Eero Rein's new travel show starts in Tallinn and ends in Venice: "Juba Tapa lost the script."

The new season of "Skilu selskotis" will air on TV3 on the evening of September 3rd, and this time Eero Reinu will not jump on a plane, but will travel from Tallinn to Venice by train. The plan was there. So was the script. But already in Tapa, railway monsters, a rescue train and a world traveler met by chance came into play. Later, seats next to the toilet, the long-awaited restaurant car, the Polish milk hall, the Vienna wine hills and a two-hour late night train to Venice were added. "On paper, these places and the plan for a travel show are one thing," says Reinu. "When you finally get there, everything is completely different."

You went with the script anyway. At what point did it become clear that real life was going to make its own show?

Actually, already in Tapa. There we came across machines and monsters in the depot that I had no idea existed. We took everything we could take – there was even a rescue train there.

And then on the way to Tartu we met the double bass player of Curly Strings. We did a running interview with him and during the interview it turned out that the person traveling next to us had traveled all over the world by train. Before Tartu we already had our first completely unplanned interview.

Then we went to talk to the train driver and it turned out that he had worked in Germany for a few years and his wife worked on a wine estate. From there, the next link to Austrian wines and wineries immediately emerged.
But once we were in Estonia, it became clear that we were on the right track. The train as a means of travel was absolutely the right choice and the right people somehow just happened to come across us.

It takes about two days to get from Tallinn to Venice by train, going quite directly. It takes a few hours by plane. What has to happen to a person to make them choose the train?

I think the train is chosen by people who want to take their time and enjoy the process of traveling – the journey. You can see more than you can from the window of a plane.

The plane is great, you get there quickly, but you miss out on quite a lot. On the train you can move around, you can use your time, and there's no signal either. You put your devices away and you have more time to be with yourself, look out the window, or fantasize about the people traveling with you. Where are they coming from? Where are they going? Do they travel this way every day?

And then the train stations. What life is like at a station in Riga, Warsaw or Vienna? Who moves there, what is eaten, how similar or different are these places? That is also part of the journey.

You talk about going on a very romantic journey. At the same time, you managed to find your reserved seats on one train, essentially in the toilet.

Yes. We looked up the numbers on the ticket and the numbers were there. Only they had a folding bench in front of the toilet door.

So we sat there. We made it more enjoyable for ourselves by opening the toilet door for people because they didn't really understand how it worked, and we joked around.

At one point, the carriage attendants passed by and I asked, "Excuse me, there are free seats there - can we change seats?"

And they looked at us like, "You have free choice of seats."

It turned out that we didn't have any reserved seats in Lithuania. Those numbers were for the Polish part of the trip. I probably should have read the long Lithuanian letter that came before the trip more thoroughly.

So halfway through the trip we ended up in more comfortable seats and got a little more out of the train ride.

The romance of a train journey, at least in the imagination, also includes a restaurant car. Did you get it?

We did. I think the last time I saw one like this was on the Tallinn-Tartu or Tallinn-Viljandi train somewhere in the late nineties or early 2000s.

And it's like a little time travel. You're watching a person actually cooking, taking breaks, chatting - the whole thing has its own pace. It's not just something that's floating past you on the screen.

You are there.

And quite a few people used that restaurant car. Otherwise, you look out the window at the forest, you go and try to understand what colors the world is in this country right now.

Are you the kind of person who climbs up to strangers on the train and starts researching their life stories?

No. When I go on vacation, I prefer to be with my own people. I'm not the kind of person who thinks, "Come on everyone, I want to chat with you now!"

But if life offers those moments where you need to communicate or resolve a situation, then why not.

And I like to watch how Estonians change when I travel. At home we are so closed off, but when we travel we suddenly become kind, warm and affectionate. I think this could be completely normal in everyday life too. If you are that kind of person, you could be that way everywhere. Why shouldn't I say hello to the cashier in Estonia?

Which city on this trip most revised your own perception of a place?

Vilnius.

