4D3N in Estonia

Welcome to my third series of the Baltic States journey!

ESTONIA AT A GLANCE

Month Visited: Aug

Recommended Duration: 3D2N (Spent 4D3N but I think 3 full days is enough!)

Getting There: Took a Inter-Country bus (Lux Express) from Riga to Tallinn, but we flew out of Tallinn from their International Airport, via Riga, back to Copenhagen.

Cost (Out of/$$$$$): One of the cheapest countries in Europe, however, the most expensive Baltic State compared to the rest ($$)

Currency used: Euros

Weather: Weather ranges from 17-24 Degrees, T Shirts and shorts are great in the day, but will get cold at night so pack accordingly!

Accommodation: Stayed in our Airbnb which was very near Old Tallinn, but it is much smaller and noisy because it was beside the main road. Still enjoyed it and the link is here if you are interested!

Places to visit: Old Tallinn (Town Square, Freedom Square, Paktuli Viewing Platform, Kohtuotsa Viewing Platform), Vabamu Museum of Occupations and Freedom, Tellskivi Creative City, Seaplane Harbour, Kadriorg Art Museum, Kumu Museum

Recommended Restaurants: Grenka, Lusikas (Expensive)

Getting Around: Can walk around Old Tallinn, but will need to take Bolt or Uber to head out to places like the Seaplane Harbour and Kadriorg areas.

Recommend or Not: Would rate it 2nd out of the 3 Baltic States, because it has unique places and I enjoyed the variety of views and attractions more than Riga!

DAY 1: 22 AUG 19 (OLD TALLINN)

As mentioned in my previous article on Riga, we entered Talinn via the Lux Express inter-city bus, which I highly recommend since it was convenient and surprisingly very comfortable, with a toilet and nice large seats for all of us. The journey took us around 4.5 hours. However, our Lycamobile Euro SIM Cards, which we had used in Denmark and the other Baltic States did not work, so do check online prior to visiting if you need to purchase a separate one. I would recommend to have a working SIM Card since their private hire rides like Bolt are very useful in getting around. Thankfully, we were able to buy a SIM card at their convenience store at the bus station.

After putting our things down at the Airbnb, we decided to head down to the Old Town. A short 20 minutes walk from our Airbnb, we made it to the outskirts of the Old Town, marked clearly by the Freedom Square Monument. We walked inwards towards the central of the Old Town, which was the Old Town Square. We were obviously pretty famished by then, so we decided to look for somewhere good to eat!

(FYI: Avoid eating at restaurants located within the Old Town Square because of its pricey yet average food quality targeted at tourists)

(Clockwise from top left: Buildings in Talinn Old Town, Town Square of Talinn Old Town, Freedom Square Monument, a Cathedral)

We decided to have a good meal, and we visited Lusikas, a higher-end restaurant for some fine dining experience. Some steak and wine won’t hurt 😉. The steak was amazing, but it set us back around S$40!

Following the great meal, we took a nice evening stroll around the city walls after the meal before heading back to rest! The lighting illuminated the Old Town in an amazing spectacle, different from what you see in the day.

Entrance into the Old Town at night

DAY 2: 23 AUG 19 (KADRIORG ART MUSEUM, KUMU MUSEUM, SEAPLANE HARBOUR)

Tallinn is well known for their museums, so we decided to give them a try! I really do recommend the ones that I am going to mention below as they were all interactive and insightful. Since they were located on the outskirts of Talinn City, in the Kadriorg region, we had to take a Bolt there. Our first museum was the Kumu Museum, which honestly, is still one of the most intriguing, thought-provoking museums I’ve ever been to because all the art was so abstract, funny and honestly weird. There is also a special student entrance fee to help you reduce your costs!

The architecture of the KUMU Museum

Some examples of the weirdly abstract art pieces found in this interesting museum

Me and my friends really had some amazing laughs because of the absurdity of some of the pieces.

