In Parnu with the Fins
I Hate Getting Up EarlyI’m on the move again, this time to Latvia. You’d never know getting on a bus could be so difficult. This morning the Fins dropped me off at the bus station in Parnu, Estonia. They’re all heading back to Finland, and I’m going to Riga, the capital of Latvia. Originally they were going to catch the 10:30pm ferry last night, but we decided to extend. That meant they needed to get an early start; unfortunately we had to get up at 5:30am so they could catch the first ferry home.
That left me sitting at an empty bus station at 5:35am. In Estonia, there aren’t a lot of English speakers, and instantly speaking Russian can get you scolded, since ethnic Estonians hate the Russian people. Having nobody to ask, and after walking around the bus station a couple times, I found a ticket office across the street, where I promptly purchased one fare to Riga – on the 7:45am bus for the equivalent of $7.50.
Ne Moy
After waiting around for a couple hours, I was on the lookout for my bus. Quite a few passed by, and none of them were going to Riga. Around 7:45 one showed up. I promptly showed the driver my ticket. He shook his head. So I backed up and waited some more. Five minutes later another bus showed up. I approached that driver, who was in a huge hurry to get going. I showed him my ticket, and he started to let me on board. Then I showed him that I needed to stow my luggage. He then pointed at my ticket and yelled at me “Ne moi!!”, which means “Not Mine” in Russian. Hmm.
Obviously off to a good start, I sat at the station waiting, hoping that my bus was still about to come. Strangely enough a woman paced up the sidewalk and then back and asked me where the bus to Riga was – in Russian. I was stunned to understand her first of all. And then we proceeded to have a pretty coherent conversation about why I was still standing there and not on a bus to Latvia. I was amazed!! Anyway, she went back to the ticket office where she works and returned nearly immediately. They refunded my ticket and explained that the next bus would be there at 8:45, and that I should just pay the driver directly to avoid any additional confusion.
And sure enough, I’m on my way to Latvia. Of course this bus is $45 instead of $7.50, but it’s just nice to be heading in the right direction.
Where is Parnu?
If you recall, my original plan was to meet the Fins in Estonia for a weekend and then later in Helsinki for the Midsummers festival. I made it to Talinn, the capital of Estonia, a day early. The last time I was in Talinn, I came by bus. This time, I got off an airplane with absolutely no information. Luckily the magazine store had a really good guide, and I quickly bought it and found a hotel close to both the old city center and the ferry terminal. Perfect.
After checking in, I walked into town for a little look-see. Talinn is just as I remembered it, except a lot warmer. Last time I was there it was negative 16 degrees Celsius. I have to admit I like it a lot better in the summer. After my walk, I relaxed in my room for a few hours before going out dancing. I found a club called “Hollywood” of all things. It was slammed, and I danced until about 4am. When I left, there was still light in the sky. I love summer this far north.
The next day I was supposed to meet the Fins at the ferry terminal. Of course I hadn’t changed the time on my watch, so I thought I still had plenty of time when they called to find out where I was. We met instead at the bus station; I got there with just enough time to drink some Russian “champagne” they brought to celebrate our weekend and board the bus. It was a great crew. Joen and Anders came along with Danke and Stan. Once we were on the bus, we had a few beers, which was an absolutely terrible idea. There were no bathrooms on the bus, and by the time we made it to our destination, several of us had to run to a nearby hotel to use the facilities. But we made it to Parnu, which is where Joen’s parents own a fantastic condo with a view of the Baltic Sea.
After getting settled into the condo, we proceeded to go bowling and then to dinner, where we each had a fantastic filet. We managed to go dancing at a couple clubs, calling it a night around 5am. The usual behavior followed while walking home. Anders turned into “Ruda”, his alter ego, and things just got worse from there.
Beach Day
The next day we had a beach day planned. We walked down to Parnu’s resort area. The beach is relatively small, but it is extremely popular. Parnu is so close to Talinn, that it attracts a ton of people on the weekend. The beach was packed – there wasn’t a stretch of sand unoccupied. And we walked up a bit, drank a few beers, and decided to check out the nude beach.
My First Nude Beach Experience
It seems that Joen’s mother discovered this special stretch of beach during one of her visits. Joen of course thought we would all like to have a look. It sounded like a good idea at the time. Just imagine all the worst possible candidates for a nude beach, and then imagine them naked in assorted positions on a densely populated stretch of sand. After regaining my eyesight, I decided never to go to another nude beach in my life.
Soviet Excesses
Next Joen wanted to show us something a little different. As it turns out, the Communist Party General Secretary Andropov decided in the early 1980s to build a movie theatre for the Party elite on a beach near Parnu. It has since been abandoned, but as a relic of another time, it is pretty interesting. We took a 20 minute taxi ride out there to see it. It’s a concrete structure, with a decidedly Art Deco design. On the outside walls they nailed teak or wood paneling, and the inside is typical Soviet – falling apart. The movie theater seats no more than 20, but the structure is huge. The entire compound, including the garden, is walled off, so that nobody can see who would be in attendance. We again drank Russian “champagne”.
Skinny-dipping Fins
At some point Joen and Stan decided to take a swim. And in typically Finnish fashion, stripped nude and waded into the water. The Fins are a unique bunch, don’t you think?
We spent one more night at the condo. We were completely spent from two solid days of drinking, and it’s a good thing too. We barely found a restaurant that was still serving dinner at 11pm. The town was completely deserted. Not to mention we needed to get up at 5:30am so the Fins could catch the first ferry to Helsinki.
Here’s the plan. I will be meeting them in Helsinki on Thursday. Until then I plan to be in Latvia. I’ve never been here, and I really don’t know what to expect. The travel book says there is some interesting architecture in the center, and I’m certain there is a good nightlife. I’ll let you know.
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