Wednesday 31 May 2017

Downtown Tallinn is beautiful










Michael and I decided it was time to revisit one of the highlights of our first trip – Tallinn.  We caught a mid-morning flight from Dublin with the aim of arriving in Tallinn in the afternoon, leaving plenty of time to enjoy a Saturday night in the beautiful city.  The best laid plans of mice and men, go oft awry.
 
The first indication of possible trouble was when the pilot said that there was a snowstorm in Tallinn, which might affect our landing time.  We weren’t too concerned as this announcement was at the beginning of our flight, so there was plenty of time for the situation to change.  The next announcement came as we neared the approach to the airport and we were told that the storm was still in progress and that we would be in a holding pattern waiting to see if the weather improved.  The final announcement informed us that we would not be landing in Tallinn and instead would be diverted to Riga.  Unfortunately for us, that meant that we had a four and half hour bus journey from Riga to Tallinn.  There was no point complaining as the one you cannot influence is the weather.  The end result was that we fell through the door of our spacious apartment at 11.00pm.
 
Sunrise is 5.00am in Tallinn at this time of year, so we were up nice and early and eager to make up for lost time. We were pleasantly surprised to see our apartment in daylight actually backed onto the wall of the old town. It really couldn’t be in a better location. We wandered the town in search of breakfast and spotted a sign advertising a roof top bar and café.  Michael thought it would be the perfect place to enjoy the view over Tallinn, so we took the elevator to the top of the building.  We alighted to find the glass doors closed to the café and the cleaner standing on the inside who made shooing motions towards us and then proceeded to twirl her finger around her ear and tapping her head, obviously telling us that were stupid or mentally deficient.  Michael and I then had the embarrassing wait for the lift to return so that we could descend, all the while being glared at by the cleaner.  It wasn’t the most welcoming start to our holiday.
 
We found a much friendlier café down the road and after enjoying a lovely Estonian breakfast we set out to explore the city.  Tallinn has changed considerably since our last visit, four and half years ago.  The old town is immaculate, with buildings freshly painted and restored, with works ongoing.  There has obviously been a tourism boom, with cruise ships stopping and bus loads of tourists arriving throughout the day.  We were there at the beginning of the season, so we can only imagine how busy the city becomes during the peak of summer.  The good thing is that the old town streets and restaurants become quieter in the evening when the bulk of the tourists return to their ships and coaches.  We had a lovely day wandering the streets, especially as despite having a snowstorm the prior day, the clouds had cleared and the temperature was pleasantly warm.
 
Dinner in the evening was at Olde Hansa Medieval Restaurant.  We really thought that we had stepped into a time machine and had been transported back to medieval Estonia.  The staff dressed as in medieval times, and there were musicians strolling through the restaurant, playing medieval instruments and music.  The menu was filled with dishes prepared as they would have been in medieval times and there was even bear on the menu.  I had suspected that this item might appear on the menu, as we had seen tins of bear and beaver meat for sale in some of the shops earlier that day.  Michael knew better than to even try and order the bear, so he settled for the wild boar instead.  We had a wonderful meal and thoroughly enjoyed ourselves with the staff addressing us as m’lord and m’lady respectively.  Michael enjoyed that so much, that he suggested that I start addressing him as m’lord at home.  One withering look from me and he gave up that idea.
 
The next day we ventured into the new area of town, a region that we didn’t have time to explore on our previous trip.   







We saw The Broken Line monument, which is a memorial to the tragic incident in which the passenger ferry, Estonia, sank between Tallinn and Stockholm in 1994, with the loss of 852 lives. We also had a lovely walk along the foreshore, marvelling at the sudden change in the weather from snow to glorious sunshine, as we enjoyed our al fresco lunch.
 
Michael was keen to enjoy another medieval dinner, so we headed over to the Golden Piglet Inn, which is famous for its true Estonian cuisine.  We ordered the meat platter for two and were not disappointed.  The platter consisted of an enormous, crispy pork shank, pork neck, meatballs, chicken breast, potatoes and sauerkraut.  Michael enjoyed the meal so much that we returned the following evening for our farewell dinner and ordered the same platter.

The next day was our culture day, with visits to the art galleries.  The first stop was the Kadriorg Palace, which now houses foreign art from the 16th to 20th centuries.  The palace itself was built for Catherine I of Russia by Peter the Great, and is a beautifully restored baroque building.  We enjoyed looking at the artworks in such lovely surrounds. 
 
The next stop was the Kumu Art Museum, which houses Estonian art from the beginning of the 18th century.  The museum is one of the largest in northern Europe and is a modern building, which opened in 2006. There were many interesting pieces to view and we spent close to two hours just exploring the galleries.
 
Our final stop for the day was at the Museum of Occupations.  This museum was full of fascinating exhibits and is dedicated to the 1940-1991 period in the history of Estonia, when the country was occupied by the Soviet Union, then Nazi Germany, and then again by the Soviet Union.  We watched a number of videos detailing the events of the time from occupation, repression, resistance and the Singing Revolution.  It was a harrowing reminder of the country’s not so distant past. 
 
We only had the morning of our final day to explore before we needed to make our way to the airport.  In many respects, we had left the best until last, as we viewed the St Nicholas’ Church.  This former medieval church built in the 13th century was partially destroyed by Soviet bombing in World War II and has now been restored and houses a branch of the Art Museum of Estonia.  The most famous artwork is Danse Macabre by Bernt Notke, which depicts the skeletal figures of Death taking the wealthy as well as the poor.  There is only a fragment of the original 30 metres wide painting left and it has been beautifully preserved.  It is a chilling reminder of what eventually befalls us all and it must have been awe inspiring to see the original painting intact.  I can remember being played the orchestral piece when I was in 5th grade at school and the teacher explaining the meaning of the music.  It must have made an impact as I still recall the lesson to this day.
 
Tallinn is an absolutely stunning city and a destination for a truly relaxing and enjoyable break.  It would be nice to return to Estonia and explore some of the other cities and countryside.