Post card from Tallinn

I arrived last night in my charming hostel in the Old Town of Tallinn, Estonia. My friend Jaan, whom I worked with in Melbourne a couple of years ago, greeted me at the airport. Estonia is the 42nd country I have visited, and I am not sure why I count how many countries I have been to; it seems a bit crude, but it is, on a fundamental level, one of many things that motivates me to explore new places. I have wanted to come to this part of Europe for many years; I have only been to Eastern Europe a couple of times, and never this close to the Russian Border. I was walking in Old Town last night, and my friend Jaan pointed out a plaque on the wall of an expensive apartment building, stating that this is where the KGB tortured many Estonians.  I evoked my imagination, especially in wanting to learn more, but I don’t have that much time in Tallinn, and travel is necessarily superficial. I first started travelling at the time of the collapse of the Berlin Wall, and the ghosts of the Cold War have been following me ever since.