Welcome to Tallinn, the third of the three Baltic capitals on this trip. That`s right; I took the really (really, really) long way to get here from Riga, but I’ve arrived in Estonia`s capital.
Tallinn’s Old Town, like those of Vilnius’s and Riga, is a charming enclosed area full of beautiful old buildings, cobblestones, churches, and lots and lots of tourists. Unlike Vilnius and Riga, however, Tallinn has an artificial, theme park-esque feel to it. Maybe it’s the Golden Arches that greet people at the main gates. Maybe it’s the kids’ tourist train running loops through the city. Maybe it’s the costumed restaurateurs in the main square looking to charge people a euro or two for their photo. Tallinn’s Old Town may be a UNESCO World Heritage Site, but it’s about as Disneyfied as it gets.
I arrived here early afternoon, to Tallinn`s surprisingly cute little airport. I’ve had good luck with my flights thus far; they all were on time and my bag arrived without incident. The hostel I’m staying in is pretty awesome, though it took me a while to find it with the questionable directions provided, so by the time I got here, I was ready to just collapse. So I did, breaking every cardinal rule of overcoming jet lag. I just fell face down on the mattress and dozed for a couple of hours, until I felt human enough to face the world. I’m sure I’ll pay for it later.
Finally, I showered and changed and went out to explore the Old Town, which was easy enough as it’s basically at my doorstep. First stop was — of course — a chocolaterie, where I sampled a piece of homemade chocolate to compare it to that of Latvia and Lithuania. I’d have to give it to Lithuania on the chocolate front, based on my totally unscientific sampling of one chocolate place per country.
The other thing about Tallinn in the summer is that it’s packed. The cruise ships all dock here, so the Old Town is overrun at times. I set out for some dinner and tried to get a table at three or four reasonably priced restaurants nearby, but all were full up for the entire evening with reservations and turned me away. Not exactly the friendliest welcome to a city, I must say. Anyway, in desperation, I finally bit the bullet and wandered over to the main square, where I I had the most ridiculously overpriced dinner imaginable at a restaurant that billed itself authentically Estonian and yet thought that the Beatles 1 album was the most appropriate mood music. I kid you not. Oh well, at least the people-watching was good.
It rained a bit in Tallinn this afternoon, and it’s almost pleasantly cool outside this evening. Thank goodness. On the flip side, the people here seem colder and less friendly, too. I’m probably not giving it a fair chance, but Tallinn feels more isolating and standoffish than its other Baltic counterparts. Hopefully that’s just my mood, and I’ll feel differently after a good night’s sleep.
Hi Sari! Your comments about Tallinn being a theme park remind me of my experience in Dubrovnik. Cruise ships docking at the harbor each morning, lots of old blue-hairs walking around everywhere, and a general feeling that day tourists far outnumber locals.
Of course that’s not wholly bad, but it does suggest that these places may have been better visited, say, 10 or 12 years ago.
I still hope to visit Tallinn, though. Nice post!