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Published: August 27th 2012
If it's a one stop shop for all things medieval you're after and you can ignore some questionable authenticity, then look no further than Tallinn. The buildings of the old city of Estonia's capital look as though they've been lifted straight from the pages of a Brothers Grimm fairy tale. 500 ish years young, Tallinn has received the full makeover. A nip and tuck, breast implants, Botox and the old boiler scrubs a treat.
It's not only the structures that are easy on the eye. You want a job in the service industry here? 3 criteria will give you a decent head start:
"Young, female, good looking".
The minds driving Tallinn's tourism industry have decided sexing up the "if you build it they will come" ethos was a sure fire winner.
And come they do. On any given day in summer, Tallinn's port is a riot of cruise liners disgorging thousands of day trippers into the old town. It can be standing room only at times but by evening the whole show tones down as the cruise passengers return to their floating cities and sanity is restored.
Not that Tallinn is complaining about this influx. This
town oozes an opulence riding high on a healthy transfusion of foreign currency into the local coffers. No beat up Soviet jalopies in the old town's creaky streets here. BMWs fight for spartan parking spaces with Mercs, Audis and any other top end German vehicle.
Even the beggars are well dressed and healthy looking. One woman appeared to have stepped straight off a catwalk for over 60s and was sticking out her hand for a few extra coins on the way home for her veal cordon bleu, slightly rare, washed down with a fine Bordeaux red. Lady, if you are going to make a crust out of the begging game you at least have to try and look the part. Gucci accessories and dripping with bling aren't helping your cause.
The transformation into this Baltic nirvana has been rapid fire in the extreme. Estonia is one nation that must kiss the ground every morning, thanking the driving powers behind the Perestroika of less than a generation ago. From impoverished Soviet underling to its current state in a tick over 20 years.
Step outside the old town and Tallinn can be like any other metropolis, a bit of
glass, a bit of steel and traffic jams. It is also peppered with plenty of retro Soviet touches that give a hint of the dark ages but with smatterings of Estonian style and creativity.
Take the Kalamaja area for example. It may butt up against the walls of the old town but it is more bohemian than Bohemia. A working class food market, a flea market, largely unrestored timber dwellings and a disused industrial sector that could comfortably double as a Chernobyl movie set. Sewn into this fabric is a litany of cafes that are too hip for ships. Look up enigma in the dictionary and it should quote Kalamaja as its example. We loved it.
For a more formal insight, the years of Soviet and for a short time German occupation are superbly chronicled in Tallinn's Occupation Museum. Call me a sadist but these types of exhibition really pique my senses. The difference with Estonia's take is the happy times are also detailed. The good guys here get to live happily ever after, even if their later decision to join the European Union brotherhood isn't looking so financially rosy right now.
For us though, being back
onto the euro for the foreseeable future is a relief after the various forms of Scandinavian crowns of the previous month. Those Danish, Finnish, Swedish and in particular Norwegian currencies sting like a bee. Tallinn may not be the Walmart of the region in terms of price tags, nor should it be, but it offers some much needed respite for the credit card. You can flop into a cafe chair by some atmospheric plaza, throw down a brew or grape juice and not have the spectre of insolvency hovering over your head.
It's little wonder Tallinn was Europe's culture capital 2011. A city on a roll, enough of a roll for GaGa to slide in the day after us. The town was festooned with welcoming placards for The Lady and the streets reeked of red carpet. Not that I'm a fan but a couple of tickets would have been a sweet addendum to the travel CV. Alas..........
If you ever find yourself Baltic bound, make Tallinn a must but do yourself a big favour and try and ferret away from the old town for a period. Sure, take in its impressive gloss then wander outside to superimpose medieval
fairyland against some Tallinn edge. It's only an Estonians throw away. Boom Boom Tish!
Yeatesy
To Russia with love
A country can do a lot in 21 years. In fact it's hard to imagine the Estonian teenage generation having much knowledge of or any influence from the former Soviet era.
The Medieval city is surrounded by converted factory areas with a touch of bohemia, a modern glass city with chic shops, cafes, bars and a harbour that is also transforming into an outdoor concert come recreational area.
If you look hard enough you can find some Soviet Estonia left overs. The old prison, complete with splattered walls from the executions (last one conducted in 1991), operating theatre and interrogation rooms gave you a good sense of the welcome the Soviets gave prisoners awaiting trial. I think I met one of the former prisoners, complete with his intoxication and limited English trying to enlighten me with his stay behind bars for 6.2 years.
Less intimidating was the Energia Cafe, described by the tourist brochure as "OMG, the only thing that has changed is the age of the waitress!" It looked like
the days of Coles cafeteria circa 70's. Even the clientele looked like they were straight from the pages of Vogue Soviet Days.
The constant barrage of cruise liners has really put Tallinn/ Estonia on the map. What a sensational destination. Great value for money, superb modern food, and a medieval city that oozes charm and authenticity if you can ignore the period costumes of restaurant hawkers.
Penny
More images at:
www.colvinyeates.zenfolio.com
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Brad
non-member comment
Tallinn
One of the coolest places that we've ever been to! Loved it there. We were one of those cruise-goers and would have loved to see the place during the nighttime. Keep enjoying...