The Cobblestones

As we only had half a day in Tallinn, Jenn and I rented bikes to tour the city. I got a sweet brown citybike that rode like a charm, while Jenn opted for a smaller mountain bike. This was before we learned that the old town of Tallinn was completely covered in cobblestone! The city is absolutely charming, reminds me of York. Both are medieval towns with cobblestone streets, bowing buildings, gates, city walls, etc.

We visited most of the major sites and churches and I even think I ran into the Estonian president as he was pulling into the Royal Residence. I was attempting to take a photo of a church and was blocking the drive to the palace when a limo nearly knocked me down. I signaled to the passenger that I was trying to take a photo and proceeded to apologize and wink some. Before returning the bikes, we sat down in a beautiful outdoor café out of the city center to have Le Coq, the Northern Baltic beer. Meanwhile, we expounded upon the merits of outdoor cafes and the tragic lack of these establishments in the states. At the end of the afternoon we decided to move to Paris, as the abundance of outdoor cafes suits our needs for fresh air, people watching and various hot and cold libations.

General observations on Estonians/Tallinn:

The city is absolutely charming, small, and easy to get lost in.
Estonians are reticent and unobtrusive.

Soundtrack for the day:

The Weepies- All Good Things
Yo La Tengo- Raspberry Beret
Arctic Monkeys- Fluorescent Adolescent
Van She- Strangers (Yuksek Remix)
Yelle- Dans Ta Vraie Vie

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