Tallinn

Tere ! (just in case some of you are not fluent in Estonian, this means hello. It is hardly worth remembering it, in 2 days I will be out of the country)

A few facts about the country :
- 1.3 million inhabitants, 2.5 million tourists last year, not a bad ratio !
- the name of the Estonian capital, Tallinn, means "Danish city" in Danish. The history sometimes leaves strange memories... In fact, the name was given by the Danish army when they conquered the city in 1219.

After one more stop at the airport in Frankfurt (sometimes, I have the feeling that I have spent all my holidays there... ;), and an evening spent washing half of my clothes in the bathroom basin because something liquid was poured on my bag during the transfer from Paris to Tallinn, time to visit the capital of Estonia.

The easiest part to start with seems to be the Upper Town from which you have a wonderful view upon the Lower Town (logical...) It is also where you can visit the Nevski Cathedral. We are definitely not far from Russia here...



This assumption is confirmed by the food : an example of traditional lunch would be
- a pea and bacon soup
- pork with potatoes and cabbage
- an apple pie
The diet won't be for this week...

The Lower Town is organised around the city hall. The old merchant houses look like other hanseatic cities around the Baltic sea. A chemistry built in the 15th century is still in activity. The drugs are just a bit more modern now....



For the cheaters who are not planning to visit the whole country, the ethnographical museum of Rocca Del Mare is the solution : you can see there typical farms (also called Rehielamu), windmills, a church, a fire station, a chapel, a tavern and so on which have been transfered from other parts of the country and regrouped in an open air museum. While you wander between the pines, you can discover the architecture and the way people dressed in the last centuries.




A short trip to Kadriorg, a few kilometers away from there, to visit Peter the Great's palace (below), built in the 1720s, and I am back in Tallin, to discover a few more streets and squares.