The Red Rooftops Of Tallinn

Posted by & filed under Travel Country: Estonia.

23/10/2010

Well finally we have a bit of sunshine! When I woke up this morning it was bright and sunny. The weather forecast WAS a day late. But it was a nice change to the dull, dreary weather over the last 3 days.

I had decided that today was the day to have a wander on the old town wall and see what the views were like from up there. The entrance fee to climb the tower at  Muurivahe was 30 krowns. You could walk about 50 metres of the wall. The view stretched out back over the city centre, over the red rooftops of Tallinn and the tall spires of the main churches in the old town. It was a city view of course but it was good to see in the sunshine and blue skies. In bright sunshine the place took on a different character. It was such a difference compared to the grey days we’d had before. The place sparkled and the cobblestones glistened in the sun. It was lovely to see.

I then wandered over in the direction of the port. There was only a very small marina there with only one cafe that I saw. Not very exciting. Some ports/harbours are thriving with cafes, bars, shops and restaurants but there was no such thing here. Anyway, I was trying to decide whether I should go to Kadriorg Palace or not which is 2km east of the city. The palace, which houses the Museum of  Foreign Art sits in the middle of Kadriorg Park. I was wrecked tired from walking and really all I wanted to do was sit down. So I bought a ticket to go to the cinema. I went to see Eat, Pray, Love which lasted 2 and a half hours. It was a good sit down which I badly needed.

I headed back to the hotel after this and asked the receptionist to see if they could print out my boarding passes for my return flight. The receptionist was very helpful and did everything she could to facilitate me, in between booking in a big bustour group! I couldn’t fault the staff here at all. They were very helpful and friendly. So I managed to get the boarding passes printed and I headed back into town. I wanted one last look at the city at night.

Because of the great meal I had in the Indian restaurant Elevant, the night before, I went back there a second time. The chicken korma was as delicious this time as was the chicken curry the night before. I had a really nice jasmine tea after dinner. I would definitely recommend it. www.elevant.ee

I wandered back around the old town for a while, up by the Dome Church, around Pikk Jalg and finally ended up at my favourite spot, the Danish King’s Courtyard. If I’m staying in a place for a few days, I nearly always end up having a favourite spot where I go back to on my last night. Nearly always these favourite spots are outdoors. When I was in New Zealand in Coromandel, I used always sit outside somewhere and look at the Milky Way and the Southern Cross. So I stayed in the Danish King’s Courtyard for a while, ordered a tea with Vana Tallinn (an Estonian rum/liqueur) and it was really nice. It warmed the bones, a bit like what Irish poitin does!

I had packed most of my stuff last night, so most of that was done. My flight from Tallinn to Copenhagen was at 13.50pm and I had booked a taxi for 11am just to be on the safe side. The airport was quiet enough at that time. There were no delays to the flights thankfully and even having to change planes and airlines at Copenhagen, I still had plenty of time to make the next flight. It was the same terminal anyway. I liked Copenhagen airport. It was easy enough to get around and not too far to walk. So I made it back into Amsterdam shortly after 5pm.

It was a great holiday. I really enjoyed it. Tallinn is such a charming, quaint city. The old town at night drew me in and I couldn’t stay away from it. It was chilly with the temperature most of the time being just above 3 degrees but the cold and the snow just added to the atmosphere. I would definitely go back there. It’s a refreshing change to Amsterdam.