Completing Eastern Europe: A Final Journey to Estonia

A Personal Milestone

This trip marked a personal milestone — Estonia was the final country in Eastern Europe that I had yet to visit.
It felt like the closing of a long, adventurous chapter of one of my favorite regions.

Mapping Out the Journey

Starting from Vilnius, Lithuania, my plan was simple but exciting:
I would take the train north to Siauliai, visit the famous Hill of Crosses, and then continue by bus all the way to Tallinn, Estonia.

The trip would revolve around a few key goals: visiting sacred sites, exploring historic cities, and uncovering relics of the Soviet past.

Highlights I Hoped to Experience

In Estonia, my focus was clear:

• The Old City of Tallinn — a beautifully preserved medieval town, known for its cobblestone streets, fortified walls, and fairy-tale atmosphere.

• The Abandoned Soviet Tunnels — a hidden underground military base rumored to contain miles of forgotten, crumbling tunnels in the forests outside of Tallinn.

The Spirit of the Trip

This Baltic adventure promised the perfect mix of mystery, history, and exploration — a fitting, unforgettable way to close my journey through Eastern Europe.

A Quick Dive into Baltic History

The Baltics — Lithuania, Latvia, and Estonia — may be small, but their history is anything but quiet. Over the centuries, they’ve been ruled by powerful neighbors like Sweden, Poland, and Russia.
Lithuania even once built an empire of its own.

Russian influence was especially strong, first under the Tsars and later the Soviet Union. It wasn’t until the early 1990s, after the fall of the USSR, that all three countries regained full independence.
Today, the Baltics are proud members of the European Union and NATO, blending centuries of rich history with a modern European identity.

My route across the Baltics

A Sleepless Night and a Long Road to Estonia

Restless Hours in Siauliai

May 2022: Sleep was nearly impossible. Throughout the night, drunk revelers gathered outside my hotel window — shouting, laughing, and in some cases, vomiting with reckless abandon.
By 3:00 AM, I gave up on any hope of rest, grabbed my pack, and walked through the cold, dark streets to the bus station.

Inside a nearby gas station convenience store, I waited with a friendly cashier girl who helped pass the time until my bus to Tallinn finally arrived.

Boarding the Cross-Border Bus

When the bus pulled in, I was the only passenger boarding at this stop.
It had been traveling all the way from Poland, and as I climbed aboard, I found an elderly babushka woman fast asleep in the aisle seat of the two seats I had reserved.

I had paid for both seats — wanting extra space and a front-row view for the long ride — and after informing the driver, he gently asked the woman to move to her assigned seat, which she did without issue.

Rolling Through the Baltic Countryside

For the next seven hours, we traveled through Lithuania, Latvia, and finally into Estonia.
Out the window, I watched idyllic villages, endless forests, and occasional moose crossing signs flash by — scenes that made me wish I could stop and take photos at every turn.

I had read that Estonia is home to thriving populations of wild wolves, bears, and moose, and looking at the untamed forests, it was easy to believe.

Crossing Into Estonia

Upon entering Estonia, we encountered a temporary immigration checkpoint where officials boarded and checked our passports — a measure introduced to manage the sudden flow of Ukrainian war refugees escaping the conflict.

The journey also restored some of my respect for Eastern European drivers.
Unlike my experiences in Hungary and Romania, drivers in the Baltics — including our bus driver — handled the roads calmly and safely.

Arrival in Tallinn

By noon, we rolled into Tallinn, Estonia.
Despite my exhaustion, I checked into my hotel in the Old City, quickly dropped my pack, and set off on foot — eager to explore the beautiful medieval streets of Tallinn before the day slipped away.

Talinn, Estonia Old Town

Talinn, Estonia Old Town

Talinn, Estonia Old Town

Talinn, Estonia Old Town

Talinn, Estonia Old Town

Exploring the Medieval Heart of Tallinn

Searching for Authenticity

I spent hours wandering through Tallinn’s Old Town, weaving through narrow cobblestone streets and hidden alleys.
While much of the Old City had been beautifully restored, I was on a personal mission — to find and photograph the few surviving corners that had been left weathered and untouched by time.

A City of Two Worlds

Perched on a hill overlooking the Baltic Sea, Tallinn’s Old Town felt like a crossroads between two worlds.
The colorful merchant houses and spired churches reminded me of Scandinavia, while the rougher, faded edges still carried the grit and charm of Eastern Europe.

Putin protest

Signs of War: Estonia’s Anti-Russia Sentiment

A Street of Protest

While exploring Tallinn, I came across an entire street outside the Russian Embassy dedicated to the anti-war effort in Ukraine.
The walls were plastered with angry posters and artwork condemning Putin, and a police vehicle was parked nearby to keep the peace.

It was a powerful reminder that, although far from the front lines, the Baltics are deeply invested in the conflict next door.

Tensions in the Air

I had seen something similar during my stop at the train station in Lithuania — another quiet but firm statement of solidarity with Ukraine.

