Trifter

The Estonian capital, Tallinn is the smallest of the Baltic capitals, but its old town is by far the best preserved. For much of its history the city was known by the German name of Reval. This was because in 1285 it opted to join the Hanseatic League a powerful trade alliance of merchant cities whose activities extended south Brugges in Flanders, north to Bergen in Norway, east as far as Novgorod in Russia and west as far as London. Its headquarters were in Lubeck, on the Baltic coast of Germany and the league controlled much of the trade in northern Europe from the 13th century through to the late 15th century. At its most powerful the league comprised an alliance of more than 100 seaports and trading posts, and its traders were responsible for constructing Tallinn’s defensive walls, its ornate churches and its castle, as well a large number of houses owned by wealthy merchants.

View over Lower Old Town Tallinn

The rise of powerful nation states such as Sweden and Russia caused the eventual collapse of the league, and led to Estonia being ruled by a succession of foreign rulers. From 1721 until 1917, Estonia was part of  the Russian Empire, but much of its wealth and commerce was still controlled by German Barons – descendants of the former Hanseatic traders, and also the Livonian Order of the Teutonic Knights, a body of medieval Germanic crusaders who had conquered Estonia during the early part of the 13th Century.

Old Town Hall: Town Hall Square

Estonia first gained its independence at the end of the First World War, but independence was short lived as in 1940, following the notorious Molotov-Ribbentrop Pact between Nazi Germany and the Soviet Union, the country was invaded by the Red Army and forcibly merged with the USSR. The Nazis invaded a year later and occupied Estonia for four years, until they were driven out towards the end of World War Two by the advancing Red Army. Estonia then remained part of the Soviet Union for the next 46 years, but regained its independence in 1991 following the eventual collapse of the USSR. In 1996 the country’s independence was formally recognised by a treaty between Estonia and post-Soviet Russia, and in 2004 Estonia was admitted to both NATO and the European Union.

Back in February of this year I enjoyed a well-earned break in Tallinn. I had wanted to visit the Baltic States for a long time, ever since the early 90’s when they gained their independence after almost fifty years of occupation and often brutal repression by the Soviet Union. Most tourists visit Tallinn during the spring or summer, but the idea of a late winter break in this former Hanseatic trading port seemed to be a good idea, especially as it would help to break up what is normally a dull time of year. The prospect of snow on the ground gave the trip an added appeal, so after managing to find a reasonably priced hotel, I booked my flights and waited eagerly for the last week in February to arrive.

I flew with Easy Jet from Stansted; the flight departing at a rather early 7am on Sunday morning. This was a good idea though, especially as Estonia is two hours ahead of the UK. After a pleasant three hour flight the plane touched down in the Estonian capital, with the pilot advising us before landing, that the outside temperature was a cool minus 4 Celsius. With snow on the ground he hoped we had brought some warm clothing with us! It certainly did feel cold whilst waiting for the bus into the city centre.

Views of Hotel G9: Tallinn

After a short bus ride into town I located my hotel, housed in an imposing Soviet-era block. The room was warm and comfortable enough though, and for the price I paid, it was a real bargain. The hotel was also handily situated being only 10 minutes walk away from the old town, so after checking in, I set off to explore Tallinn. My first port of call was the Beer House, just off the main square in front of the Old Town Hall. I found this German-style brew-pub relatively quiet for a Sunday afternoon, and was soon seated at one of the wooden benches with a half-litre glass of their home-brewed Dunkel in front of me. With some of the best beer in Tallinn available, the Beer House is a reasonable attempt at creating the surroundings and atmosphere of a typical Bavarian Bier Keller. My only complaint though is the piped “Bavarian/Tyrolean music” from which there appears to be no escape; it even plays onto the street outside!

