An extremely late photo-blog of Tallinn

So as evidenced by my new profile picture, I just started getting back pictures from Italy, at which point it dawned on me that I still haven't written about my last two trips, so I'd better start lest I become buried under my own photos. Sorry if seeing people in parkas throws you off, it being June and all.

Visiting Tallinn checked off number two on our list of the Baltic trifecta (Riga being no. 1, with Vilnius still to come). We began our visit on March 8th, which is International Women's Day. ("International" meaning "Everywhere but America," which is extra strange considering it began there.) Consequently, we observed many young men carrying bags and flowers for their attached-at-the-hip girlfriends. Never mind that the next day this came to a screeching halt and the city returned to being the British bachelor-party playground that it's becoming more and more known for, thanks to cheap flights, beautiful women, and local men who don't care about their appearance nearly as much as British men.

Anyway.

Only last month did a train route between St. Petersburg and Tallinn open, so we drove for our trip. It wasn't nearly as dangerous as the road to Helsinki, mostly because the road was so horribly mangled that driving over 30 MPH is impossible. The road looked like swiss cheese; there were potholes big enough to swallow small cars. And there was very little traffic. Good thing, since you often had to swerve into the oncoming lane to avoid breaking an axle on your side of the road.

Here is a stretch of Russian road, coming into a village. Yes, that's a sign warning you to look out for cows.



After about 2 1/2 hours of this, we crossed the border into Estonia, where things immediately and dramatically improved. Here's some Estonian countryside, including a glimpse of the Gulf of Finland and a wind farm.





As you may or may not know, Estonia was under the thumb of Russia during the Soviet Union days, and still shows leftover signs of Russia's influence. (Sometimes it tries to remove them, and then all hell breaks loose.) Among these are the giant concrete housing blocks on the outskirts of town.



As you enter the city proper, though, things dramatically improve.

The main attraction of Tallinn is its walled medieval city. Thanks to its limestone cliffs and large port, Tallinn was an important trading point from the 13th century on. The Brotherhood of Blackheads was founded here, it was a member of the Hansiatic League, and over the years Tallinn was taken over by, among others, the Teutonic Knights, the Danes, the Crusades, the Swedes, the Nazis, and finally the Soviet Union. Thus you end up with a fascinating mix of styles. The walled city was originally split into two separate cities, with their own laws and everything: Toompea, higher on the hill, the older of the two, and back in the day home to dignitaries, officials and aristocracy; their elevation allowed them to look over the Lower Town, where merchants and the general public lived. Amazing to think they were ever separated, since the whole old city area is quite small.

Here is a view of the Toompea area from outside the wall.



Here's another angle. While they've since built in steps, you can see why it would be intimidating to try and scale this.



The first stop in Tallinn is Raekoja Plats, also known as Town Hall square, which has the usual shopping and restaurants. Keep an eye out for the guys with carts selling hot nuts.

The square by day...



The Gothic-era Town Hall by night.



Here is a borrowed picture of the square during warmer times of year, when sidewalk tables perk everything up.



Within the square is the Town Hall Pharmacy, which has been in business in the same spot at least since 1422. They have a little museum with old apothecary bottles and scary-looking syringes and other things of that sort. Fear not, however; they do sell modern medicine.

The pharmacy:



Near the square is another fun tourist spot known as the "Cat Well."



It is so-called because apparently Tallinn's Medieval residents believed that an evil spirit lived in the well. The spirit needed to be fed or else it would make the town's wells run dry. The most common meal was stray cats. Many a homeless tabby lost its life by being chucked down the well. I can't believe the town never had a major cholera outbreak.

On that appetizing note, I must take a break for dinner. No cats involved. More highlights of Tallinn on the way...