.

And today I got an email from him asking me to write an entry for his book…how great is that !!!

I know quite a few girls who work as models and I’d just like to say RESPECT. It is a job that requires patience and a strong personality.  For you people who aren’t Estonian I’d like to introduce…heheeeee…you to a super model, who is well known in the world, and who just happens to be from my little home town, and who was also discovered in a shopping centre. CARMEN KASS

Have you ever had any experiences like that? Leave a comment or a question the comments and I look forward to reading what you guys think!

Today I went to see Julie & Julia in the cinema. Wow! I loved that movie, it was sweet and funny and it truly made me think about the role of cooking in the lives of Estonians.

It might be a foreign concept to many what is a common thing to us: growing your own vegetables (Don’t crucify me if you feel otherwise ) My mother garden, she grows all sorts of different vegetables: potatoes, carrots, beet root etc. The best thing is getting fresh vegetables for cooking. It gives the food a better taste, and you a sense of accomplishment.

So, I’m getting a bit sidetracked here. Estonians love food, and most of us love cooking. We have many good restaurants but due to growing numbers in tourism the variety is huge and Estonian cooking is slightly pushed to the background. Don’t get me wrong I love foreign cuisine.

Several years ago I was living in Thailand and I was feeling very homesick, so I decided to cook boiled potatoes with minced meat sauce, it is delicious. I tried offering some of my aussie coworkers some but their response was that they wouldn’t eat anything that looks like cat’s vomit…well, thank’s a lot you guys, you happen to live in a country where tasting different and unknown dishes is like walking through a mine field: you’ll never know when you’re safe i.e. when something is tasty…all you gotta do is man up and go for it. I admit, minced meat sauce looks funny, but in the end it’s the taste that matters. Whit that attitude I managed to get to know Thai cuisine pretty well.

On that note, potatoes are to Estonians what rice is to the Chinese or the Thai people, it plays a big part in the food culture. There are just so many things you can do with it. It’s great. Another interesting thing about Estonian food appears mostly during Christmas time: black pudding. Now many people might be grossed out by the idea, I’m definitely not one of them. Black pudding is great and I couldn’t imagine Christmas without it. Add sour kraut, potatoes, loads of pork and cranberry jam on the side and you have the perfect dinner.

What can I say about desserts in Estonia? Well, I’m not much of a dessert person myself, but I’ve always loved berry cake in the summer i.e. fresh berries. Imagine going to the woods, with a basket, collecting blueberries. One goes into the basked, the other into your mouth, a couple of hours later you go home and fix the cake dough. When the cake is ready you place the blueberries on top and spread a healthy amount of sweet whipped cream on top….mmmmmm….heaven.

Another delicious thing we have here is sort of like a pretzel..well…what I mean by that is that it’s shaped like a pretzel, and it tastes like a pretzel on occasion but it’s much bigger…like a pretzel cake. It normally has raisins and chocolate and it’s braided. I’m not sure if I made any sense but If you ever have a chance to attend an Estonian birthday party (and by that I mean with a proper table where people sit and eat and drink) or a wake or something of that kind, you will have the oportunity to taste something really good.

I’m going on and on about food. Well, I love it! As a matter of fact, I’m going to go and cook myself something good. Tonite’s menu: Thai Green Curry with Chicken…ironic, since I’ve devoted today’s blog on Estonian food.

Head isu kõigile!

It’s currently autumn in Estonia, the leaves have fallen from trees and you can smell that in the air. It smells like change. And one part of that change is the fact that it goes dark really quickly during the day. And darkness is one of the best times to explore the Old Town since it brings out the magic.

The architecture itself is amazing not to mention the faint smell of spicy almonds that they sell on the street corners. The medieval look adds to the magical feeling one gets from the Old Town.

The video I have added is basically bits and pieces of the Old Town. I tried adding music but obviously I failed. I’m not very good at editing videos However, you’ll get the idea. At the very end of the video I’m actually at the top of the viewing platform where you can see pretty much the whole city and it is both beautiful during daylight as well as during night time.

While walking home I was listening to music and suddenly I felt this urge to cry. It’s hard to describe the exact emotion but I think that I was simply overwhelmed about the beauty of Tallinn and the fact that I’m so lucky to get to live here and enjoy it every day. Also, It was like a breath of fresh air, suddenly I realised that just as Tallinn never gets finished (there’s a folklore story behind that statement which I will share soon enough) I will never stop learning and experiencing and that it in itself is a magical thing