Strolling along the meticulously kept cobblestoned streets of Tallinn's medieval old town, you just may forget there is huge, looming entity called Russia to the east. You will be even harder pressed to remember that these two lands were not long ago joined together under the same crushing Soviet yoke.
The old town is a place of sparkling new cafes, restaurants, pubs and shops tucked into quaint, northern European style houses and surrounded by stone walls dating back to the 15th century.
It is a perfect place to get away for a weekend, especially for citizens of the 20 or so countries (including the US and UK) which are exempt from any visa requirements to enter the country.
The Lonely Planet guidebook to the Baltic States and Kaliningrad (1994) is a valuable tool for planning a trip to the region, although some of the book's information is laughably outdated -- notably the quoted exchange rate of 1000 roubles to the dollar, and the suggestion that the cost of a coupe train ticket from St. Petersburg to Tallinn costs the equivalent of one US dollar.
The publishers can hardly be held accountable for the frantic pace of change in the region, though, and in other ways the book makes up for its lack of currency.
As with the dozens of other books in the Lonely Planet series, the extensive sections on history, culture and geography are engaging, well-written, and will give the traveler a more involved understanding of the region. So how much does it cost to get to Tallinn by rail?
A round-trip ticket from St Petersburg's Varshavsky Vokzal costs the rouble equivalent of about $30.
The trains travel overnight both going and coming, but don't expect to get much sleep -- long about 2am, and then again at 3am, you will be invited to have a nice man in a uniform dig through your belongings searching for a few of those "cultural valuables" that keep slipping out of Russia.
The train arrives at around 7am, so you're sure to be good and bleary-eyed for the first morning, at least. For the budget traveler, the clear choice of a place to lay one's weary head is the new youth hostel, aptly named "The Barn."
The hostel's prime location right near Raekoja Plats (Town Hall Square) and cost ($10 per night) outweigh the drawbacks of its barn-like atmosphere, with twelve bunk beds crammed into separate rooms for men and women, and the whole place covered with bright green astroturf for carpet.
Although the Lonely Planet guidebook falls on its face where budget hotels are concerned, listing a number that no longer exist (such as Agnes Hostel and the Hotell Volta), and without a listing for The Barn, which only opened in November, it is right on the mark with its restaurant listings.
The old town abounds with high-quality, comfortable and relatively inexpensive restaurants, the best of which are the popular Eeslital restaurant, with live music in its cellar bar, and Toomkooli restaurant, with a chalet atmosphere and decent view from the top of Toompea Hill.
Estonia is also known for its thriving music scene, and in cellar bars across old town, you can sip (or gulp, as the case may be) a variety of imported beers while hearing the latest that Baltic rock has to offer.
The more than 500-year-old history of Tallinn is captured in the town's two history museums, a half-dozen towering medieval churches, a monastery, and the towers and walls separating the old city from the Soviet-style boxy apartment houses east of the center.
The medieval charm of old town will soon be severely dented by a new McDonalds at the town gate, so hurry and catch a last unspoiled glimpse before the corporate beast sinks its claws in.