Visit of Tallinn, capital of Estonia

We took the Viking Line boat to go from Helsinki to Tallinn, a two hour boat ride. Very excited to discover Estonia for 9 days with my sister Monique from Paris, Our plan is to stay 3 days in Tallinn, rent a car and go through the country counter clock wise: Viinistu in Lareema park, Nina along lake Peipus (Peipsi in Estonian), Tartu, Parnu, Kuressaare on the island of Sareema and back to Tallinn.

The medieval Old Town of Tallinn is a popular tourist destination, so when a flock of 1500-2000 tourists arrives by boat from Helsinki, guess where they all go.....to the Old Town. After finding our Airbnb apartment right in the center of the Old Town and across the street from the Russian embassy, we went for a walk. We instantly hit the little blue train making us wonder if we were not in Dysneyland :))

In fact, we quickly realized that visiting Old Tallinn is better done before 10:00 am and after 4:00 pm, before boats arrive and after they leave. Much more pleasant overall experience. The Old Town is extremely well conserved and beautiful. Part of the wall around the city is still intact and well preserved. It was really fun to walk through the narrow streets and discover churches, medieval houses.....

The Town Hall

Wool sweaters, hats and scarves at a decent Estonian price. Unfortunately, every single store or booth on the market sells the same items. To their credit....made in Estonia.

 

Definitively feeling the proximity of Russia. Many Russian tourists, but NO commerce between Estonia and Russia.

On our first evening in Tallinn, dinner at Lusikas.

Scallops on a bed of pureed green peas, yum!

Trio of salmon

Duck with celery puree and mango chutney, yum

Overall, everything in Estonia is quite cheaper than in the Scandinavian countries. May be 30% cheaper. Food is really excellent, simple at times but always tasty. Most dishes I ordered had to have wild mushrooms. Could not pass on them. High quality local ingredients used, so even the most simple dishes were delicious. Tomatoes were amazingly good. Estonian vegetables are often grown in green houses.

We stayed in Tallinn for three days. We went outside the Old Town to find a local vegetable market, a special request from Monique who loves markets. We do too. This is where we discovered that Estonia is a large producer of wild mushrooms! We understood why when we started to drive through the countryside. There are so many forests and a perfect weather for mushrooms to grow. We saw them with our own eyes as we hiked one day through a forest. At the market, chanterelles for 2.80 Euros/kilo!! This made our second dinner "at home". Au menu: tomatoe/mozzarella/basil salad,  sauteed chanterelles, fresh green peas sauteed with onions (a special for Monique), and delicious tasty raspberries for dessert....Are we becoming vegeterians......."just for one day", as David Bowie would say.

More pics of the Old Town

The Medieval wall around the city

The Alexander Nevski Russian orthodox cathedral

My sister in blue

Our favorite patisserie, the oldest in Tallinn

The advantage of living across the street from the Russian Ambassy. Demonstrations at your door!

And finally a couple of picks of our large old fashioned well located apartment 

Could not complain about the sauna and the really nice wood burning fireplace!

 :)) :))

“We’ll be here for Estonia. You lost your independence once before. With NATO, you will never lose it again.”

 President Obama