Entrance to Beer House

The next beer I tried was the Marzen; it was pleasantly drinkable, but I have to say that having sampled the entire range over the course of my visit, the Dunkel shone head and shoulders above the rest. All the beers produced at the Beer House are unfiltered, and brewed according to the German Reinheitsgebot which gives them a more natural taste

After two beers on a relatively empty stomach, I decided it was high time I had something to eat. Although I had enjoyed a Traditional English Breakfast in the Wetherspoons at Stanstead airport, it had been at 5.45 in the morning! By this time hunger had started to take over, and as the cut-price “Happy Hour” at the Beer House was by now over, I departed and found my way to a bar called “Kompressor” where they serve the traditional Estonian dish of pancakes (either savoury or sweet). Old town Tallinn is quite compact, so I had little difficulty in locating the “Kompressor”. I ordered a ham and cheese pancake at the bar, found an empty table and was soon settled down enjoying the cosy warm atmosphere whilst waiting for my meal to arrive.

 I sampled a half litre of A. Le Coq’s Premium lager, brewed by what is Estonia’s second largest brewery,  in the country’s second largest city, Tartu. They brew a wide range of other beers, including a renowned Porter, which I had sampled in bottled form in the UK. My pancake duly arrived and I tucked in. It was massive, and I had difficulty finishing it, but managed nevertheless. It was excellent value for money and I could see why the bar was so popular with students. I was probably the oldest person in the place, but no-one seemed bothered, and I sat there enjoying the pleasant and relaxed atmosphere whilst admiring the pretty and attractive young Estonian women

 I returned to my hotel afterwards to change and freshen up, before hitting the town again later that evening. I found a pub called “Hell Hunt” and it became my favourite pub in Tallinn for the duration of my stay. Hell Hunt describes itself as “The First Estonian Pub”, and I was certainly impressed by its comfortable and easy going atmosphere, and by its friendly, attractive waitresses. As well as a range of international brands such as Guinness and Newcastle Brown, Hell Hunt offers two beers of its own; one light (Hele) and one dark (Tume). Both are brewed for the pub by the Puls Brewery in Parnu, a seaside resort overlooking the Gulf of Riga, which is known as Estonia’s summer-time party capital. Both beers were good and reasonably priced at EEK 40 (roughly £2.35 at the time of my visit). The food was also good value and tasty as well, as I discovered on subsequent visits to Hell Hunt.

Hell Hunt Pub

I was by now starting to feel rather tired, having had a very early start in order to get to the airport on time. I wisely decided to call it a day and returned to my hotel. It had been a good introduction to Tallinn and I felt I was going to enjoy the rest of my stay there.

My first full day in the Estonian capital turned out to be the coldest day of my trip, but I was wrapped up warm against the cold. I was particularly glad of the fur-lined boots I had brought with me, not only for their warmth, but for the good grip they gave on the icy cobbled streets. I spent the morning sightseeing, as despite the extremes of temperature it was a glorious bright and sunny day. I viewed all the sights of the Upper Old Town, including Toompea castle with its impressive walls and watch-towers. I also saw, the Dome Church, the imposing, brick-built Russian Orthodox cathedral; complete with its distinctive onion-shaped domes, along with the parliament building, and a whole host of other well-preserved and interesting old buildings. It was disappointing though that the impressive Town Hall is not opened to the public, as it is still in official use.

Russian Orthodox Cathedral

The highlight of the morning was the superb view over the roofs of lower part of the old town that can be had from a couple of viewing platforms to the north of the Dome Church. Later on I found myself in a park at the base of the town-wall ramparts. There were a number of impressive looking snow sculptures in the park and these served as reminder of just how cold it was.

Snow Sculpture

Afterwards, for the second day running, I visited the Beer House, where I was able to thaw out. A “Happy Hour” is operation between midday and 2pm, which means the beers are a third cheaper, as is the “sausage selection” on the menu. I enjoyed two more of the unfiltered house beers – Pilsner Gold (4.5%) and Vana Viini Dark Lager (4.9%), along with a substantial lunch of bratwurst, served with roasted parsnips and sauerkraut in a mustard sauce. Afterwards I sat writing out my postcards whilst watching the brewster (lady brewer for the un- initiated) finishing off from the day’s brewing session.

