Last day in Tallinn - return to London

 On the last day, we took it easy and saw the last few things we wanted to see.

We found yet another tower. I like to think that it's Fat Margaret, but I can't be sure. Actually, no, now I think about it, it's Kiek in de Kök.

We also found the monument commemorating the independence of Estonia, which is very striking.

We went up onto the city walls. It was a surprisingly good vantage point. Looking along the wall, I could see: a spire that I couldn't possibly name (it might be Oleviste, but surely that was downhill from there); the local eyesore: Hotel Viru (urgh); looking uphill, the Nevsky cathedral flanked by Niguliste and another unnamed spire; and a handy little roof terrace with garden furniture and trimmed bushes.

Inside the tower was old stone, and new shiny timber - it was an interesting space, with what looked like play areas for kids.

With little left to do for the day, and the weather being miserable, we headed for the poshest restaurant that Dan could find - Gloria. The ultimate in pre-war decadence, with reputedly the best wine cellar in the Baltics. The house wine was amazing. It was plush, and each booth had curtains. We were the only people there for a Monday lunch.

And while we were dining finely, the weather cleared up. Yay!

Even Essex put on a beautiful sunset for us when we got back to Stansted.

The end.

More exploring in Tallinn

 The next day we went out exploring again, beginning with Town Hall square (Raekoja plats). There was a dinky little train called Toomas doing the rounds that Dan was particularly fond of.

After more wandering, we came across a pretty waterfall with a statue of a deer in a green park. We went to the Russian markets, which was full of tat but interesting in its own right, and bought Nik a very cool present (an old video tape of something or other). We then started in the direction of the old prison. After a time, we started seeing some old wooden houses. And then things started getting very dilapidated indeed. Upon reaching the sea, we saw the old prison, which is boarded up, and surrounded by barbed wire and graffiti. The shore was littered with old blocks of concrete and wire. It's like this part of Tallinn has been completely forgotten - it was like looking at a piece of history.

We walked around a little port as the sun came out to a large, low-built, graffitied concrete structure. I felt sure that it was the famous song grounds, in which hundreds of thousands of people had begun the singing revolution. Unfortunately, I was grossly mistaken. It was in fact the Linnahall (City Concert Hall), which was built for the 1980 Moscow Olympics. Dan thought it was a good idea to follow some people with guitars on their backs into the bowels of the building. Seems like there was a recording studio of some kind in the dim tunnels.

We were about to leave when Dan spotted another staircase and we went down it. At the bottom was a little old man who didn't speak much English and insisted that we leave. Oops.

We kept walking around behind the ferry port (you can get a boat to Helsinki), past the expensive tourist-trap shops, and through some pretty uninteresting bits of town with nowhere to eat. Finally, we came out in some nice parkland next to a proper beach, with a long foreshore stretching ahead of us.

We came across the beautiful Russalka memorial halfway along. The statue of an angel is pointing to the site of a shipwreck.

The only place we found to eat lunch along here was in a burger joint. Weirdest hamburger I've ever had. The crinkle-cut chips were good, though. While we were inside, the weather took a turn for the worse. It was suddenly horribly windy instead of being just grey and indifferent.

From this vantage point, we could see the contrasting aspects of Tallinn's skyline: modern tower blocks, ancient spires, and big ships. We went as far as the Soviet war memorial, which itself is fairly unexceptional, and decided to turn back.

Finally, and sort of by accident, on the way back we found the Song Grounds (Lauluväljak) by walking up to what we thought was a modern stadium. Dan made friends with the huge seated statue of Maestro Johann Voldemar Jannsen. 

The Song Grounds were built in 1959 to house the national Song Festival, and can hold 15,000 singers on the stage. In 1988 it was the scene of the Singing Revolution that led to the overthrow of Soviet rule. It was very atmospheric, with a huge shell, and a vast expanse of green grass. There was also a menacing looking tower beside the shell.

I only later saw that Metallica had played there, and Madonna did a concert there for 72,067 people in August that year. Ref: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:XXV_laulupidu_(3).jpg. All we saw were some people rolling down the hill inside a giant plastic ball.

From there, we went into Kadriorg park. It was beautiful and green after the other things we'd seen that day. And within Kadriorg Park is the palace of Peter the Great, built for Catherine (Kadri), his empress. The grounds were extensive. I think we went inside the palace, but can't remember.

On the way back to the city (the short way, this time), we passed a fountain. It was pink. Then it was blue. Then it was green. Then it was orange. Exciting.

That night, we went to by far the worst place we ate at while in Tallinn - Peppersack. We were intrigued, but just don't even consider it. Not unless you REALLY LOVE PEPPER! It was in an old raftered building, which had plenty of character in a pub sort of way, the service was fairly bad, too. The one saving grace was that there was no pepper in my dessert. I was half expecting it, though.

Arrival in Estonia - first impressions of Tallinn

 Upon arrival in Estonia, we got the bus from the airport to the city, and followed the hostel's useful instructions (i.e. 'follow the crowds to the old town') to our hostel. We immediately went back out for food, choosing a traditional restaurant called 'Olde Hansa' for the authentic Estonian experience. It had pots around the tables containing an assortment of herbs. I assume you were supposed to help yourself to season your meal.

Our lunch was a plate of medieval fare, and I suspect it's from a time before they worked out what actually tasted good. The plate contained bitter, nasty berry things, spelt, pickles and other scary vegetables soaked in vinegar or something, a fairly tasty baked cheese thing, wild boar, and sauerkraut. It was interesting, but definitely not enjoyable.

Outside the restaurant, people dressed in medieval garb were selling almonds rolled and roasted in a delicious combination of spices and sugar. Very tasty.

From there, we walked up the hill through the grey day to Town Hall square (Raekoja plats), where, unsurprisingly, lies the Town Hall. There was an awesome beastie attached to the Town Hall. It had TEETH!

We kept walking uphill in search of excitement. On the way we found the Niguliste church, which is a bizarre mix of styles and colours. It's apparently a concert hall. Shame we didn't go in actually. It has a big tower.

We finally found ourselves up in the Toompea area, which is the seat of the church, government and rich people. We went into the much-talked-about Alexander Nevsky cathedral - a Soviet relic that the locals aren't terribly keen on. Inside it has some very strange red, white, and blue candy stripes running up the walls. I wasn't allowed to take photos inside. We saw the houses of parliament on Toompea Hill, with Tall Hermann Tower keeping watch over them. And in the distance, the sea, the TV tower (that you can no longer go up), the Soviet war memorial, and something that looks suspiciously like the Brandenburg Gate ('it's Germany', says Dan).

We called in briefly at the Tallinn flower show. We couldn't work out why someone had recreated their bedroom in their garden . . . The flowers were pretty but unimaginative

And then visited Oleviste church (St Olaf's). There was a fantastic photo opportunity looking straight up to the vaulting through the chandelier, and I took advantage of it. This church spire was the tallest building in the world from 1549 to 1625.

That evening for dinner, we visited a restaurant called Tchaikovsky that had caught our eye from the beginning. It's the restaurant of a hotel, but the service and the food (and the port) are phenomenal. For dessert we had a souffle *inside* a crepe. It was perfect and amazing! And they had very pretty serviettes in the shape of swans.