Day 5 – The EAGLE has been listened to

The day started off later than usual which meant we could finally catch upon some well deserved sleep, which was unfortunately interrupted by many many alarm clocks of Noud. After this disturbance the day got a lot better at breakfast which consisted of some great eggs and bacon (made by Heleen of course ;)) and catching up on the great programs of Dutch television.

KGB museum and Viru hotel
Upon arriving we were told that we were 1,5 hours too early. This meant we had an earlier lunch time than planned. After finally arriving at the correct time we got a nice tour around some of the hotel and museum. The museum consists of the 23rd floor of the hotel this was a secret floor, this meant that the elevator only went up to the 22nd floor. When the hotel first opened, people were told that the upper floor was meant for technical maintenance. This was however a KGB office which was used to spy on people that stayed in the hotel and communicate with other KGB offices. When a someone who was deemed to be a danger to the Soviet union, stayed at the hotel, the KGB would occupy the room next door in order to spy on them. Also wireless mics were hidden nearly everywhere, like in the radio or in a lamp but also on a plate at dinner or an ashtray. The KGB was actually quite advanced in their technology by using wireless mics that transmitted the signal to other hidden devices. Because of this the hotel was also said to be made out of micro-concrete, 50% concrete 50% microphones. In the museum were rooms recreated to look like they did at that time. With doors that said: “There is nothing behind this door” that opened up to a KGB office with many radio’s. The KGB left the hotel in 1991 due to Estonia reclaiming their independence after being under the regime of the Soviet union. All the equipment they couldn’t take with them they broke and left behind.

Kadriorg
After a lovely detour provided by Ivo we visited the Kadriorg art museum. The art was made by some Dutch painters. The architecture of the rooms was especially beautiful. After the museum we had a walk through the gardens surrounding the museum and the Japanese gardens.

Free time
Visiting the open air theatre, lauluvaljak which hosts the song festival in Tallin, which we were told about yesterday at the university where they also explained some of the engineering behind the shape. After this we went on to grab some food at the German beerhouse with live music, which was a good start for our evening programme, a pubcrawl! The pubcrawl started at my personal favorite, the Irish pub, after that we went to a few more secret bars that exist in Tallin. After ending the night with a shot from chemical test tubes we went back to our hostel where we tried to sleep through Roels snoring.

Heleen en Stan