Although direct flights from Russia into Estonia had been banned, Russian tourists still crossed overland through the border.
In fact, during my time in Tallinn, I encountered a few Russian visitors.
It’s important to note that a significant portion of the Baltic population — especially in cities — are native Russian speakers, a lingering result of decades of Soviet control.

The old city has some incredible and ornate architecture. 

KGB Prison

Shadows of the Past: Visiting the KGB Prison in Tallinn

Stepping Into Darkness

One of the most chilling places I visited in Tallinn was the old KGB prison, a grim reminder of the region’s darker history under Soviet rule.
Inside, visitors can walk through the cells where countless unfortunate souls were held, tortured, and ultimately executed.

Designed for Despair

What struck me most wasn’t just the brutality of the past — it was the horrifying attention to detail.
The cells were painted a sickly lime green, a color meant to disorient and disturb.
The windows were soundproofed and designed to block out all natural light — cutting prisoners off from the outside world and muffling the sounds of their screams so that no one outside would hear them.

The entire place was built not just to imprison bodies, but to crush hope itself.

My Hotel

An Old Church

Old City

Soviet World War II memorial in City Center

Soviet Era Prison

Searching for Secrets: The Hidden Soviet Tunnels of Tallinn

A Bucket List Adventure

One thing I was determined to do while in Estonia was visit the secret underground Soviet military base hidden somewhere near Tallinn.
Very little reliable information existed online, but I had pieced together bits of intel from scattered sources and a few local contacts.
Supposedly, the site contained more than 50 kilometers of tunnels and bunkers, built during the Soviet era, with an entrance somewhere in the outskirts of Tallinn, in an area called Laagri.

Into the Unknown

Without a clear location or a guide familiar with the tunnels, I decided to improvise.
I hired a very confused taxi driver to take me into the general area — a wild, overgrown stretch of forest where the base was rumored to be hidden.

After several failed attempts and just as we were about to give up, we stumbled across a hill that immediately triggered my instincts.
It wasn’t just a natural hill — it had the look of a military fortification.

Scattered through the forest were half-buried bunkers and strange, ominous openings that seemed to beckon adventurers into the unknown.

Going In Alone

My taxi driver, however, wanted no part of it.
Growing up under Soviet rule, he said he had seen enough Soviet ruins for a lifetime and didn’t share my curiosity about exploring them.
We exchanged phone numbers — just in case something went wrong — and he stayed behind as I set off alone into the forest, ready to explore whatever lay beneath.

Entrance to some of the tunnels that from a short distance is completely concealed by forest

Entrance to some of the tunnels

Wild Deer

Creepy Underground Tunnels

More Tunnels

Descending Tunnel with a small hole that I crawled through. It seemed that the authorities attempted to close the tunnel by cementing it shut, but someone else cut a hole in the wall reopening the tunnel.

Me Inside the Tunnel shining my light on the hole I crawled through

Ghosts of a Nuclear Age

From what little I had been able to research, the true purpose of the tunnels remains unclear.
Most sources suggest they were constructed as nuclear fallout shelters, a hidden refuge where Soviet soldiers could survive in the event of nuclear war.

Room after room, corridor after corridor, I pressed onward, descending deeper into the labyrinth beneath the forest.

Breaking Through the Barriers

Eventually, I reached a tunnel sloping sharply downward.
At some point, someone had tried to seal the entrance with concrete — but others had cracked it open again, leaving just enough space for a determined explorer to crawl through.

I squeezed through the narrow gap into a low-ceilinged room.
Ahead, another tunnel stretched deeper into darkness, beckoning me forward.

A Chilling Decision

The deeper I went, the worse the conditions became.
The air grew damp and foul. The ground was slick with water, broken glass glittered under my headlamp, and rusted rebar curled menacingly from the walls and floors.

Creeping deeper into an unstable tunnel — alone, in a place where no one knew exactly where I was — suddenly didn’t seem wise.
I also couldn’t shake the feeling that I was being watched. Shadows seemed to flicker just out of the corners of my eyes, whether from my imagination or something else.

Trusting my instincts, I decided to turn back — leaving the rest of the tunnels and their mysteries for another, braver day.

Entrance to underground building

Desolate chair in underground building that looked like the interrogation chair

Reflections on Tallinn

A City of Contrasts

Tallinn left a deep impression on me.
A beautiful seaside city, it offers a striking mix of medieval spires and stark communist-era buildings — a blend of old-world charm and 20th-century grit that I found fascinating.

Warm People and Memorable Flavors

The people were kind, and the food and beer exceeded all expectations.
It was the kind of place where I could have easily lingered for a few more days — exploring more hidden corners, abandoned ruins, and soaking up the city’s lively yet relaxed atmosphere.

A Reluctant Goodbye

But time was short.
The next morning, I would be flying back to the USA, leaving behind Estonia and the Baltics — a region that had proven to be even more rewarding and intriguing than I had imagined.