Tallinn, Estonia

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We've come to the end of our stay here in Tallinn, and will be very sad to leave. It's such a beautiful city, much more so than I (Ciara) could have imagined. The Old Town is entirely surrounded by huge city walls and battlements, and everywhere you look you see another amazing piece of architecture, from the Alexander Nevski orthodox cathedral to the gothic town hall tower in the main cobbled square. Here there was a huge Christmas tree covered in lights, and just around the corner they sold the most beautiful smelling cinnamon nuts from an old cart. We arrived on Sunday 7th around midday, and spent the whole afternoon wandering around and getting our bearings. The second day we walked out to the western suburbs through all the residential areas where there was a huge variety of buildings. We made our way back to the old town just in time for dinner, and had an amazing meal at the Wirulane restaurant down a quaint side-street where we didn't quite get what we expected but it was lovely anyway. Michelle had her first pastry-free chicken pie with added bacon fat, and Ciara had baked cod... apparently baked in an omelette!
The next day we went ice skating on the outdoor rink next to the church of St. Nikolas, where Claire fell flat on her bum - very amusing! We then walked out to the new city for the day and killed a few hours in a cafe nursing a single pot of Estonian tea (again not quite what we were expecting) and a sprite. Later that day as it got dark and the tree lights were turned we sat and had a hot chocolate overlooking the town square.
On our final day we bought a Tallinn card each and set out to see the sights. We took the bus out to the East along the scenic coast road where we visited the Estonian history museum, the old palace of Peter the Great (an art gallery set in the heart of a picturesque park) and his tiny cottage around the corner. We then went to the Church of the Holy Spirit in the old town, and the Tallinn City Museum. That tired us out so we went back to the hostel to get cleaned up and feast on greasy pasties and pizzas before heading out to a couple of bars - Basso, which was supposed to have live jazz but didn't, and Hell Hunt, the first Estonian pub.
We left Tallinn on a bus at lunch time in the midst of a blizzard and travelled for five hours through glorious countryside and woodland to cross the border into Latvia where we plan to spend the next four days in Riga.
Look out for our next installment in a few days time!
Love Claire, Michelle and Ciara xxx

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Photos

Alexander Nevsky Cathedral, Tallinn
Ciara's future home

Outdoor Ice Skating, Tallinn
Just minutes before Claire fell on her bum!

Pretty Side Streets, Tallinn
How quaint.

Tallinn Castle, Tallinn
Home to Tallinn's parliament

Comments

[Lau]

Hi guys, sounds like you're having a great time, Estonia sounds amazing, ice skating by the church sounds brilliant, tho i can't believe tha Claire fell over, that doesn't sound like you!! Hehe. Hope Latvia is isn't too cold and that Riga is as brill as i've heard. Lots of love and hugs xxxx

[Terri]

hey
hey... sounds awesome.. what was estonian tea like? my mum was given some yummy coffee from riga, perhaps something to try? much love... cant wait til i've got my own travel blog very cool xxxxx

[Siobhan]

Hey Ciara, Sounds like u r having a brilliant time! We are all missin ya, and r all reading ur updates :) Its sounds so amazing, anyway have a great time n keep us updated!! xx