A 7:00 am bus on a beautiful morning! The 4+ hour ride to Tallinn was uneventful, but the route was through endless forest on both sides of the highways.
Tallinn – what a beautiful city on the Gulf of Finland! At only about 400,000 inhabitants, it is smaller than the other cities I’ve visited on this trip. But very nice and easy to get around (except for the hilly, cobblestone streets of Old Town).
The Danes invaded in 1219 from the sea. The German Army had the same idea, but they decided to march to the area so they could conquer other lands along the way. Since the Danes arrived first, they took the prize and became the first European rulers of the last pagan tribes of the area. The Germans ended up sending many merchants to the area and dominated the commerce side.
I had signed up for a Walking Tour for the afternoon. Along with a dozen others, I met our Guide, Ivar, at the Tourist Office. He was easy to find dressed as he was in traditional medieval dress.
He talked briefly about the beautiful medieval Old Town of Tallinn, of which only 10% was destroyed in WWII. As a result, most of the buildings are original from medieval times. When he visited the U.S. and showed pictures of the Tallinn Old Town, people said, “Man, you live in Disneyland!” There are a lot of spires, castles, etc.
Sadly, it went quickly downhill from there! Boring, unless you enjoyed listening to him being impressed with himself and his “performance.” I gave him $5 and walked away after ten minutes. My first “free tour” bust. Oh, well.
By then it was after 1:00 pm and I had not eaten yet, so I went in search of food. Surprisingly, almost every restaurant in Old Town has a hawker outside trying to get customers. While I’ve seen this obnoxious practice many times, especially in tourist areas, this is the first city on this trip where it has occurred. You can’t walk the sidewalk or through a square without being accosted!
In response I picked the first restaurant that did not have someone out on the sidewalk to annoy me. Worked out well for me, the food was good!
The Alexander Nevsky Cathedral is an Eastern Orthodox cathedral that was built in 1894–1900,
when the country was part of the former Russian Empire.
Toompea Castle was erected on the foundations of the crumbling eastern wing of the fortress built on this site in the 13th and 14th centuries. The castle with its late Baroque façade was built between 1767 and 1773.
Dinner was a lazy splurge – lazy because it was across the street from my hostel, and a splurge because it was a Michelin rated restaurant!
The Michelin Guide says, “Set in the heart of the Old Town, this is a wonderfully elegant, romantic spot, where two striking rooms ooze period charm and an eclectic mix of artwork fills the walls. In contrast, the food is modern and understated. Well-formed dishes give each core ingredient the space to shine, with unadulterated flavours fitting together seamlessly. You might find earthy yellow beetroot paired with soft goat’s cheese or wonderfully mature venison with a silky celeriac purée. Friendly service and a great choice of cocktails and wines by the glass finishes things off perfectly.”
nice music!”
Here was my meal:
- A South African Chenin Blanc “21 Gables”
- Prosciutto & Melon
- Mini Baguette with Cheese Butter
- Scorched Trout, Potato, Salted Cucumber, Sour Cream
- A French Pinot Noir Bourgogne, Louis Jadot
- Charcoal Beef Striploin & Salted Foie Gras, Buttery Potato Cream, Onion, Beef Jus
- Raspberry Sorbet
Atmosphere in spades, aggressive, but nice background music, exquisite service, the perfect timing between courses, perfect wine pairings – amazing.
So… I had a great dinner and a I got a lucky room booking all in the same day. A private, ground floor hostel room right across the street from the restaurant! My first private and first ground floor room this trip. Lucky me!
Tomorrow morning a 2-hour ferry trip to Helsinki!
Words of wisdom, or just to amuse…?
It may seem like I’m doing nothing, but I’m actively waiting for my problems to disappear.
A Captain’s Adventures 