Tallinn III - Weather

Some days before visiting Tallinn I daily checked the weather forecast and I decided to put in my bags heavy clothes. It was the beginning of December but quite freezing and the wind was making it even colder. Landing in the late night we went out the airport and it was storming. After checking-in in the hotel we decided to walk to the Town Hall square... it was soooo cold but magic in the same time... nobody was around.

As I was born on Alps, the cold weather is not really a problem: heavy wind jacket, a cap and gloves and that's it. But there's one thing really different in north Europe... the sun. The sun was always low in the sky even at midday.

Tallinn II - Cuisine

Before visiting a new place I am used to read a lot about it on internet websites. I did the same for Estonia and Tallinn in particular. One of the things which scared me more was food... In fact, on Estonian cuisine I read stuff like:

For a lot of foreign visitors, traditional Estonian food can be, frankly, daunting. People from most parts of the world are simply not used to chowing down on marinated eel, or swallowing spoonfuls of jellied meat for that matter. And it goes without saying that a lot of people would flinch before attempting anything called 'blood sausage' [1]

Well, I have to say that I enjoyed Estonian food a lot. As I am curious and I like to taste local dishes and drinks, I appreciated in particular two typical restourants both proposed by my friend Kriss (travel with somebody knowing the place is always a *plus*):

Kuldse Notsu Kõrts is located closed to the Town Hall Square in a street in front of the Town Hall. The traditional fornitures (almost everything in wood) are well disposed and curated. Thare I tasted for the first time 'kali' an Estonian soft drink, a bread with pork meat and an interesting Estonian dessert [2].

Olde Hansa is located closed to the Town Hall Square as well but behind Town Hall. It is more expensive but really a unique place. Candles all around and in the soft light you can admire painting on the walls with old Middle Ages maps, it seems to jump back at that time... also toliettes are unique and Middle Ages style [3]. Food is amazing and finally I had the chance to taste the famous "claret" an interesting liquor coming from old tradition (be careful it is dynamite... youan't get the alcohol at the beginning...). Here, it is possible to taste bear meat as well. All this came with a really funny and polite waitress dressed in Middle Ages style and speaking an ancient Estonian (that's what my Estonian friend told me) and of course English...

Another interesting liquor is 'Vana Tallinn' a dark brown strong liqueur with a mild rum taste.

Good lesson... not trust to much to websites and don't be scared to taste new things... sometimes results are a good surprise.

[1] Estonian cuisine link
[2] Kuldse Notsu Kõrts Travels2005->Tallinn I
[3] Olde Hansa pics section Travels2005->Tallinn III

Tallinn I - Estonia - Europe

Tallinn is the capital of Estonia, a country of less than 2 millions citizens located in the north of Europe on the baltic sea. Tallinn is exactly on sea south and in front of Helsinki capital of Finland. In the Middle Ages it was an estimated trade centre. Recently it has been part of the Soviet Union but, culturally, socially and historically, it has always been more connected to Finnish countries. In fact, Estonian language is quite similar to Finnish.

In the Old Town you can still feel the smell of the Middle Ages. Tallinn is one of the better conserved Middle Ages city in all Europe [1]. Believe me, it is amazing to admire the city walls and towers, the Middle Ages style houses and restourants (or "restoran" how Estonian people call them) where you can still taste traditional drinks (like "claret" a really interesting liquor and "kali" a soft drink) and dishes. Most of the time served by smiling guys in traditional dresses.

But the Old Town is the core of a city moving to the future, more closed to west Europe than I thought.

One of the best trip I ever had [2,3,4] and I'd like to thank my special Estonian friend Kriss to have me introduced to local dynamics. I am always curious of that...

[1] tallinn tourism website
[2] mypictures: section Travels 2005-> Tallinn I
[3] mypictures: section Travels 2005-> Tallinn II
[4] mypictures: section Travels 2005-> Tallinn III