Town Walls: Upper Old Town

The afternoon was spent shopping for presents and souvenirs. There are several new shopping centres close to the Old Town, and not far from my hotel was the large Stockmann Department store which sells just about everything. Stockmann is a chain that is well represented throughout Scandinavia, so it is a natural progression for them to have opened a store in Estonia. Later that evening I set off in search of something to eat. Hell Hunt seemed a good when I arrived it was heaving and there was nowhere to sit. I ended up in a nice cosy restaurant fronting on to the old town square, where I had an excellent meal of pesto spaghetti with chicken fillets washed down with a couple of glasses of Saku Original – supposedly Estonia’s top selling beer. You will not go hungry in Tallinn, and a wide range of both local and international cuisine is available, at prices to suit all pockets. I would also add that English is widely spoken and virtually all restaurants and bars have English translations of their menus. It was extremely cold by the time I left the restaurant and I walked back to the hotel I was left wishing I had put my thermals on.  

Nightime View: Town Hall Square

One thing I ought to say here is that during my stay in Tallinn I saw precious little signs of the British stag party morons who have perhaps slightly tarnished its reputation in recent years; in fact I overheard some people saying on the return flight home that Tallinn has now become too expensive for this type of visitor. If that is the case then good, as an unspoilt old city such as Tallinn is totally wasted on people who’s sole intention is to get blind drunk and then generally behave in an obnoxious manner (they can stay at home and do that if they so desire!).

The next day (24th February) was National Independence Day in Estonia. This anniversary celebrates the country’s first and rather short-lived period of independence which was achieved in 1920. Despite it being a public holiday, the majority of the shops were open, as were most of the restaurants and bars. That morning I wandered down to the port area, and booked a ferry trip to Helsinki for the following day. “Booze cruises” to Tallinn are very popular amongst Finns, which is hardly surprising given the prohibitively high price of alcohol in Finland  I witnessed this for myself when I saw a number of Finnish coaches parked up whilst their passengers loaded up on cheap(er) booze bought from the large shopping complex next to the port.  Trips going the other way (”against the flow”, so to speak), are really cheap; my return ticket cost a mere EEK 200 (just under £12), but there was a catch. To take advantage of the cut-price fare one had to catch the 08.00 sailing and then wait for the return from Helsinki at 21.30. This would mean not getting back to Tallinn until midnight.

 I would still recommend taking the return trip across the Baltic to the Finnish capital though, as it makes for an interesting day out. The actual crossing takes around two and a half hours each way, and as the port areas in both Tallinn and Helsinki are within easy walking distance of their respective city centres it is an easy journey to make. I sailed with Viking Line, on the M/S XRPS, a fast and well-equipped modern vessel that makes the crossing between Tallinn and Helsinki on a twice-daily basis.

I spent the evening of National Independence Day in the Hell Hunt pub, where I again enjoyed the two house beers and had an excellent fish pie, stuffed full with plenty of salmon. The pub’s TV was showing a live broadcast from the Presidential Palace of a banquet being held to mark the Independence Day celebrations. Most of the pub’s young clientele were taking little notice of the broadcast which struck me as a little ironic. When you’re young though the world seems at your feet; and you care little for politics, history or other great events that may have shaped your country’s destiny.

Interior: Hell Hunt Pub

It may seem incredible now, but less than a generation ago the people of Estonia could not have possibly imagined they would be sitting as citizens of a proud and fully independent sovereign country watching their president welcoming his guests to an independence dinner. They would certainly not have been allowed to fly their own flag proudly, as they were doing on this day and they could not have possibly have dreamt that their country would be a member of both NATO and the European Union.

