I’m cheating with this travel post as it’s a throwback all the way back to September last year, when a work conference took me to a little Eastern European town called Tallinn. But it’s about time I shared my photos properly, as Tallinn is a bit of a fairy tale come true. The Disneyland skyline of terracotta rooves and ancient church spires is home to a wealth of ye olde worlde bars and cafes, as well as an incredible vegan restaurant that gets some special love in this post…
Having interrailed from Krakow to Vienna via Bratislava and Budapest the summer after uni, I’m no stranger to Eastern Europe. I fell in love with the history and art on that trip, exploring the galleries, churches and cafes while using some pretty crazy budget hostels as a base (ref the insanity that was Hotel Spirit where ‘breakfast’ was a menu of breast/penis enlargement pills). So when I was invited to attend the European Sleep Research conference for work I was excited to see what Estonia had to offer, armed this time with an office credit card (and a much-reduced student loan).
After some catching some shut-eye in the sleep science seminars (joke, colleagues, joke!) I had some time to explore the city before Pete flew out to join me a few days later. I wandered the cobbled squares as the sun set and scouted out some favourite spots to read my book; in the park at Tornide väljak overlooking the city’s medieval wall, by Shnelli Pond watching the ducks, and in the evening, in the Raekoja Plats over an Aperol Spritz.
Tallinn has picked up a dodgy reputation as a stag destination but I genuinely didn’t see any bad behaviour or rowdy groups of English tourists during the five days I was there. Even at the weekend the bars we visited seemed to be full of locals, and the atmosphere was lively but still laid back and friendly. I spent my first evening dining with some sleep scientists at the wonderful Von Krahli Aed, an organic restaurant with healthy dishes to rival any in Notting Hill (at a fraction of the price).
A day later, Pete and I kicked off our Friday night with drinks on the square and a bit of a bar crawl around the Old Town; the first bar we wandered into plied us with free cocktails and canapes, setting us up nicely for a tour of the best local watering holes. After enjoying a taste of old Tallinn at Valli Baar, we ended up scarfing chips in Chicago 1933, a rather less authentic Estonian experience! I’m afraid I don’t have any photos from the later part of the night as the few I found on my phone are a blurry grainy mess. Which says it all really.
The next morning we signed up for a free walking tour of the city, something I always mean to do in foreign cities and rarely get round to organising. Our guide was brilliant; funny, informative and charismatic, and we took in all the major landmarks from the Dome Church (Toomkrik) to Tallinn Town Hall and the Song Festival Grounds, by way of some stunning views of the rooftops from the Kohtuotsa viewing platform. The best thing was the informal history lesson she gave us; Tallinn’s fight to retain independence is an incredible story, especially the part about “the singing revolution” where people rebelled during the famous Tallinn Song Festival Stadium not by using weapons, but by singing their nation’s songs. I’d recommend a tour to everyone, and suggest doing it early – knowing a little of the town’s backstory made everything we saw and did on our own afterwards all the more interesting.
I was having a really good time, I promise.
History aside, one of the highlights of the trip was something a little more modern; dinner at a tiny newish restaurant called Vegan Restaurant V. We were so impressed with the food that we went back again the next day for lunch so we could literally try everything! The pictures below speak for themselves, but I’d add that the décor was gorgeous, the service super friendly, and the people watching was fantastic. The wine was good too.
This cake though…
On our final day, we got up early to climb St Olaf’s Church for a last panoramic of the city then headed down to the sea to visit the Seaplane Harbour; this is a bit of a trek (actually, it’s not really walkable at all – I think most people get a bus or something but we missed that memo). Anyway, it’s worth it to see the dramatic seaplane hangars looming over the harbour. These house exhibitions, which we obviously skipped in favour of messing about on the canons/children’s play area. Apparently there’s a nice restaurant here too but having spent most of the morning walking we had to rush back to catch our flight. Next time!
If you’re on a budget, Tallinn is a fantastic place to go – cheap flights, cheap accommodation and even cheaper food and booze while you’re out there. In fact, so much of the best of Tallinn is completely free. Go for a long weekend in September, wear some comfortable shoes, and just take it all in…
