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A very cold day in Tallinn
Ake started the year 2024 by going to Tallinn for a day. It is very easy, and also quite cheap, for us who live in Stockholm to visit the Estonian capital. There are overnight ferries going from Stockholm to Estonia. So we board the ferry in Stockholm in the evening and arrive in Tallinn in the morning. We can then spend the better part of the day in Tallinn. In the evening the ferry goes back again.
Tallinn is a nice city with plenty of history so it is a good place to visit. But now that I have tried it I would say that perhaps winter visits should be avoided. I knew before I left that it can get cold in Estonia in winter. Stockholm is pretty much on the same latitude and Stockholm is cold. But it still came as a bit of a surprise when I learned that it was going to be -17°C. But I have experienced temperatures lower than that so I know how to dress to survive it. The trick is to cover as much of the body as possible with multiple layers
Steam from the water
There was no ice in Tallinn harbour. When the relatively warm water met the much colder air this created lots of steam. of clothes and to keep moving while you are outdoors. By moving you create heat in the body which compensates for the inevitable heat loss.
There was no ice in Tallinn harbour this day. When the relatively warm water met the air with its much lower temperature it created lots of steam. It was quite pretty to see the steam lit up by the sun rise from the water.
The first place I visited in Tallinn was
Tallinna Linnahall. Tallinna Linnahall was built for the sailing events for the 1980 Olympic Games. The construction is clearly in need of renovations. So my guess is that they don't use Tallinna Linnahall much today.
I took a little walk in the western part of the city before turning my steps towards the city centre. Near the central station I stepped into a market to warm myself with a cup of coffee and to buy honey. In Estonia the price of honey is one third of that in Sweden. Thus buying my honey while in Tallinn instead of in Stockholm saves me a lot of money.
After warming up a bit I
Tallinna Linnahall
Tallinna Linnahall was built for the sailing events for the 1980 Olympic Games. walked over to
Hotel Viru. The hotel was built when Estonia was part of the Soviet Union and was the main (the only?) hotel where westerners stayed. On the hotel’s 23rd floor the KGB had a spy central where they could listen to the guests in many of the rooms in the hotel. When Estonia became independent KGB vacated the rooms they use to occupy but left much of their equipment behind. Later the spy central was turned into a museum. I went to the hotel because I wanted to visit this museum. Unfortunately all the tickets to the museum were sold out when I arrived so I had to leave without seeing what KGB were up to back in the days.
I left the hotel and walked over to the historical city centre. There I would have liked to see another museum -
Banned Books Museum. I knew already before I left Stockholm that I would not get to see that museum today because it is closed on Wednesdays. Instead I went to
Museum of Photography, mostly to have something to do since I no longer wanted to walk around in the freezing cold Tallinn. Sadly, I found the museum quite
Tallinna Linnahall
Tallinna Linnahall is clearly in need of renovations. So my guess is that they don't use The construction much today. boring.
After having lunch I went back to the ferry for the journey back home to Stockholm.
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D MJ Binkley
Dave and Merry Jo Binkley
Tallinn
I'd love to go to this part of the world but not in January. I'm sorry you could not go to the banned book museum. Next time.