Õllesummer (Beer Festival)

When we heard about the beer festival in Tallinn, Luke and I decided we had to go. Who could say no? It was held at the same festival grounds as the song festival, so we knew the layout and location well enough.

Upon entering the fairgrounds we were exposed to a lot of drunkenness. Actually, we thought there was a bit of drunkenness, but as the evening wore on, we would see what real public intoxication was.

One of the first things we saw was the Statue of Libeerty, as I dubbed it.


Mary was with us, and after meeting up with one of her girlfriends, we headed over to the A. Le Coq beer tent with the promise of free cake. The "cake" in this case turned out to be a big ass sandwich, layered like a wedding cake.


Apparently these are all the rage now in Estonia now, appearing at graduation parties, weddings, and even birthdays; much to the dismay, I imagine, of small kids. Who wouldn't cry if, instead of chocolate cake with sweet butterscotch icing, a kid were handed a plate of tuna salad and rye bread? Happy birthday Jimmy, enjoy your seafood confection.

(The 'cake' was actually pretty good.)

There were dozens of beer tents for each vendor, meaning that I never had to wait more than a couple of minutes in line for a beer, often I didn't have to wait at all. And unlike rib cook-offs and state fairs in the USA, the beers didn't cost an arm and a leg. The average price at Õllesummer was the same as the cheapest pubs in Haapsalu, 25EEK, or about $2 for a pint.

Thankfully, the port-au-johns were plentiful as well, with lines seldom more than 1 or 2 people deep. I've been to Oktoberfest in Munich, and while I had an awesome time there and there was so much more to do and see, Õllesummer was much more pleasant on my wallet, my bladder, and was therefore a better experience.

We checked out some more of the attractions, including food tents, bungee jumping from a crane (just watched) and 'shoot the jerk in the paintball getup as many times as you can' booth.




The best parts were the free concerts and group drinking song session, which was held under the same amphitheater as the Laulupidu song fest. The concerts featured some of Estonia's top musical acts including the rock bands Blackie, Terminaator, and The Sun. Terminaator was my favorite, and they had the biggest stage (adjacent to the amphitheater.)

The Sun


Terminaator


All in all, I had a great time here. I didn't get too drunk, despite the cheap and easily available (and good) beer, which allowed me to enjoy myself without the repercussions of peeing my pants in the middle of a crowd of people. Estonia sure knows how to party.