October 5, 2019

Tallinn – A City of Towers

Tallinn – A City of Towers

I don’t know how much more beauty I can handle. Each port stop has been amazing in its own way, and I’m in jaw-dropping awe with each continued stop. Today, our port was Tallinn, Estonia. The idea that I would get to see Estonia was astounding to me, as it’s not a country one would normally consider. Even better? The WHOLE CITY is considered a UNESCO World Heritage Site. As you can tell, it is my life and travel mission to see as many UNESCO World Heritage Sites as I can. That may seem silly to some, but if a location has gone through all the lengths and procedures to be recognized then I feel it is my duty to see them as they are deemed to be an important part of history. Will I ever get to all of them? No, I won’t. But that also doesn’t mean that I can’t try and see as many as I can!

A view toward the sea from Patkuli viewpoint

Tallinn is one of the best Nordic medieval cities; it’s main walls are mostly intact including 21 towers that are still standing today. There are essentially two towns within Tallinn. The upper town called Toompea and the lower town. The cruise ship natually ports in lower town and it’s only a 15 minute walk from the port to the Fat Margaret Tower, the entry into the city. This is where I started my walking tour. Rick Steves, for those who haven’t read my previous posts, or been introduced to him, is a wealth of knowledge. His travel guides are essential and he gives you insights into the best walks in so many European cities. It allows you to read a bit about the history of what you’re seeing and makes sure you see the highlights of where you’re going, especially when you’re pressed on time like I was. I only had until 3:30pm to explore this majestic city. 

My walk took me up Pikk Street, which translates into Long Street, and was the main merchant strip that led into the centre of town. The three sisters which are three buildings on the street are a prime example of the medieval merchant upper class at the time. Also on this street and of notable interest was #59, which was the former site of the local KGB during the USSR times of Tallinn. The main level windows were bricked over and this is where the KGB used their very creative and questionable techniques. 

  • Three Sisters
  • Former KGB Offices
  • Brotherhood of the Black Heads
  • Creepy statue by one the towers

Next up was an intricately carved door, with an interesting past. Built in 1440, this was the headquarters of the Brotherhood of the Black Heads. These were single, merchant men who weren’t allowed to have more power and be part of the Great Guild due to their lower status in the community. Single men, or this Brotherhood were dispatched first when battles or fire or anything dangerous was happening in the city, as they were seen to have limited ties to the community due to the fact they were not married. Only once married to a local woman could someone from this guild even attempt to try to become a part of the Great Guild and hold more power and less front line duty. I can’t imagine what an unmarried woman was treated like in those days.

The first tower that I climbed was Kiek in de Kok (try not to giggle at that name!). Its name translated means “peek in the kitchen” because the height of the tower allowed the soldiers to peek into the people’s kitchens below. It was the strongest artillery tower in the Baltic, with walls 4m thick and was built in the 1470s. You can even see canons embedded in its outer walls from battles of past. I knew that it was a viewpoint and I could see fantastic views of the city, but I did not realize it was behind windows that these views were. Regardless it was really interesting climbing to the 6th floor of the tower to see the views. You were also able to walk on the outer walls to the Maiden’s Tower which was equally interesting to know that I was walking along the same walls as those from many centuries ago. For those Game of Thrones fans, it wasn’t quite The Wall; however I did not venture beyond the Wall very much, like Game of Thrones (caveat, I’ve not watched Game of Thrones beyond the second episode but I did read the first book).

  • A view of autumn leaves from the tower
  • A view of the wall and into old town

Now Tallinn has also a few free lookouts from Toompea (upper town) and thanks to it being low season there were no crazy long lines for that picturesque Instagram worthy shot that everyone wants. I was not wanting to take up a ton of time so mine was quick take the photo and leave! I encourage anyone to do their research and see what all the varying free lookouts can help you see, as they are often as good as, or better than the paid ones.

These photos were taken from Patkuli and Khotuosta viewpoints, which were mere minutes from each other but offered different views of the city. The picture near the beginning of this post is also from Patkuli viewpoint. I had a hard time finding them as I had been admiring the Symphony of Amber store just across from the Khotuosta viewpoint and ended up purchasing my Baltic Amber ring from there. I knew I’d wanted one, didn’t know if I’d find time in Russia and for some reason this store was calling me. I ended up purchasing the very first ring I saw. It has subtle waves on either side of the Amber and to me that signified how I travelled the Baltic, which was by water so it felt like the perfect way to commemorate my adventures in the Baltic!

I was afforded such a beautiful day with stunning clouds, a cool breeze, minimal tourists and best of all, the fall colours. You can even see my cruise ship peeking from behind the church tower in the 4th photo. Seeing the red roof tops and the views from this old city really felt like I was back in time and in a Disney fairy tale. If only my Prince was waiting for me at the wall! Regardless, the times I had in this city were just wonderful and it’s got to be an important stop on anybody’s Baltic adventure list!

After seeing these viewpoints, myself and one of my cruise ship mates (seriously, we managed to bump into each other walking around the city. 4000 people on a cruise, an entire city, and halfway through our day we crossed paths) decided to try and see as much of the rest of the city as we could. I knew I’d really wanted to get to Kadriorg Palace and gardens, which required a tram ride, and in hindsight I should have gone there first; but all in all I’m very happy with what I ended up seeing. But keep in mind, if you’re restricted to time, start with the farthest thing and move back towards the ship that will not wait for you if you are late! We decided to try and see what else we could find.

First up? Some fuel! Maiasmokk Cafe is one of the oldest cafes in Tallinn, and we knew this was where we needed to go to get some good food and for me, a tea! The shop was so quaint, and you could feel the history. Their desserts were delicious, their tea was lovely and to see the hand crafted chocolate and marizpan designs were incredible. It was like stepping back in time and taking a moment to breathe and truly enjoy Tallinn.

After a snack we made it to the oldest pharamacy in Europe! Raeapteek, or pharmacy has been open as early as the 1400s and has continually been housed at this exact address, number 11, since then! It still operates today and has a museum in the rear with remedies and bottles of days gone by. I’ve also included a few other pictures of places we encountered on our journey to get to the Sweater Wall.

Town Square

A massive thanks to Rick Steves for telling me I should go and see Sweater wall. This is where a bunch of merchants have stalls set up against the city walls selling their wool/linens. I ended up purchasing a hat as, even though I rarely use one walking around in Canada, it was necessary just to keep a bit warmer whilst out all day in the quite breezy, cool sea air. Not only did I get a nice hat, but we ended up deciding that we had some more time to meander through the city, made our way to Viru gate (which we had wanted to see) and then ended up stumbling across a section of the wall we hadn’t come across, Nunna. It was so pretty in that area and we realized we were able to climb the tower for just two euro, so with the dying minutes of the day in Tallinn, we climbed up. Whilst the photos don’t do it justice, it was so peaceful and really nice up there to look over parts of the city and so interesting to think about how they lived and defended their day to day lives in these cold, barren, towers!

After this, we hustled back to the ship and made it on board with 15 minutes to spare! An absolutely stunning city, a wonderful country and one that I would love to explore more of. It was a gem of a city that I won’t ever soon forget.

Viru Gate
Filed Under: Estonia, Europe, My Travel Posts
Tags: , , , , , , ,

195 thoughts on “Tallinn – A City of Towers”

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *