Baltics - 9 June 2012 (2)

Exploring Talinn Old Town

Dostoevsky's Green House

May and I headed out to explore the Old Town, which was a short walk from the hotel.  The Old Town is ellipse-shaped and mostly bounded by green spaces, with the whole bounded by a wide and busy ring road.  Although some of the buildings haven’t been well maintained, most of them have been restored to their former glory, which is often quite colourful.

Pink Building

Our wanderings took us on a spiral path and we soon reached the far walls before heading round.

We spotted an offer for coffee and chocolate cake for €5 in a café window, so sat down at a table on the pavement outside.  The cake was a warm bun, but we also got some watermelon sorbet and kiwi and berry jellies, so the offer was good value.

Red Building

After our rest, we soon found the Estonian History Museum.  We didn’t go in, but we did walk down the alley which ran alongside.  The paving stones had a time line of Estonian history from 10,500 BCE to 2418 CE, reflecting optimism that Estonia will now continue as an independent country for the next 400 years.  It certainly deserves it, given its recent history.

Raekoja Plats

We spiralled inwards and eventually came upon Raekoja Plats (Town Hall Square).  There was a market and a stage, where people were singing and dancing, because the city was enjoying a festival from 8-10 June.  We looked at some of the stalls and May was particularly interested in the wooden spoons and some interesting wooden placemats.

Mediaeval Peasants

People were dressed in mediaeval costumes and I was approached by a knight in chain mail, who put his arm round me and asked if I would marry him…..  Then he said I could have a photo taken with him for €1.  So much for the proposal!

Light Green Building

We looked in the windows of some of the many amber shops and went inside one shop which sold bowls made from galled wood offcuts.  There were also long wooden shoe horns and wooden bootjacks for removing muddy wellies.  Though tempting, we didn’t buy anything.

St Olave's Church

I took lots of photos during our walk.  May went inside St Olave’s Church, once the tallest building in the world, although it is now shorter, having been burnt more than once.  I stayed outside and look a photo of the spire, looking straight up.

Mediaeval Peasants Relaxing

We found ourselves in Raekoja Plats a second time and admired the curling and pointed shoes of some mediaeval peasants.  Some were handing out samples of nuts, especially sweet almonds, which they were trying to sell at “Gourmet Monk” stalls.

Then we had to head back to the hotel to make our 18.00 rendezvous with the rest of the group.