Tallin, Estonia - Lovely City, Progressive Country

It’s the 10th day of our trip. The weather is perfect. We meet our local Tallin guide, another lovely lady called Anastasia. We walk around the old town which is quite busy with trucks offloading goods to stores and restaurants. They need to be gone by 10am. We pass the flower market with blooms in all colours including the national cornflower - the colour of which matches Elaine’s top perfectly. The Chemist here is the oldest in Europe; it’s like an old apothecary with a modern touch, items are cheap and staff are helpful.

The bus then takes us on a tour further afield in the city. We stop at the Song Festival stadium; it’s picturesque, practical and versatile. Attractive and acoustically perfect, it would be a fantastic place to watch a concert. Tina Turner, Michael Jackson, Elton John, Madonna - they’ve all played here.

During the Song and Dance Festival (held every five years) 30,000 Singers come together to perform here, and thousands more come to watch and listen. Singing and dancing are an intrinsic part of the culture in Estonia, indeed throughout the Baltic states; they each stage their own Song festivals. 

Sticking with the culture theme, the action thriller film “Tenet” is being filmed here in Estonia - starring Robert Pattinson, Michael Caine and Kenneth Branagh among others, the city has been a bit disrupted due to filming schedules. The roads had been closed yesterday which made getting into Tallin difficult for us. We are told 4,000 local extras have been involved. The film gets released July 2020 - we will no doubt recognise a few locations. The Estonians are proud to have parts of their country used as a film location. 

We drive along many streets of substantial and well-kept wooden houses painted in bright colours. We’re constantly impressed by the gardens and also the colourful flowers everywhere. All public spaces are filled with flowers, there are special and unique floral touches everywhere you look. The smallest corner or the widest square, there are fresh flowers and plants. We’re appreciating them - and lamenting the general absence of abundant floral colour in public spaces at home in NZ. Let’s fill them with fresh colourful flowers and uplift the spirits!

We stop at the Seaplane Harbour Museum, with its massive dome - the largest thinnest unsupported construction of this type. Or something like that! It’s a museum, it’s unusual, it has submarines and seaplanes, and it’s quite busy.

We head to the Upper Old Town, and walk past the pink Parliament buildings. We visit another fabulous church, wander through cobbled lanes and small squares and take in the panoramic view to the coast and port from the lookout point where musicians play and tourists gather. Modern and old, this is a lovely city.

Lunch is at a very nice cafe back on the main square of the lower Old Town - pork is on today’s menu. It’s another superb meal and bonding session. 

The bus drops some of us at the Baltic Market while others wander and explore in the town. Or retreat and put their feet up. Anything goes.

The market offers fresh produce, food of all descriptions, clothing, bags, scarves, vintage and collectables stalls. And more. A few purchases are made and shared - from strawberries to dresses to scarves. Back to the hotel and it’s a free evening for all.

I wander through a few shops and find a linen dress I like at a good price. Luckily I discover it has a hole in the pocket before I pay for it. I umm and ahh and dither - sewing repairs are not my forte. I decide the hole is somehow repairable, negotiate a better bargain and do the deal.

Sitting in a bar just off the square I do some admin, people watching and blog writing, accompanied by a cold white wine. People here indulge in hookah pipes and vaping in quite a big way. I do not get it at all. Every so often a waft of exotic scent floats my way from the pipes which makes me question the activity even more. Why? 

Diana and David walk by and join me for a drink and then we enjoy a light dinner together - prawns in a delicious coconut sauce. We walk back to the hotel in the late night twilight; it’s pretty, twinkling and warm. Another fabulous day is done and dusted.

OBSERVATION OF THE DAY: Lots of interesting facts and figures discovered today. I’ll share some of them ...

Estonia (pop 1.3mill) is a highly progressive country. They invented Skype and have a hugely internet and tech savvy population. Along with the IT sector and growing tourism, the main industry is ship repairs.  They have good dairy produce and sell to neighbouring countries as well as China. There is also a huge forestry industry. 

The language is a Finnish-Hungarian based one.  It’s an anomaly. 

Tallin (pop about 500,000) was the first city in the world to introduce FREE public transport for all citizens. This has been in operation for five years or so - and it works. Less cars on the road, less pollution and good accessibility for all. Trucks are not allowed through the city, they must use a direct route built to take them to the port. There are trams and buses and the city flows easily. Auckland - take more notes on all these initiatives! 

The birth rate has been alarmingly low and in an effort to increase the population, Estonian women now get 1.5 years’ paid maternity leave. Many were killed or fled during Nazi and Soviet rule  and, being a small country, they realise they can’t afford to lose more people so they are making it attractive for people to reproduce. This too is working. 

Estonia is mostly flat and is a spa resort. The coastline is 400m long and the country has an astounding 2,222 islands. Tallin was the summer capital of the Russian empire for a Long time, Peter the Great loved the place. 

Estonians love Football but admit they aren’t much good at it. They are making their mark in the world of tennis. 

Overall, good stable progressive politics is fixing problems. It’s not hard to get a sense that this is a country intent on making life as comfortable as possible for its citizens while progressing at a good pace. However, they are rather wary of the EU - it seems the EU is being viewed as a controlling body much like the Soviet Union was. There’s something in that thinking. I get the feeling Estonians don’t take things lying down. I like them! I like Tallin!