Estonia

Getting to Estonia from Russia was a mission. Because of the war in Ukraine and the resulting restrictions between Russia and the European Union, there were no direct flights. Instead, I took a three-hour bus from St. Petersburg to the Estonian border. After waiting several hours in the Russian immigration line, I was finally stamped out and allowed to leave, which was a relief after hearing stories of Americans being unlawfully detained.

The Russian and Estonian border is separated by a bridge, with the stretch between the two immigration checkpoints often referred to as “no man’s land.” I walked across, but just as I was about to enter the Estonian immigration building, it was suddenly evacuated because of a bomb scare. It turned out someone had simply left a bag unattended. I ended up waiting another couple of hours in no man’s land before immigration reopened. But the ordeal still wasn’t over. Estonian immigration officials detained me and took me into a back room for questioning, suspicious of why an American had been traveling in Russia. Thankfully, they accepted my explanation, and I was finally allowed to enter.

I was excited to be in Estonia, not particularly because of the country itself, but because I was meeting up with my friend Harry Jaggard, a British travel YouTuber. We had first connected on Instagram after he reached out for advice about traveling to Afghanistan, and later I hosted him when he visited San Diego. When our schedules eventually lined up, we decided to do a trip together, with Estonia as our first stop. We spent some time exploring the capital, Tallinn, whose beautifully preserved medieval old town made it a charming place to begin our journey.

The highlight of our time in Estonia, however, was venturing far beyond the city. With two local guides who specialized in Soviet and Cold War history, we traveled deep into the forests to explore an abandoned Soviet missile base believed to have once stored nuclear weapons. Walking through the deserted control rooms and underground bunkers felt like stepping straight back into the Cold War. Some of the most fascinating parts of a country aren’t found in its famous landmarks. They’re hidden far from the tourist trail, waiting for those willing to look a little deeper.