Tallinn II

We started our 2nd day in Tallinn by walking to the nearby Kadriorg Park, built for Peter the Great when Estonia was under Tsarist rule and Tallinn was popular with the Russians as a seaside resort. (St. Petersburg is about 350 km away.)

After ducking into a csfe to get out of the rainshower you can see coming on in the above photo, we came upon this fantasy fixer upper a few blocks away.

Actually, it was in a pretty upscale neighbourhood with lots of big trees and nicely kept houses and apartments.

We spent the rest of the day taking a walking tour, which took us to many nooks and crannies we would have missed just wandering around on our own, such a the viewing platforms that offer a panoramic view over Tallinn,

This arched walkway through the oldest part of the Old Town,

And even a couple of Jugendstil houses in the mix:

We had lunch in this quiet courtyard.  The cafe was part of a pottery gallery that featured the work of a whole family of artists, and the food was served on their dinnerware.

It was a real respite from the crowds of tourists that must have arrived for the weekend.  I had pickled herring and boiled potatoes, a very typical Estonian meal.  Also my German father's favourite, if you substitute cottage cheese for the sour cream on my plate.

At one point the walk led us outside of the wall where we found a group of themed gardens, including one based on Estonia's many boglands, with ceramic additions such as this giant carnivorous sundew

and a bog siren who lures men to their doom.

We happened upon the Estonian version of Great Big Sea performing a free concert in the town square:

The best part was the older couples dancing to the music!

We came back later in the evening but mistimed our arrival in the hourlong break between bands, so it was early to bed for us.