December 7th 2025

 Tallinn by Foot

Well so much for the restful sleep, up at 2 hourly intervals from midnight. Maybe it is the glogg ( gluhwein alternative here) .

Another chilly day with wind chill factor taking temps down to 0. Making it a little less pleasant was the wintry mix, a meteorological term for rain, ice and snow.

Headed to town in relative darkness at around 830 through a town square almost devoid of people, only thing we passed was the Chimney Sweep statue which we rubbed for good luck on the way to Reval Cafe for breakfast.

Fuelled up we started our foot tour of town, passing a raft of cafes and restaurants and one bar which might have some appeal to Slim Dusty if he is still writing songs. 

Some beautiful old buildings with different architecture and in pristine condition.

The famed St Olav church with its huge spire stands out amongst the rest of the town. History has it that the spire has been rebuilt five times after fires and lightning strikes through history. They have installed a lightning rod in recent times to lessen the risk.

Back towards the Town Hall,adorned with two angry looking dragons, and we were in the almost deserted Xmas Market. On the way we passed a human sized reindeer decoration which Jane eyed off and I snuck past after eating one of its kin for dinner last night.

Took the winding path up into the old Town and wandered through the old castle and walked the ramparts. The ramparts gave a beautiful panorama over the city as well as providing a ‘day at the races’ atmosphere with its decorations. Inside the castle was a great display paying homage to the coffee culture which existed from the 60’s right through until today. It included some quirky artwork.

More step scaling up to see the resplendent Danish King’s palace, before wandering the backstreets taking in the history and then snatching the chance to warm up in a quaint cafe which was packed to the rafters. Ironically there was a Ben Stokes doppleganger there who responded with good humour to news the Poms had suffered another crushing loss in the cricket.

This ESim we bought has been great for a raft of things- keeping up with cricket and golf scores particularly.

Spent a couple of interesting hours with a guide or more a street performer getting a great sense of history through the ages later in the afternoon.

One interesting myth was when drinking water was first found it was so putrid they threw cats into the well to improve the taste. Apparently that didn’t work so they decided to add a few things to it and produce beer. Maybe that’s where the saying ‘that tastes like cats piss’ emanated.  
Our old mates the Blackheads, the unmarried traders group, also made the presence felt with both the women and buildings.

We came across an interesting way to grow vegetables in a narrow lane leading down to Xmas Market. It was right next to the oldest clock in Tallinn which still works – well at least twice a day.

The modern day history was no better demonstrated at our finishing point, by the huge number of banners outside the police guarded Russian embassy . The Estonians share exactly the same negative view of the Russians as the Latvians.

Decided a mid afternoon Linner (lunch and dinner) would be a great opportunity to get out of the now bitter cold and try a few more local delicacies in a Medieval themed restaurant.

Got to say the mixed tasting plate which included red deer, bear and some exotic pate was an interesting experience.

Warmed and fed we still had some walking to do to see the KGB Gaol Museum. It was an underground arrangement of cells, confinement rooms and torture mechanisms where local dissenters were meted out Communist justice. 

Some of the prisoner recollections were chilling.

It was gobsmacking to read one snippet that both the Russians and Nazi’s were critical of each others cruelty against prisoners. Think they needed to have a good look in the mirror before making that statement.

Dark was soon upon us and we ended up in the market for a a farewell Glogg ( only 15% alcohol) and some tradition Estonian profiteroles before splashing our way through the streets, passing a 50 metre long line of people heading into the church where we heard the choir the evening before.

As has been the case since arriving over here it was another early night. Tomorrow it’s on the ferry to Helsinki.

One thing I failed to mention was the vehicle below which was either a decrepit farm truck or Russian missile launcher.