Today turned out to be quite an interesting day. First, we toured a Soviet era prison that has been out of use since 2002. It was cold, damp, and eerie. Some interesting uses of this prison today include raves, concerts, and apparently, the occasional wedding (what a great way to start a marriage). Now, back to its Soviet history. The prison housed four types of prisoners. They could have committed a variety of crimes, from murder to speaking against the Soviet government. We saw where prisoners were initially brought, the photography room, their living quarters, the exercise area (which was very small), and the place death sentences were carried out. The tour guide wanted to depict in vivid detail the experience of the prisoners brought to this place, and he did a very good job of doing so. Notice the picture of Daniel being held against the wall as Soviet prisoners would have been while they were searched for weapons. Fortunately, Daniel left his weapons at home, so we were safe. The guide also locked some of us in various rooms around the place briefly to let us experience them as the prisoners would have. The living quarters were cramped, and more prisoners than beds were often in each room. The prisoners had a ranking system to determine where they slept, and believe me, you did not want to be the rooster. In addition, the death room was quite chilling. The preferred method of execution was having the person lie in the floor face pressed onto a wooden board and having a bullet fired through the head into the wood to prevent ricochet. After our tour, we decided to go behind the prison by the sea to get something to drink at the cafe (Yes, there was a cafe at the prison- the art work was intriguing, to say the least).Now, moving on to something more cheerful- the Kalev chocolate factory!! We dressed up as doctors (kind of) and toured the facility before we were able to sample some of the product and learn more about the company. Although most of the factory utilized machinery in the candy-making process, one section was devoted to handmade products. The company was recently purchased by a larger Norwegian company known as the Orkla group. Kalev is the most well known brand name in Estonia, so it is a BIG deal here, even if we have never heard of it in the United States. Our favorite sample was the white chocolate with blueberry, and we would absolutely love to see it in the United States. We actually want some right now!
After we returned from our tour of the chocolate factory, some of us napped, some of us went to get a snack at McDonalds (as good as in the US), and some played soccer. Later on, when dinner arrived, some of us were craving Mexican, so we went to the Texas Honky Tonk- BAD IDEA! The restaurant itself was interesting, and it definitely reminded us of Texas as far as decor goes. Unfortunately, the service was horrible. As bad as the service was, the food was even worse. One example in particular involves mozzarella sticks. Anyone in the US or in a restaurant based on US food would assume that these delicious items are fried, and someone in the group really wanted some crispy, gooey cheese sticks. Unfortunately, the mozzarella sticks turned out to be plain mozzarella cheese slices. This was only one of the Honky Tonk's epic fails. In the end, we went to McDonalds again because we were still hungry, and it was still good!!!! Now, we are all back in the dorm, playing cards. That is all for now!!
Events described above depict the honest-to-goodness life experiences of Mary-Elsye Winchester and Joseph Guthrie
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