Medieval Tallinn
The overnight cruise from Stockholm to Tallinn was around 16 hours, from 6pm to 10am the next morning. For someone who gets easily seasick, I found the cruise to be pretty calm, and I had plenty of time to take in the gorgeous views of the sunset before heading to bed early. The next morning, I woke up to the sound of the boat cruising through broken ice sheets. Everything was very calm and I had an enjoyable breakfast right by the window offering a nice view of offshore wind turbines from a distance.
Not before long, we reached Tallinn, where we first visited Toompea Hill followed by the historic city centre. Before climbing up the steps to Toompea Hill, we came across the Russian Orthodox Alexander Nevsky Cathedral. This magnificent onion-domed structure was built in 1900 during the tsarist Russian empire. The inside is filled with colourful and intricate mosaics and it also has 11 church bells which sound off before service. The largest one weighs over 15 tonnes! We gradually came to the viewing platform which is the perfect spot for a panoramic view of Tallinn with a skyline of old new buildings. The neat thing is that there are always photogenic pigeons hanging out here. It might have to do with all the vendors selling roasted almonds in the area. You can spot St. Olaf’s church in the distance from the platform. This was the tallest building in the world from 1549 to 1625. Its 159-metre spire was a very effective lightning rod and throughout the church’s history, its steeple has been hit three times, completely burning the entire structure three times! Now, the steeple is 124-metres, a much less likely target than before.
We walked downhill into Old Town which is filled with charming twisted cobblestone paths reminiscent of Medieval times. We settled into the Olde Hansa Medieval restaurant for lunch, where all the servers were dressed up in Medieval costumes. It can’t get more authentic than this! The bathroom was quite amusing as it was pitch black and we had to move in a bunch of candles to make sure we could see well enough and rather than having a tap, a pot of water had to be tipped over in the sink area to wash our hands, very interesting indeed. The 2km city wall surrounding the historic district is still intact and dates back to the 13th century. Gothic architecture can be found throughout the district, including the Town Hall, which is the only Gothic town hall still intact in Northern Europe. Another well-known landmark is the Pharmacy, a small little shop in Town Hall Square which dates back to 1422. It is the oldest continuously running pharmacy in Europe and has been operated by ten generations of the same family. It was famous for specialty items such as snakeskin potion, powdered unicorn horn, as well as every day items like tea and marzipan. Today, it’s still a pharmacy, but sells modern products.
My fascination with famous old towns in Northern Europe continues at the next stop: Riga!
The overnight cruise from Stockholm to Tallinn was around 16 hours, from 6pm to 10am the next morning. For someone who gets easily seasick, I found the cruise to be pretty calm, and I had plenty of time to take in the gorgeous views of the sunset before heading to bed early. The next morning, I woke up to the sound of the boat cruising through broken ice sheets. Everything was very calm and I had an enjoyable breakfast right by the window offering a nice view of offshore wind turbines from a distance.
Not before long, we reached Tallinn, where we first visited Toompea Hill followed by the historic city centre. Before climbing up the steps to Toompea Hill, we came across the Russian Orthodox Alexander Nevsky Cathedral. This magnificent onion-domed structure was built in 1900 during the tsarist Russian empire. The inside is filled with colourful and intricate mosaics and it also has 11 church bells which sound off before service. The largest one weighs over 15 tonnes! We gradually came to the viewing platform which is the perfect spot for a panoramic view of Tallinn with a skyline of old new buildings. The neat thing is that there are always photogenic pigeons hanging out here. It might have to do with all the vendors selling roasted almonds in the area. You can spot St. Olaf’s church in the distance from the platform. This was the tallest building in the world from 1549 to 1625. Its 159-metre spire was a very effective lightning rod and throughout the church’s history, its steeple has been hit three times, completely burning the entire structure three times! Now, the steeple is 124-metres, a much less likely target than before.
We walked downhill into Old Town which is filled with charming twisted cobblestone paths reminiscent of Medieval times. We settled into the Olde Hansa Medieval restaurant for lunch, where all the servers were dressed up in Medieval costumes. It can’t get more authentic than this! The bathroom was quite amusing as it was pitch black and we had to move in a bunch of candles to make sure we could see well enough and rather than having a tap, a pot of water had to be tipped over in the sink area to wash our hands, very interesting indeed. The 2km city wall surrounding the historic district is still intact and dates back to the 13th century. Gothic architecture can be found throughout the district, including the Town Hall, which is the only Gothic town hall still intact in Northern Europe. Another well-known landmark is the Pharmacy, a small little shop in Town Hall Square which dates back to 1422. It is the oldest continuously running pharmacy in Europe and has been operated by ten generations of the same family. It was famous for specialty items such as snakeskin potion, powdered unicorn horn, as well as every day items like tea and marzipan. Today, it’s still a pharmacy, but sells modern products.
My fascination with famous old towns in Northern Europe continues at the next stop: Riga!
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