Tallinn

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It was a slightly overcast day when we pulled into Tallinn on our ferry, which was painted a lovely stomach turning green. Thankfully this was the only stomach turning part of the journey and we were soon on our way to the hostel that we had booked online. Which, despite the hostel seemingly changing its name from the time of booking we still found pretty easily.


Having dumped our bags in the room we headed out to try and find somewhere to eat some dinner. This saw us have our first glimpse of the historic old town of Tallinn, which has largely been unchanged in hundreds of years. However, it was not until the next day that we would truly get to experience the full wonder of Tallinn. Instead we stopped for dinner in what was a sort of fast food restaurant serving some pretty good Mexican food.


The next day started with an ordinary breakfast before we headed out to the historic old town of Tallinn. Having visited many “old towns” in China I was expecting some sort of faux old town that had been built in the last 20 years, modeled on a supposed old town and full of tourist shops.


What met me as I walked through the old gates to Tallinn was anything but. The majority of the buildings that we walked past were able to trace their history back to the 11^th or 12^th century. The notices beside all the main buildings were able to tell you not only who had owned them but also what they had been used for. Considering how we i.e. the English usually pride ourselves/attract tourists on our old buildings and the history attached, it almost felt like Tallinn was determined to put us firmly in our place. Which it managed with aplomb.


Granted, there were a few of the tourist style attractions and themes that played on the feel of the place, as most of the waiters and waitresses throughout the day were dressed in medieval garb. That said, when we tried the cheap food at the Inn, some lovely elk soup followed up by some pickle fishing, it felt oddly real and not as fake as you might imagine.


We spent the day hitting the main tourist sights of the old town including numerous churches, all with a different feel whether it was Russian Orthodox or Catholic style, as well as the many old courtyards and guild buildings. Along the way we were able to learn some interesting little titbits of history, including how the Danish flag was chosen when it fell from the sky during a battle with the Estonians which the Danes then went on to win.


What was also apparent about the city was the greatest oddity about it all. The old town itself feels like a massive fortress as the tour routes and information waste no time in telling you about the large city walls around Tallinn, and how they were constantly added to and improved. They also became largely intrical to the lives of the locals, who set up shops along the wall – heck the Royal Palace was built with one side in the wall.


What was also apparent was that they clearly did little to save poor old Tallinn which seems to have been successfully invaded by just about every surrounding country, whether it was the Danes, the Swedes, the Germans or the Russians. It kind of made you wonder, certainly after the second time, why they kept adding to a city wall that clearly wasn't helping them defend the place. Still, I'm pretty glad that they didn't choose this more realistic outlook to the situation as, if they had, it probably wouldn't be such an amazing place to visit as it is now.


It was also apparent that, at one time, Tallinn was a very rich country. There was no clearer evidence of this than the ...Church which was at one time the tallest building in the world topping in at over 140 metres tall. Needless to say we had to climb to the very top of this mighty building and look out over the fews of Tallinn. Much unlike the climb in St Petersburg, this time it was definitely worth climbing all the stairs to the top, as the building remains the tallest in Tallinn, and it was amazing to look down over the rest of the old city.


After descending the tower we continued our walk around the town, taking in the town hall, before heading outside the walls and walking through an international flower festival exhibit. Meant to portray the various parts of Tallinn it soon became apparent that anything with a bit of sand in it represented some sort of fishing village and anything with tall grass represented a country village. That the artist/gardeners had never been to either was amazingly obvious. Or, much more likely was that the entire exhibition was just lost on me.


After our self made tour of the old town ended we headed off for dinner, and two of the largest pancakes I have ever seen in my life. After having the first – which we shared – I doubted that I would ever eat again. Granted, it was then time for the dessert pancake following which I doubted I would ever be able to stand up again.


The next day we decided to burn off some of the damage done by the pancakes by heading off to the beach. This wasn't in an attempt to top up the sun tan – the weather was pretty cold – but to take in one of the oddest monuments going. Basically it is a monument to remember the Soviet soldiers that died in WWII. Taking in a obelisk, built in the 70's to commemorate something else, and a slightly glorified concrete wall with an odd steel structure in it. All of this is set with the backdrop of a cemetery built for German soldiers who died conquering Estonia during WWII.


After this rather bizarre structure we headed back along the building and tried to gain entry to the part of the former Royal Palace that is now used as a museum. Alas, the museum was closed on a Monday, as apparently all the museums are. We therefore headed out for a bite to eat instead, going to a restaurant that specialises in local food. This includes the tomatoes, and other veg, that they actually grow in the restaurant!


After this it was time to head back and get ready for the next traveling intensive part of our trip. A quick ferry back to Helsinki, before a short stopover and then a 28 hour ferry to Rostock, Germany.


This traveling could have gone a little bit better as we got caught in the first rain on our travels for a long time and arrived at the ferry station soaked through. After using the hairdryers in the bathrooms to dry off a little we were on a ferry, arriving back in the slightly warmer and brighter Helsinki. Where, after a few hours spent getting from one ferry terminal to another we arrived and boarded our next ferry bound for Germany.


This would probably not have been a problem had we booked a cabin. However, cabins were a little bit on the pricey side and we instead opted for the reclining chairs. Which I suppose were just about described properly, as they technically did recline, about 3 degrees. What followed was a rather poor nights sleep in which we slept at various points in the chair or on the floor, which was surprisingly not too uncomfortable. Thankfully all we had to do the next day was sit in the bar area, catching up on a few odds and ends and generally not having to do too much.


We arrived in Rostock on time, but still quite late in the evening and had to resort to our first taxi in a long time to get to the hotel. However, we were soon checked into the hotel and catching up on the lost sleep, ready to hit Rostock the next day before continuing the final stage of our trip in Germany.

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