Our third and final Baltic stop is… Tallinn, Estonia! It is so hard to pick a favorite out of these three countries, but Tallinn definitely had its high points! We arrived by bus and took a taxi through the business area of town–not too cute. But when we arrived in the Old Town section, this was waiting for us:
Beautiful, yes?
And since it was my birthday, our waiter at dinner put a candle in my dessert!
And as if my birthday couldn’t get any better, we stayed in a hotel that felt suspiciously castle-like! I definitely recommend the Hotel Schlössle when in Tallinn!
Tallinn seems to be the most visited of the three cities, and it’s the only city where we heard American English chatter around us (as well as other languages!). And every Estonian person we met spoke fluent English with excellent articulation! If you’re nervous about traveling to a place where “they don’t speak English,” you may want to consider Tallinn, Estonia, because they speak it very well!
The real jewel of Estonia, however, is all the Medieval architecture that’s still standing. I loved all the towers with the red roofs, and the streets were a bit confusing, but the cobblestones make them so cute it didn’t really matter! Old Town Tallinn is very small, so it was nearly impossible to get lost, despite the roads being a bit of a jumble. Check out some of the scenery:
So cute, right? I was expecting Robin Hood and Maid Marian to stroll around the next corner any minute! Or perhaps Rapunzel would let down her hair from one of the towers. Or maybe even Princess Aurora would awaken in the room next to ours! If you haven’t guessed yet, I was delighted to be in this lovely former kingdom!
Along with those tall towers and Medieval architecture, we met with some interesting staircases. Trust me, the view from the top of these staircases was worth every step! Take a look:
Tallinn was also chillier than the other two, and it boasts the longest summer days and the longest winter nights. Even in August the sun didn’t set until nearly 9:30pm, and it rose around 5:30am!
Tallinn also seemed to have the most international visitors of the three Baltic capitals we visited, perhaps because of transportation via, airplane, bus, train, AND ferry! There is a ferry from Helsinki, Finland, to Tallinn, and it has always been a busy seaport. That’s part of why it has been occupied so often by so many other governments through the years.
That rounds out our Baltic Birthday Excursion! Next stop: Bali! Stay tuned for more!
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