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If you sign up for a tour in Tallin, Estonia, you may encounter a few surprises. After finishing a lovely coffee break at a historic Viennese-style café, our small group strolled out into the cobblestone streets of Old Tallin. While admiring the flowery and flowing medieval architecture, we were suddenly jolted into another era. “Halt!” a man shouted! He was a uniformed police officer, who, with a heavy Russian accent, demanded that we “Stop taking photos!” He pulled us aside and ordered us to present our passports and papers. Our group members looked at each other wondering what could possibly be wrong. “Be quiet! Stand against Wall!” The office demanded. He then pulled out handcuffs and began hand-cuffing my friend. We were all a little bit frightened (or at least uneasy) until we noticed that the hand-cuffs were wrapped in pink velvet!
We now knew this was some kind of a joke, but what? The policeman started pointing and poking at us with a wide, wooden stick, “Turn around. Single file! Get in!” We looked to our left and there was a rickety, Soviet-era military vehicle. “Single file! Get in!” he repeated, sternly motioning with his heavy stick and pushing us into the vehicle. We each grabbed the cold metal on the sides of the door, and climbed in one at a time. To our further surprise, there were other Americans (tourists) already aboard, sitting on the 1960s-style school bus seats. After we all filed in, “Comrade” joined us, parking himself in the driver’s seat. He forced the door closed, and then turned around and announced “Now we go to prison!” But … “First we have a drink! Russian vodka!” He began laughing one of those evil laughs like you hear in the horror movies. Then, he opened a “secret drawer” and pulled out little, clear plastic shot glasses, and his laugh changed to a “the jokes on you laugh.” Soon we were all laughing away our anxiety, as he poured Stolichnaya for everyone. (We were all adults.) Then, he returned to the driver’s seat, but instead of driving, he whipped out a guitar and broke into song – Russian music of course. He did eventually drive us to Patarei Prison (http://www.patarei.org/en/patarei-sea-fortress-prison/). I was actually surprised that the vehicle did run! I was also pleased that this actor (from Blue Drum Tours: www.bluedrum.eu), which is what he turned out to be, only served vodka to his passengers. He did not drink and drive.
The tour/ inspection of Patarei Prison was also quite fascinating. A kind of fortress, it was actually built in 1840 and housed prisoners until as recently as 2002. Since 2007, however, it is a cultural park and a reminder of the Soviet occupation. They now even host events complete with “prison catering”.
May 8, 2023