I had driven through Vilnius once in my life and didn't have any special memories of it. But this time, walking around the old town, I was really surprised. It was like a real European city, a very nice place for a tourist.

In the evening, people come out, the locals sit, talk, eat and drink. Around ten o'clock, the places close and people go home, but between six and ten they just enjoy themselves.

I later went to Vilnius again to check if what I had seen quickly was still true. It is. I recommend going to Vilnius.

In Warsaw, on the other hand, you had the feeling that now you had really gotten somewhere.

Yes, Warsaw gave me this metropolitan feeling. These big train stations and the whole cityscape – you look at the signs and think, where do I want to go now?

It was a bit like arriving at a big airport: suddenly you have a huge number of choices.

And then there's a completely different Warsaw - Sunday morning, almost empty city and an old milk hall. The menu was huge, you try to figure out what to order with the help of Google, and then you get very simple, cheap and delicious food from a hole in the wall. You see four women bustling around a hot stove. A very authentic place.

What about the city where you would have liked to stay the longest?

Probably Vienna. You'll be there for five hours - not much. You'll be there for two days - still not much.

I would like to stay there longer and then drive out of the city. Vienna was somehow a very complete experience: architecture, history, food, music, trams, the whole feeling.

One of the most special moments for me was in the evening at a vineyard on the outskirts of Vienna. We took the tram to the last stop, from there the road went up a hill and finally the view over the city opened up. The owner and wine master was there himself, the snacks were made by Michelin-starred chefs.

This view of Vienna was still very, very beautiful.

You were originally supposed to go on Arnold Schwarzenegger's trail in Austria. If Arnold were to watch your Austrian part now, would he approve?

"I'll be back," he might say. But I think he would also say: good men. You went, introduced the Sacher cake, ate Viennese schnitzel and arrived at a wonderful vineyard with a view of Vienna. And of course – it's also nice to ride the tram in Vienna.

I think he could be satisfied.

A scenic night train to Venice was then scheduled to arrive from Austria.

It did come. Two hours later.

There was some technical problem, I guess one of the carriages wasn't attached correctly. At this point Arnold would probably say that it's not possible that trains are late in Austria.

Finally we got on the night train. The sleeping car was the easiest option. Since the World Cup was on, the cameraman and I watched football at night and fell asleep well after midnight. Around six in the morning, the trolley started and we were brought breakfast in a paper bag: two buns, something like jam or butter, and instant coffee.

This was probably the fastest trip to Venice of my life.

The fastest – after having traveled there by train from Tallinn for several days?

Yes, because we had one day in Venice itself.

We left our suitcases at the station and went. The sun was shining, there were a lot of tourists, the Biennale was waiting. We tried to make the most of the day. We went to the Biennale, took a water taxi and had a local who showed us places that tourists don't often go to. For example, a street about half a meter wide and a bridge where there are no handrails or barriers.

But in Venice you really understand how different the same city can be. If you're in the center with a million people and you don't like the hustle and bustle, it's uncomfortable. You go to the side streets and you get a completely different experience.

Did there come a moment somewhere between the seventh train and the next transfer when you thought that there were normal jobs in the world?

No. Maybe it's the knowledge that it will be over - seven days, ten days, sometimes eleven - that gives you energy. Eventually you reach your destination and the experience is there.

But this journey was energized by ignorance. You go to the next city, the next train. Who is there? What awaits you?

On paper it's one thing. You can look at pictures online and imagine what a place looks like. But when you finally get there, everything is different. The people are different.

If you go with the story, things will unfold in a completely different way. You have to let the journey surprise you and take from it the fruits that cannot be written into the script.

If you could sum up the entire season with one practical travel tip after traveling from Tallinn to Venice, what would it be?

This is a grain of truth for a hiker that we established with the operator.

If you have a toilet, use it.

If you have a canteen or a place to eat, eat.

And if you have the opportunity to sleep, sleep.

Watch the show trailer here

The article was first published in Õhtuleht's Content Marketing in September 2026.