May 7/2006
We headed out from Märsta Station a bit after 1800. Ibo, Llywellyn and Susan saw me off to the bus. We drove to Kapellskär and at 2100 our ship, the Vana Tallinn left port on the way to Paldiski. I was in cabin 6006 with Cyndi, Jasna and Klaudia. We ate a late dinner, bought some chocolate at the taxfree and sat and chatted for a bit until the leering truck drivers drove us to our cabin, where we turned in at 2330. We could hear Majsa in the next laughing for a couple hours before they settled off to sleep as well. Klaudia went out dancing and came in around 0500. Apparently when the bar closed at 0300 the ship staff stayed and partied with our group until 0500. *laugh*
May 8/2006
We were up at 0630 and had breakfast on the ferry at 0700. It was a nice breakfast and the best were mini pirogies. The ship docked at 0800 and we went through pass control and out to our bus. After a half hour or so it was obvious something was wrong, 4 of our students and 2 of our teachers were not at the bus when it was time to leave. Apparently one of the teachers had contact with the Estonian embassy and was told that as long as our non swedish students had valid visas for Sweden, they would be able to enter Estonia without a visa from the Estonian embassy. Well that was wrong. So Edemir, Hussein, Lamin and Majsa were not allowed to enter the country so Sigurd went back with them on the ferry home. It put a damper on the day, especially Majsa who was so happy and excited about the trip. Once that was sorted out, our bus headed into Paldiski. Our tour guide, Ylmar was a little old man who had been in school at the beginning of WW2. He only spoke Estonian so we had Marianne with us to interpret. There were 3 other tourists on the bus, english speakers who had an english interpreter. It was really tough for me because while I was trying to listen to Marianne, one ear was always straining to hear the english. *laugh*
Paldiski, a city of about 4000, was very interesting. It was occupied first by the Russians, then the Germans and then the Soviets, for a period of over 50 years from the start of WW2 until 1994. The city was closed during the war and then again when the nuclear plant and u-boat base were built there. Amid the dirt and destruction evident everywhere are pockets of rebirth in this city. Driving in I saw buildings that reminded me of Finland and most were painted in the pastel colours that are evident throughout Estonia. We passed the railway tracks where an electric train runs between Paldiski and Tallinn. The abandoned u-boat base is falling to pieces and graffiti on one of the remaining walls states appropriately “Welcome to Hell”. We saw the estonian school that had 24 students in 1994 when it reopened after the soviet troops left. Today there are over 200 students.
Amidst the ruins of military facilities are a number of new windmills.
They were built two years ago and supply the city with power. There is a large lighthouse on the point that the russians tried to blow up when the german troops took control in 1940, but someone cut the line to the dynomite so the lighthouse remained.
The russians did however pull up the railway tracks and killed all the horses, dumping everything into the sea. In 1940 the germans built a watch tower that looked out over the gulf of Finland, with 4 cannons sighted to shoot anyone who tried to leave or enter Estonia from that point.
A large bunker is also buílt at the base of the watch tower.
A very interesting story was the story of the lutheran church in Paldiski. During the occupation it was used as a dance hall, a movie theatre and a storage facility at different times. In 1993 Ylmar spoke with a russian woman asking for the church keys to see what could be done with it. She handed them over and after he looked in and saw the disrepair she said he could hold on to the keys. He went immediately and bought a new lock for the church. With help from parishes in Estonia, Finland, Germany and even Scotland, the church was restored and outfitted but is still very stark. On one wall is a painting of the church as it was before the occupation. That painting was hidden from the occupying forces for 50 years, in various homes.
At the front of the church is a painting of Christ. It was hidden in Tallinn behind the pipes of the organ in the cathedral.
It was decided to have the first mass in the church for christmas 1993. The day of the service they recieved a call that Lennart Meri, Estonia’s president, was coming to the service and a film crew would be coming to film the reclamation of Paldiski’s church. After a mad scramble someone brought a bench from thier home sauna, so that Meri would have a place to sit. Today the parish has 20 members. Across a road from this church is the russian orthodox church, also being restored but it is taking much longer.
The soviets built a nuclear reactor in Paldiski in the 60’s and the site is still under guard today, because of the radioactivity around the area. If I understood him correctly, there are two atomic subs in this spot, encased in cement.
Outside of Paldiski we saw the memorial to the people who died in the Klooga concentration camp there. 2000 jewish people and a number of Estonian political prisoners were kept there and murdered by the germans in 1944 when the soviet troops were coming back.
