Thunder! Lightning! It happens nearly every day here. No wonder the most powerful God in pagan religions is the God of thunder. Here’s another daily from Saturday and Sunday this week in Tallinn.
We had an awesome tour on Friday but we wanted to go back and see a bit more on our own so we walked from our place to Old Town (about a half hour of us dawdling but probably 15 minutes of continuous walking). What we have given up with the leafy suburbia of Riga we have in spades with proximity to Downtown Tallinn.
Trip Advisor has become a really cool resource for finding things to do. It’s in New Zealand but it’s simply not very popular there. I have reviewed a few things in Oslo, Riga and Tallinn and have found some things I never would have otherwise. One is Nano House Cafe, a quirky, but very comfortable little cafe in Old Town. Beatrice is a former model turned Model Agency owner and cafe proprietor and was very interested in our trip, and offered champagne. How could we say no?
We and the kids loved the decor in the cafe, at the time it was just us inside with a few people outside, and two Oriental cats; regal and really friendly – they came up to us on the patio and other guests were quite taken with the scene. I don’t think these two cats are very prone to displays of affection so we must be doing something right.
Here are a few quick snaps from inside the cafe, with a few shots from the dunny, of course:
Funny how such a classy cafe would fit right into our criteria of favourite places to go – friendly, creative, quirky and off the beaten-path. Such a cool place.
Today, Sunday, we made special effort to go to Telleskivi, an up and coming creative neighbourhood built from the old train depot. The new depot has moved to more modern digs closer to the harbour. One cafe even advertised they weren’t interested in serving hipsters (very tongue in cheek) and we were excited to find this neighborhood.
The indoor market just before we reached Telleskivi was very Rigan, which was both familiar, nostalgic, and a little off putting – our two young little shoppers weren’t so appreciated. I even translated a sign that said something like, “a child should only look at the toys in this place”.
We walked down the street past the cool shops and found a sweet little park and got rained on; check out all the things you aren’t allowed to do at this park. My favourite is the figure representing “no urinating”:
Tallinn feels a little sweeter, a little less reserved than Riga, and a little more wealthy. Still not many toilets around, but maybe they are working on this?
After the rain took a break we walked back to the shops and found the gluten free place Kivi Paber Kaarid. Wow, just like the Nano House we immediately felt at home (how ironic, since we are half a world away from home!) with the tough wood decor, music stage (I’m always keen to see live music) and bar with at least a hundred beers on offer.
We ate meat-free and gluten free burgers, had sweet potato fries and Alice even had Risotto, gluten and dairy free. Alpha managed to get sick anyway, not sure what was up with that, but we left as quickly as we good, and the fresh air made her feel better.
Martin our server gave us some great information we hope to use, the island of Saarena, where we want to go so we can swim (no matter how cold the water will be, gulp) Martin used to live there and it has a castle and lots of sight seeing. So many awesome tips, Martin really made us feel welcome, a credit to his profession! He told us a story of friends of his befriending some wild foxes and he showed us photos of them, they arne’t tame but aren’t scared of you if you feed them regularly. The kids were completely stoked.=
What a great day! The sun is much gentler here and even being outside Saturday at the Midieval faire didn’t give me a sunburn but I am a bit browner. We have another week of work ahead, but I’m looking forward to getting out on the bus for some random adventures.
Nathaniel Flick
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Hope you are enjoying Estonia, and are having fine weather – winter has finally arrived here. Have had the fire on most nights, but only a couple of “white” frosts. All going smoothly and getting into the gluten-free eating regime. The Farmers’ market on Sunday mornings has been useful. As we said, we have been using the wee white car lately, and it is surprising how far we go. Nana has got over her “sleep” and has been answering us (occasionally) but she is not active now. Between us and Aunty Marg we see her nearly every day. Have a good day and will catch you later.