We arrive in Tallinn at about 6.50 am. After being visited by most of the Russian border police during the night and losing an hour to the time zone change, we've had about 4 hours sleep. The stewardess knocks on our door with 15 minutes to go and we indulge in a brief panic to get up and ready.

[Tallinn Centre]

As ever, the train station has a chav infestation, although it only appears to affect the station, and we leave it behind when we cross the road. Toompea, the hill in the centre of old Tallinn, faces us and warns of a serious climb. Thankfully, the route takes us around the side of the hill. It didn't look too fun with backpacks on.

[Niguliste kirik (St. Nicholas' Church)]

We navigate through Tallinn's scenic old town towards the hostel on "Uus". On a map stop, the two Scandinavian people we heard arguing with the ticket office in St. Petersburg catch up. They haven't anywhere booked so we invite them to investigate our hostel, a five-ten minute walk.

They tell us that the ticket they bought didn't have a seat booked, and when they came to get the train, St Petersburg central ticket office told them that the train was full and they couldn't travel. Last night's train was the next one, two days later and after their visa had expired. We heard them badgering the ticket people into giving them a seat.

Their next bit of fun came at the border when the border guard saw their expired visa and starts chanting their favourite mantra "problem". Fortunately there are two Russians in their carriage who help talk the problem into going away. They were lucky - a party of Italians got dumped at the border for an expired visa. Explains the heavy border patrols last night.

After only overshooting slightly, we arrive at our hostel (which has a variety of strange old things in the window) twenty minutes before it opens. We sit and watch Tallinn, which isn't very busy at twenty to eight. It's quite windy, being on the coast. The old town has narrow cobbled streets, leading more often than not up a hill. It's colourful, and pretty, and feels friendly. It certainly feels a lot more open and accessible than Russia and we're already feeling slightly relieved.

We get queue-jumped by a pair who haven't read the opening times, and who turn out to be right. Eventually everyone gets a room (we are in the guest-house section rather than the hostel bit). We do the formalities and head into the deserted old town for some food after leaving our bags in the corridor.

It's still about 8 in the morning as we wander into Tallinn, and there isn't much open. We search Tallinn for a cafe that opens early, which takes us until 9. We refuel on coffee and pastries, facing a car park.

[Occupation Museum]

[Occupation Museum]

[Occupation Museum]

Then we head to the tourist office to find out about trams and buses and generally sort out a plan. Happily, everyone speaks English.

First stop is the Occupation Museum. We're early again so we wait in a park outside smelling of wee.

[Lenin]

[More statues]

It's a small (but beautifully formed) museum with exhibits and videos telling the story of German and Soviet occupation of Estonia. The videos are packed with information, and feel too long, particularly as there are no chairs. My personal favourite exhibit is described as "Bugging apparatus obtained from departing Soviet soldier in exchange for bottle of vodka". The basement contains toilets and the remains of some assorted Soviet luminaries.

[No House-skiing]

[Pikk Jalg looking down towards Tallinn]

[Pikk Jalg looking towards Toompea]

[Garlic bread]

We head up to Toompea to town looking for eateries before getting back to our room. Cathy goes wrong from lack of sleep and decent food and I have to nurse her back towards the hostel. We finally find a nice café opposite the hostel and eat lunch.

Our room is a little disappointing. It's next to reception and has a window on to the street, which conspire to make it a little noisy. It also features broken lights, a minor hole in the wall, and a shared miniscule toilet with a glass door onto the main corridor. We're still tired after missed sleep last night and accidentally end up sleeping.

[Shoreline towards Tallinn] [Shoreline looking towards Pirita] [Hotel] [Hotel]

When we wake up, we see about getting a bus to Pirita. Pirita was the venue for the yachting at the Moscow Olympic Games and the guide book promises "weird futuristic soviet architecture". The first obstacle is finding out where to get the bus. The tourist office drew it on a map for us, but the right bus isn't in any hurry to turn up, and the natives give us any number of contradictory directions. Eventually, we find it in a strange underground bus dungeon under a shopping centre.

[Olympic flame]

About 5 km later, we get off the bus and struggle across the wide and busy road to the sea front. We walk along the concreted boulders towards Pirita and find the first example of weird Soviet architecture - a hotel.

We continue on to the yacht club and find the remnants of the Olympic venue - the Olympic flame and crumbling marble-clad seating. After beer and pancakes in the yacht club bar, we head back down the coast road to Tallinn.

[People on cycle path]

[Skiing bloke]

[Skaters and monument]

There are lots of cyclists and skaters using the coast road cycle lane, and a bloke on wheeled skis continually going back and forth. Halfway along the road we find a concrete nightmare, a brutally ugly monument to the Soviet "liberation" of Estonia, which is controversially still in place. We continue to the next bus stop and catch the next bus back to town.

After a spirited attempt to get some food at a café which has no interest in serving us and doesn't appear to have any food (I can't remember the name, but it's at the corner of Uus and Vana-Viru), we head back to the hostel and sleep.