Wednesday 9 November 2011

Tallinn, Estonia: My Memoirs

On the 21st October 2011 me and Brandi took our first holiday together (where we were 'both' on holiday). We decided to go to Tallinn, the Medieval capital of Estonia.

- Being on a plane with Brandi for the first time of many.

- Going to Kumu Art Museum. A crazy museum with exhibits including a woman licking a baby, the same woman lying naked with puppies crawling on her, and a room full of carvings of heads and one bird.



- Going site-seeing around Old Town, a really medieval city with amazing looking city walls and towers.


- Getting drunk together and eating crisps in the hotel room on really nice Estonian vodka.

- Going to an old KGB room on the secret 23rd floor of the main hotel in Tallinn. Being amazed with how recently the Soviets forcibly occupied Estonia and how weird life must have been under their rule.


- Walking around the outskirts of Tallinn, looking for the abandoned prison. Finding a crazy looking factory complex, and getting a much better idea what of Tallinn is like.



- Being extremely disappointed with Hesburger after remembering it as being really nice in Lithuania.

- Going to a nightclub called Hollywood. It took quite a while to find, but was very worthwhile inside. Brandi had guys talking to her, and then had girls push into her that must have realised I was Captain Vestman ;).




- Going to the Lahemaa National Park, the biggest in Soviet Russia when it was under their control. Seeing a waterfall that looked like the road just broke away. I got to walk behind the waterfall.


- Hearing the interesting history of Estonia from the tour guide, and their struggle being between Germany and Russia in World War 2.



- Visiting the abandoned Soviet submarine base, and learning about how the submarines would go through a magnetised spiral underwater, which would reset their magnetic signature making them undetectable by radar and underwater mines. It was a really interesting place with Soviet Propaganda pictures.



- Going to Kasmu, known as 'Captains Village', an old well known port. Had a great scenic view from a Soviet watch tower, followed by an amazing lunch made by the millionaire owner of a home-built museum.



- Driving around and getting out in different areas to see the amazing Estonian wilderness.




- Going on a swing that is a common past-time for younger people, who get drunk, swing high and then try and jump off into trees.


- Walking through a forest and seeing beaver dams, and drinking water from a natural spring.




- Going on a 3km hike through their famous bog that in places was over 2m deep. The surroundings were truly amazing.



- Trying to decide what to start collecting with Brandi.


Tuesday 1 November 2011

Halloween 2011

For Halloween this year me and Brandi spent ages trying to think of a costume. In the end we thought of Tobias and Lindsay Fünke, from Arrested Development.


I completely 'blued up', complete with never-nude cut-offs. Since most people don't actually know who they are, here is a picture of them in Arrested Development.



On Thursday night we carved pumpkins. I am not very good at doing them usually, but I think I did quite well! Brandi's looks amazing. It is an old groaning man. Mine was a face, and I tried to give it a hair outline, which looked really bad, but then I put the cut out bit back in giving it an outline glow.



On the Saturday night we went to a house party (in the above costumes). I got quite drunk at a house party near my old house. Most people thought I was a Smurf, or an Avatar person. Only one American actually got who I was. I am quite pleased, being someone quite unknown is what I usually aim for, like Antoine Dodson last year (also shows all my other fancy dress things)







On the actual night of Halloween I went to my mom and dads, and we had a Halloween party, and then I went Trick or Treating with my nephews and nieces. It was really fun. We decided to only knock on the doors of people that have Halloween decorations, as they are likely to expect people coming around. It was nice to see that so many people had got in the spirit of it (pun) with some putting up really good decorations, and one lady inviting them in to see her life-size spooky waiter statue.