Next stop: Tallinn, Estonia

On returning from Venice I spent one more night at my sister (Georgia) and her partner’s (Fede) place in Rome before both she and I took off for Tallinn, about a four hour flight.

Georgia lives in Europe and travels a lot for work and for leisure, so it isn’t often that she gets to visit a place that she hasn’t been before. We had a week to travel together, so we chose places that neither of us had previously visited. Our first stop was Tallinn, the capital of Estonia, way up north in the Balkans. There was a severe weather warning in place in Tallinn - for gale-force winds with huge gusts. The pilots did an amazing job! The plane was being pushed all over the place, like being in a very erratic swing. It is only the second time that I have been on a flight when everyone applauded upon a safe landing (the other being at Wellington in New Zealand). Looking out my window just behind the wing, it truly looked like the wing was going to land before the wheels!

Tallinn Airport is quite funky. They have taken advantage of the climate and the local highlights to create a modern, welcoming space inside. It seemed a pity that this wasn't one of the airports we had to wait at. Instead, we just passed through. 

We caught a bus into the city, and then Google showed us the way to our Airbnb in the Old Town. The weather hadn’t improved! It was supposedly 5^oC, but my weather app said “Feels like 2^oC”  It was dark, about 7pm. The huge wind was swirling, with a bit of rain here and there to keep it interesting. And the rain was going up and down and sideways. Thankfully, it wasn't constant or heavy. We both had good weather-resistant jackets, but there is not an umbrella on the planet that would have survived that squall…

So there we were… two Kiwi lasses, 3 suitcases, a severe weather event, and a dark, unfamiliar city. Google said it was only a 5-minute walk from the bus stop to the apartment but it felt like an hour! We had to cross a big square which exposed us to the worst of the wind. A lot of branches had come down from the trees beside the square. And then we encountered the cobblestones… Don't get me started on suitcases (and ankles) and cobblestones! 😆 But by then we were on our street. Getting into the apartment and closing the door on the weather felt amazing!

(Side-note: everywhere we have been, there has been visible, and often large demonstrations of support for the Ukraine. There are many flags, signs in shops, even messages scrolling on the front display of buses where the destination is usually displayed.)

We still needed to find some dinner. It is so much easier to venture out in inclement weather when you don't have to deal with suitcases and various other bags! Our apartment was only a few metres from the main square in the Old Town of Tallinn, and there are many restaurants around the square. We had a look at one that seemed to accommodate both of our tastes, but the host/waiter came out and started doing a pretty hard sell of the venue and the menu. He was really difficult to get away from! He even followed us as we backed away and started to leave, still extolling! We spent the rest of our stay avoiding that place!

Avoid, avoid, avoid!

Instead, we found a place on the other side of the square:

Duck and Vegetables in a Balsamic Sauce

Delicious! I had the duck, and Georgia had a burger. Both were very good. After the late meal it was time to head back to the apartment for a good sleep.

The next day was our day to explore the Old Town of Tallinn. Luckily the rain had ceased, although the wind was still swirling and icy cold. Our first order of business was to buy gloves (and a hat and scarf for me). I had underestimated how cold it would be. When I was packing I had looked at my wooly hat etc and decided that I wouldn't need them. WRONG! Totally needed them...

After getting ourselves appropriately kitted out it was time to have a look around. But it turns out that nothing opens until 10:00am... not even coffee places... (the shop that had the gloves etc was an anomaly!) This was completely unacceptable in our eyes, but there was nothing we could do except wander while we waited. The square is nicely done, with planter boxes, seats, swings and tables. It would be a great place to hang out on a nice summer day, which this day wasn't! It was also completely devoid of people at this time of the morning.

At 09:55 we found a cafe that had opened a few minutes early and almost ran to the door. It looked so welcoming, bright and warm. And on entry? The smell of coffee and cinnamon rolls greeted us like old friends. We ordered coffees and pastries and revelled in our happy place for a while.

And then we walked again. The town still wasn't bustling, but people were starting to poke their heads out the door. Tallinn Old Town is cute, almost like a toy town.

Check out the lights

This is a kebab shop

There are random turrets throughout the city

After another coffee (and pastry) stop, this time in a cafe and chocolatier that had been operating in one form or another since the 1800s, it was time to climb the hill.

Georgia had done a bit of reading and apparently there was a great view of the old city and all its turrets and spires from the top of the hill. There was also a cathedral and a castle up there. So up we climbed... The view was pretty spectacular, although that doesn't come through properly in the photos. The wind had blown just as hard up here, breaking branches and throwing things around.

The buildings and lanes up here were just as narrow and twisty as down the bottom. But we found our way to the cathedral. It was quite impressive. I love looking around old churches and cathedrals, not for reasons of religion, but for the architecture and the art and the grandeur of them.

Our next stop was going to be the castle... but we soon discovered that not only is the castle utilised as the Seat of Parliament, but it is pink! Don't get me wrong, I totally rate pink. It's my favourite colour. But not this...

Really???

So we couldn't go into the castle, but we wandered around the outside, and found another turret...

And yet another one...

Just be careful if you're leaving by the back door... there's a bit of a drop 😆

And that was pretty much the end of our visit to Tallinn. We had another good meal at another good restaurant. The next morning we didn't bother going out early. We wandered out to grab a coffee at 10:00, and then it was time to get ready to catch the bus to Riga.