Tallin

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Day 2-3 (May 4-5)

Arriving in Tallin, Estonia around 2pm we had about a 15 minute walk to the hotel, which is a sports hotel and has full gym, pool etc. Our orientation walk around Tallin was really informative. We learned how for the last 6 or 7 hundred years Estonia has been ruled by various countries, Sweden, Germany, Denmark, and Russia mutltiple times. Spending very little time being independent.

One of the main parts of the economy is tourism, and the old part of town is certainly geared toward that, but it hasn’t detracted too much from the charm of the town, with its remaining wall and towers, old red roofed houses and lanes and many churches.

The central square is a lovely place for sitting and watching the world go by. There is an upper and lower part to the old town, with the upper part affording great views over the township.

As we went past the parliament building we notice a large contingent of police, which turned out to be because the King of Spain was visiting. The police use quad bikes as one of the means of transport to help them move quickly through the narrow and cobble stoned streets.

Before dinner we sat out in the square, and they had both gas heaters and knee rugs to keep us warm. Dinner was at a local Russian restaurant, where I had the special which was picked gherkin dipped in honey, blintz (pancake) with cavier, and steak with roast potatoes, beetroot, and sweet white pumpkin.

Next morning, my room mate and I headed out to find the laundry which turned out to be more of a dry cleaners, but we managed to convey that we only wanted washing and at first it was a four day turn around, but in the end they decided they could do it that day.

Then off to do some shopping at the department store and back to the old town for coffee and cake. This was followed by a climb of the town hall bell tower, which had great views and once we reached the top we were able to ring the bell.

As it was Tuesday, many of the museums were closed, but we found a local history one, which was very interesting, tracing local history from the stone age to present.

The weather finally went against us and we had to wait out the showers in various alcoves, before purchasing some local spiced almonds and heading out to dinner at a local grill type restaurant. The restaurant was located downstairs in a medieval type setting.

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Photos

We learn some history in front of one of the gates
Our Intrepid leader Jenni

Comments

[tezzakezza]

so european....so beautiful!
Love this place!! Its beautiful. Reminds me so much of places we saw in our travels, full of character and history. I love the pretty colors of some of the buildings too. And you can see some little leaves starting to appear on the trees. Ahh, so jealous right now!! X Keri