Furthermore, I would not have been able to visit Tallinn without elaborate visa formalities and even if I had, would no doubt have found it a drab, dreary and grey place with precious little in the shops and not much to do apart from sightseeing. Instead I had been able to jump on a plane at Stanstead, and in just over three hours arrive in a country confident of its new found place in Europe, with its people warm and welcoming; its bright new shops stacked full of the latest fashions and consumer goods, and an array of foods that would have been unimaginable less than 20 years ago.

As I sat in the pub enjoying my beer and watching the evening’s events unfold with the above thoughts passing through my head, I couldn’t help wishing good luck to the people of Estonia, both young and old. After decades of occupation and often brutal repression they, more than most, thoroughly deserve their new found freedom!

 I left Hell Hunt at a reasonable hour, as I had an early start the following morning for my visit to Helsinki. With the Wednesday fully occupied with the trip, I had just one more full day left in Tallinn. This time I explored the Lower Old Town; the crowning glory of which is the medieval St Olaf’s Church. Its 466 ft steeple made it at one time the tallest building in the world, although the steeple was replaced by a more modest one of 407 ft following a devastating fire in 1820, caused by a lightning strike.

Fat Margaret Tower and St Olaf’s Church

I also looked at the imposing Paks Margareta (fat Margaret), a massive 16th Century tower built to guard the Great Sea Gate, which led to medieval harbour. Today, the tower houses the Tallinn Maritime Museum and on the wall is a plaque in memory of the officers and seamen of the British Royal Navy who served and gave their lives in the cause of freedom during the Estonian War of Independence between 1918 and 1920.  Until my visit I didn’t know much about this episode, but I am proud that Britain helped the Estonians repel the Soviets who were attempting to re-conquer the country (along with the rest of the Baltic’s) at the end of the First World War.

Royal Navy War Memorial

Just below the tower, on a green overlooking the port, is another memorial, this time in memory of the 852 people who lost their lives in 1994, when the ferry “Estonia” went down in heavy seas, during a crossing to Stockholm.

The weather had taken a turn for the worst on this my last day in Tallinn. The day had started with a heavy snowfall, but by about midday the snow had turned to rain, melting some of the underlying snow and making the pavements very slushy and rather slippery. The guide books had advised that late winter and early spring, when the snow melts into slush, are probably the least attractive times of the year, and given the choice I would probably have opted to have gone to Tallinn a few weeks earlier than I did. However, I wasn’t going to let a few drops of rain put me off. I completed my sight-seeing, visiting the Town Hall Apothecary, which is the oldest working apothecary in the world. I also purchased some traditional, hand-knitted gifts (hat and gloves) from the stalls which shelter beneath the walls close to Viru Gate – which is the main entrance to the Old Town.

Town Hall Apothecary

I lunched at Hell Hunt, this time enjoying a dish of eggs fried with ham and potatoes.  after a coffee I could feel myself nodding off, so I made my way back to the hotel in order to make a start on the packing. I had decided to push the boat out and treat myself to a slap-up meal for my last night in Tallinn. My initial plan had been to eat in the Beer House, but opposite I noticed the historic Merchant’s House Hotel. The menu seemed reasonably priced so I ventured inside. I was ushered in to the restaurant, housed in a vaulted cellar beneath the hotel. It was comfortably furnished; with a contemporary feel and I had the whole place to myself. I asked the waitress where all the other diners were; she smiled and blamed the lack of customers on the weather. Undeterred I ordered my meal of oven-baked salmon with gratin potatoes. When it arrived it was quite simply one of the best meals I have ever tasted. I would gladly have paid several times over the amount I did for food of this quality! It is typical of my trips abroad that I often discover the best places to eat on the last night! I left the waitress a hefty tip and feeling full to the brim, walked back to the hotel to complete my packing.

Merchant’s House Hotel

Do visit Tallinn if you get the chance. Winter or summer I am certain you will find this vibrant and lively capital, appealing. Summer, at these high latitudes, has the added advantage of long drawn out evenings, but winter, with snow on the rooftops and on the ground has a charm of its own, as I discovered.