Wednesday 25 June 2014

Tallinn - Welcome to Estonia!


During my trip to the Baltic Sea, I had the chance to stop by Estonia for my first time: Tallinn was on the agenda! I unfortunately had only one day to explore the city as we took the ferry back to Stockholm again but yet I got a first impression and can now share a couple of things that I discovered. Let me take you with me on a trip to the medieval city with some Baltic charm (and loads of tourists)!
  • Klaus: Let me start with my favourite place in the city - the Klaus restaurant. It is located a little bit outside the city center, next to the harbour (which is convient after having taken the ferry). I hardly can decide whether I love the place so much because of its food, especially their tuna salad, or its interior design with a Scandinavic touch. Yet, only when I left the restaurant I discovered to even greater outdoor terrace. 
  • Must Puudel: If you are tired of walking around the medieval paving stones - don't wear high heels - the Must Puudel Cafe offers the perfect retro arm chairs to relax. I love the cosy atmosphere and their cakes.
  • Labor: Chemistry was definitely not amongst my favourite subjects at school. Nevertheless I am a high advocat of the Labor Cafe in Tallinn's city centre. On one hand you get all your drinks in test tubes and flasks, on the other hand they change colours with food colouring. Who is brave enough to drink bright pink water?
  • A place to avoid to eat and have drinks is the Raekoja Plats (Townhall square). It is the main square on the city that is full of tourists and touristy restaurants. One restaurant next to the other offers 'Estonian' specialties that are highly overpriced. Moreover service is pretty bad in most of the places. Keep strolling through the little streets and you will find a lot better place worth your money. 
  • Oleviste Kirik: I like the view on a city's rooftops. Therefore I don't baulk at climbing a lot of uneven stairs or even at taking any other risk. Once again, I found a perfect church in Tallinn in order to do so: The Oleviste church for 2 € entrance fee offers a remarkable view over the city and the Baltic sea. 
  • Tallinna Linnahall: When the Olympic games were hold in Moscova in 1980, Tallinn was selected to be the place for the sailing competition. For that occasion, the city built the Talinna Linnahall. I wouldn't consider it as a very pretty building but yet it belongs to Tallinn and is part of its history. And while being their, my friends and me, we transformed into a different purpose: the industrial background served perfectly for a photoshooting and action movie remake.

Having spoken of loads of tourists, let me give you a little warning. Since cruise ships have invaded every sea worldwide, the Baltic sea is no exception. Though, it is a very small sea with even fewer cities. When we arrived in the harbour, there were already 3 other cruise ships waiting for us, a total of more than 3000 tourists. You can easily imagine what a great feeling it is to conquer a city with such a hoard. At one point I didn't feel as if I was in Estonia but on a promotional trip with German and Spanish pensioners.

Welcome to Estonia
Harbour treasure
Tallinn Harbour

Medieval flair
It's like a castle
Don't you dare to wear high heels
Rooftops
Let's say that the top of the church roof is secured... Estionian-like.
I totally fell in love with Klaus
Action movie on the Tallinna Linnahall
Labor drinks. Welcome back to school.

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