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Published: July 17th 2011
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Continuing from last blog:
After a very short period of time back in Lancashire we finally made it to Tallinn, possibly only just in fact due to some ongoing issues with the car! Whether we get to actually leave the airport in it on our return remains to be seen!
Tallinn is just a 2.5 hour flight from Liverpool and with the 2 hour time difference we were there by mid afternoon. The formalities at the airport took no time at all and within minutes we were on a bus to the city (top tip - buy a bus ticket at the airport news kiosk, it's cheaper than paying on the bus).
I don't know what "Viru"means in Estonian but since we were staying at the Viru Inn on Viru Street I thought we should jump off the bus when I saw a big "Viru"sign. It was possibly a little early (and since then I've seen heaps of signs with "Viru"on them!) but we only discovered this after getting off - however all's well that ends well, we asked a local who showed us the correct way to go and in under 10 mins we were at our
Peppersack
Restaurant in Tallinn hotel. Our room, up one flight of stairs, was excellent - a big, modern bathroom with powerful shower, comfy bed, plenty of light, TV, fridge.... in short, everything you need for a pleasant stay. The staff were all helpful throughout our stay and the breakfast buffet was also well received.
The hotel itself was quite quirky - narrow passages, stome staircase, bare plaster walls in places - full of character. I think I read that under Soviet occupation, listening devices were installed into the walls there! It's also on a main street in the old town, so everything really is on the doorstep.
There was also a great little sauna, steam room and pool which we used free of charge and exclusively twice, a great start to the day.
But back to our arrival (Tues 12th July) - we had a pizza and beer at the restaurant belonging to the hotel (but a very long wait for the food) then had a walk round. The old town is spotlessly clean, well-preserved and stunning in terms of medieval architecture, pastel coloured buildings, city walls, cobbled streets and many people working in tourism and hospitality dressed in period costume.
Krug Inn
where you can fish for pickles! The town was heaving with tourists but still had a laid back feel to it, perhaps enhanced by the volume of outdoor bars and restaurants.
We ate at Krug Inn, right under the town hall on the main square - elk soup and pies for 1 euro each - must be the bargain of Tallinn! The soup was delicious! You can fish for pickles there too, something to try when we return! And the food and drink is served in pottery vessels in keeping with the medieval theme.
We also tried the local tipple, Vana Tallinn, a bit like rum, very moreish! And 3 of the 5 Estonian-brewed beers: Saku, Tartu and Viru - all excellent. We're still looking for the other 2!
We found a great supermarket in the Solaris Shopping Centre, just outside the town walls. And the weather was sunny and bright, so all in all a great introduction to another glorious European city.
Wed 13July - another hot day! We walked to the port to buy ferry tickets to Helsinki, but took a huge loop to take in many sights - a craft market on the Town Hall Square, Church of the
Holy Spirit, St. Olaf church (where we climbed the tower to get superb panoramic views of the whole of Tallinn's old town and the port), Great Coastal Gate and Fat Margaret's Tower, Estonian ferry monument, former KGB building (now a children's library), Viru Gate, town hall pharmacy (the oldest continually working pharmacy from 1400s), Master's Courtyard, St. Catherine's passage, St. Nicholas orthodox church, a marzipan museum, the House of the Brotherhood of Blackheads, Galerii building, the guildhall and the Kalev marzipan shop! Some of the doorways and signs are fabulous to look at here!
Dinner was not very Estonian - sushi at Sushi Cat! The waitresses are dressed up as kitten-like characters from Japanese anime. So to settle the authenticity issue we had a beer at Hell Hunt, a pub with doors on the ceiling!
Thurs 14 July - started the day with a sauna then another mammoth walking and photography day: St. Nicholas church, Alexander Nevsky Cathedral, Toompea Castle and parliament building, the Cathedral of St. Mary, 3 viewing platforms, lots of narrow streets and galleries, Freedom Square, Kiek in de Kok (or peek in the kitchen" - a fortification tower), Danish King's Garden, and a few
random signs and what have you. Ate at Tommi Grill, duck in orange and ginger sauce and chicken breast in blue cheese sauce, 14 euros for the 2 and damn good, plus of course Estonian beer at it's best: 2.5 euros per litre durinhg happy hour (which actually lasts for 3 hours!!!). Another excellent day.
Fri 15 July - another sauna start to the day, followed by breakfast and a walk to the port to catch the ferry to Finland. I'm so glad we're returning to Tallinn in 3 days as it's a magnificent city, right up there with, if not surpassing, the likes of Krakow and Prague. There's something very special about this part of the world. The beauty of Tallinn is that everything is within walking distance, and everything is worth seeing.
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Holly McLellan
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Beautiful
This is really pretty and reminds me of the type of architecture I saw in Copenhagen.