Carefree in Tallinn, Estonia

Town Hall Square and Town Hall

  Although I am Finnish, I know better our neighboring country Estonias capital Tallinn,  than my home countrys major cities (excluding my home town Vantaa of  course, and our capital, Helsinki). Tallinn is near, still affordable, and the old town is beautiful.
 
   My first trip to Tallinn took place almost 25 years ago, when Estonia was still a part of the great and mighty Soviet Union. The trip was memorable in many ways, largely because of the socialist state absurdities you came across everywhere; the queuing, the restaurants with only one plate to offer despite a long menu, the money with next to no value... but one of the things that stuck in mind was the  fine old city. In Finland we do not have the old Hanseatic cities so the medieval city towers, walls, cellar restaurants etc. made a great impression on a young woman.

Soon after the socialistic walls came down, and it become much easier to travel to independent Estonia than what it had been to the Soviet. We Finns started to make day trips to Estonian in search of cheap shopping. The services too were much cheaper in Estonia than Finland, so many  people visited Tallinn in order to get their hair done or to enjoy other beauty treatments.
Between  Helsinki and Tallinn  there are many ferries daily. The trip takes approx. 2.5h, one way and the cost vary from 10-50€/ person depending on the offers and the season.
After my first trip a lot has changed in Tallinn, mostly for the better. There are a lot of good restaurants, shopping possibilities for every purse and so on. Also what comes to accommodation, there is a lot to choose from.
I have stayed in many inns and hotels in Tallinn city center, but this time I  decided to satisfy my curiosity about  Rotermanni 16 €  hostel ( Roseni 9 ). So I booked a bed in the place situated perfectly- near to the harbour, near to the old town, near to the new city center ( well, to be honest, everything is quite  " near " in this capital of ca. 400 000 inhabitants).

Katariina Käik

For 16 euros I got a bed and locker in a  mixed dormitory and a buffet breakfast in the Metropol hotel right by the hostel. Very reasonable, although the hostel's cleanliness left a little to be desired. Bedding, however, were clean. Metropol hotel's breakfast was tolerable at that price; I have in fact once been forced by circumstance, to take a single room in the Metropol on high season, when the price for one night  was 99 euros. For that price the breakfast left quite a lot to be desired.
   My main reason for this visit to the neighboring country's capital was that the my sauna back home was under renovations, but my reasoning was that as i was going for a cheap bed, I could spend the saved money in pampering myself otherwise :).
In the Rotermanni center, on the third floor, I have had through the years good, albeit a rather rude, hairdressing service at a reasonable price. So there I went again, and had my roots touched up, hair cut and braided for the price of 42 euros, which is a quite a reasonable price for a Finn. In the adjoining beauty salon my eyebrows where shaped and both the brows and eyelashes dyed for 12 euros.
   Then I decided to try a new place for pedi- and manicure. It was totally worth it! NailSpa, at Narva mnt 9, offered a great service with a smile and at an affordable price. Classic pedicure and manicure with paraffin treatments cost a total of 34 euros! I will go back there, that is for sure!
 
My happiest place in Tallinn is the medieval restaurant Olde Hansa in the heart of the old city, next to the Raekoja plats ( town hall palce ), where the annual Christmas fair takes place.

Olde Hansa

I like Olde Hansa restaurants mushroom soup, and downright love the cinnamon beer, which is served there.  Food, how ever,  is not the main reason why I visit the place almost every time when  in Tallinn. The building is actually medieval , and  interior is designed to match. Even the  background music is medieval-sounding music, the lighting is carried out almost entirely by candles and the staff is dressed in theme suitable outfits. The atmosphere is charming.  So Olde Hansa is one of the favorite restaurants in the hole wide world.

Mestritte Hoov

   The sweet tooth pains are resolved best in the charming Chocolatier de Pierre, Vene 6, close to Olde Hansa. Meistrite Hoov, Master´s courtyard,  itself is really charming ( but girls! leave the  high heels to the hotel for this visit! Slippery round rocks!), and the traditional pastry shops interior is wonderfully mixed. Pierre-house pastry is really delicious, but a little too much even for such a sugar mouse that I am. Drinking  hot chocolate at Pierre´s in a darkening December afternoon is  fairy tale stuff.
On this trip for culture, I visited the NUKU muuseum ( also located near Raekoja plats, Nunne tänav 8 ), the Puppet Museum. I highly recommend this site to all the children and to the adults who are interested in the art of puppet theatre.

Nurri Kassikohvik

An other place to go to with children - or if you happen to be a crazy cat lady like myself- is Nurri kassikohvik ( Tartu mnt. 24 in the new city center, near department store Stockman ). This cat cafe is a shelter for homeless cats waiting for new masters to find them. At the moment there where eight beautiful cats to cuddle and play with.

Christmas fair