All Alone

part eight

If ever a song reminded me of Tallinn it will always be this, for we spent so long tracking down these little dolls for my step-grandpa. We never found them and he had to buy different ones that he wasn't in love with, but that was okay. I loved the one I bought for my mom, but I bought it the moment I laid eyes on it and that's how you have to shop, I've decided. I loved feeling like I was all alone; we wandered the city without a tour guide and took our time finding the castle and listening to the men playing violins in the courtyard. If ever I return I will go by myself and I'll go through the same shops for nostalgia's sake, but the graffiti on the walls outside will probably be different. I probably won't find "Retrofuturism: Translinguistic Futurism" spray-painted on a fence again. I don't even know what that phrase means but I think it has something to do with the narrow, decrepit cobblestone streets with sleek white security cameras precariously secured to the peeling brick buildings.

I only wandered around Old Tallinn but I found buildings with strange metal rods attached to the walls for no apparent reason other than to help intrepid assassins reach arched rooftops. Street bands of teenagers played Western songs in every square for whatever coin you might be carrying, and how could I not give money and applause to the boys proudly trumpeting through "Eye of the Tiger"?

The McDonald's in Tallinn accepted any type of money and even though it's not called a "Quarter Pounder" in Estonia, the cashier understood what I wanted well enough and the ketchup even tasted the same - slightly more acidic than that of any other fast food restaurant. It offered free wifi, too, and for once I didn't mind being the tourist who goes to McDonald's instead of eating locally. In my defense I was traveling with my grandparents, which made for not quite an adventure as the backpacking-through-Europe trip I guess I was supposed to take (but really, is that any better a stereotype than being a tourist? I don't really see the difference, myself).

The street signs were confusing, though, even if they had English translations on the bottom. Our map was terrible but I liked getting lost.