Discovered Tallinn
My wife, Amber, and I decided to add a quick, one-night stay in Tallinn, Estonia, to our 2-week Nordic capitals tour in July ’07 simply because it was easy to get to and because there was a chapter on the city in our “Rick Steves’ Scandinavia” guidebook.
The city ended up exceeding our expectations and now holds a lofty place near the top of our list of favorite travel destinations. The Baltic capital revealed an engaging medieval Old Town surrounded by a bustling modern city.
The Old Town has been on UNESCO’s World Heritage Sites list since 1997, and we spent nearly all of our time in Tallinn exploring the sites within its old walls.
The Old Town is basically divided into two areas: lower town and Toompea, or upper town. Town Hall Square is the city’s hub in lower town, and there are great views over lower town’s roofs and medieval watchtowers from Toompea.
Tallinn doesn’t need a batch of world-class museums and monuments to enchant visitors. It’s just a cool place to be, and there are a few stops that should be on every visitor’s agenda.
Two locations competed for top billing as our favorite spot: the 5-domed Russian Orthodox Nevsky Cathedral, which strikes an imposing figure on the Old Town skyline, and the Museum of Occupation ($1.74 adult), which sets a grim scene with exhibits that tell of daily life during 50 years of foreign domination. (Estonia was occupied by the Nazis for three years starting in 1941 before being annexed as part of the Soviet Union until 1991.)
The city’s tourist information office (www.tourism.tallinn.ee) is easy to locate just off Town Hall Square, and the staff members we dealt with were helpful and friendly and spoke English.
We spent part of an afternoon on the “official” tour from Tallinn City Tour (Kadaka tee 62a, 12618, Tallinn, Estonia; phone +372 53 055 055, www.citytour.ee), a 2½-hour guided tour by bus and foot ($26 per person).
The driving part of the tour took us outside the tourists’ Tallinn, through the city and out to Pirita Beach. We also saw the Soviet Maarjamäe War Memorial. The walking tour covered the sites within the city walls. There were only three of us on our tour, so it was like having a private, English-speaking guide at a group-guide rate.
The tour left from several different locations, including Hotel Viru just outside the city walls, but the pickup point there was not obviously marked. Ask around and look for the big bus. It’s a bit aggravating, but you’ll find it, and if you don’t, you really aren’t missing that much. The sites outside the Old Town walls are average, at best, and you can easily see the attractions inside the walls on your own. That said, the guide’s dialog was interesting, and we always think it’s educational to see the parts of the city where the “real” people live.
Questions about where to eat and where to sleep in the Estonian capital are easily answered. We enjoyed quick, tasty lunches near town hall at the Beer House (Dunkri 5, Tallinn, 10123; phone +372 644 2222, www.beerhouse.ee) and at Hell Hunt (Gentle Wolf) pub (Pikk 39, Tallinn; phone 372 681 8333, www.hell hunt.ee) near Fat Margaret Tower. Costs were about $8-$10 per plate.
The best bet for dinner was in the cellar at Restoran Vanaema Juures (Grandma’s Place) (Rataskaevu 10/12, Tallinn, 10123, Estonia; phone +372 626 9080 or fax 626 9099) near town hall. It’s best to get a reservation because the small room holds only a handful of tables; several people were turned away while we were there.
Making a reservation for dinner while on vacation may seem like a hassle, but Grandma’s Place is worth the effort. I enjoyed a casserole of goat’s cheese and potato ($12), but Amber hit a culinary home run when she chose a dish of fried eggs, ham and potatoes piled on thick toasted bread — a delicious concoction called Grandma’s Roast ($11).
We slept well just a short stroll from the town center at Villa Hortensia (e-mail jaan.parn@mail.ee), conveniently located in the quaint Master’s Courtyard. The courtyard protects guests from street noise and, even better, there’s a chocolate shop right in the courtyard. There’s also a collection of artists’ shops.
Our room, at $104 per night, was clean, comfortable and huge, by typical European standards. It came with a kitchenette and small balcony, but be warned: the room was at the top of a steep, ladder-like flight of steps. We pack light and it wasn’t a problem for us, but if climbing straight up is an issue for you, ask for a room with a less-demanding access point.
Tallinn is easy to reach from both Sweden and Finland. The city is possible as a day trip from Helsinki, a short 90 minutes away by hydrofoil.
Some may see Tallinn as worth only a few hours, but we think it rates at least one night. We traveled there from Helsinki on a Linda Line Express (phone +3726999 333 or fax [09] 668 97070, www.lindaline.ee) ship and suggest buying your ticket a day or two in advance. We just grabbed tickets a few hours before departure and were forced to pay for first class ($55 per person) because second class was full.
Stockholm, Sweden, is an easy overnight ferry from Tallinn. We booked a window cabin on Tallink Silja Line’s (Erottajankatu 19, 00130 Helsinki; phone +358 600 15700, www.tallinksilja.com) M/S Victoria for our overnight journey. The trip was a bit pricey at $203 per person, but it seems more reasonable when you consider it included transportation, lodging, dinner and breakfast. A smaller cabin and bringing your own food on board can help cut costs.
The ship had a casino and plenty of food, drinks and shopping to occupy passengers until bedtime. Just be on deck the next morning to catch the scenery as the ship sails through the picturesque Swedish Archipelago.
Tallinn will likely never find a spot on the grand tour map, but its medieval charm, friendly locals and reasonable rates make it the perfect place for those who enjoy venturing off the main routes and exploring the world’s lesser-known places.
CHARLIE PRICE
Edmond, OK