After spending approximately 3 hours at Kumu, we then proceeded on foot to the beautiful Kadroig Art Museum. The main attraction was the flower-filled gardens and magnificent architecture of the museum. Best part was that it wasn’t that crowded so we had a lot of time to walk around and enjoy the scenery and vibes!

We chose to not enter the museum, but we explored the gardens much more. There is an option to rent an e-scooter to get around, although it was not cheap (1.5 euros for 10 minutes, paid by an application).

After walking around the area, we decided to settle on a pizza restaurant for lunch which was, very average. We wanted to take a walk to the Seaplane Harbour, and despite Google Maps showing some minor attractions along the way, I highly recommend taking a Bolt straight there.

Our 1 hour walk finally brought us to the Seaplane Harbour, which showcased many maritime exhibits like a submarine, a sunken ship from the 1560s and some interesting Navy stories that I never knew!!! If you are interested in maritime, I’ll strongly recommend this place!

Clockwise from top left: The interior of the museum, Inside a submarine, Glass Bottle Collection, Me pretenting to be studious, me pretending I know what Im shooting, a submarine

After about 2 hours, we took a Bolt back to see the sunset at the famous Patkuli Viewing Platform. However, we were faced with a reckless driver who drove on the pavement to avoid traffic, but ended up getting fine 200 Euros by the Traffic Police. I guess that is his daily earnings gone... We ended up asking him to drop us off at the nearest drop-off point and we walked up further because he seemed rather annoyed. It started to pour cats and dogs suddenly, and we managed to find shelter at the only restaurant at the top of the hill called Fersen, which thankfully served pretty decent sausages! Despite waiting, the rain did not subside, and we decided to revisit the next day.

DAY 3: 24 AUG 19 (VABAMU MUSEUM, TELLISKIVI CREATIVE CITY, PAKTULI/KOHTUOSA VIEWING PLATFORM)

On Day 3, we decided to be history nerds and went to the Vabamu Museum of Occupations and Freedom, which talks about the German and Soviet occupation of Estonia. It was very interesting and insightful for me as I really enjoy reading about war history in particular. I do recommend getting their audio guide as it helped me to understand the entire museum better! I also managed to sneak in a great coffee at their cafe!

A short walk from the museum, we headed then to a small town called Telliskivi, where we had to cross the Talinn Main Train Station to get there. We then came across the Balti Jaama Turg, where the famous market and hawker-like stalls greeted us. Craving for some Asian food, I decided to try Don from one of the street stores and I guess we should stick to local food when in Estonia...

After filling our stomach, we continued to the Tellskivi Creative City, which was a combination of artsy fartsy modern art, old buildings, railway tracks and old trains and bars! There were a few hipster places and stores as well which makes for great window shopping and just taking in the sights. Definitely a place for photoshoots and Instagram worthy photos!

Clockwise from top left: Jump Shot at the railway tracks, Me at the tracks, Art installations, the Depooo Brick Building, An antique store, The interior of an indoor flea market

We took around 2-3 hours there, and decided to head back to the Old Town to catch the sunset as well as to capture the bird’s eye view of Tallinn Old Town! Make your way up via foot through the winding pathways tosee nice paintings by local artists along the way. I do recommend going to both Patkuli as well as the Kohtuosa Viewing Platforms as there have different angles of the beautiful city. Try and catch the a resident seagulls roaming the viewing platforms as well!

Clockwise from top left: View of a governmental building, Us at the top, Painting by local artists, views of Tallinn from different angles (1 and 2), The resident seagull!

We ended off the day exploring what was left within the Old Town itself, and we were lucky to catch an event within Tallinn Old Square, which we were able to see local crafts and enjoy yummy snacks. After a pretty mediocre dinner, we headed back early to rest early after a really long but enjoyable day.

DAY 4: 25 AUG 19 (HOME!)

With our flight at slightly after noon, we were not able to do much except try out a breakfast joint opposite our Airbnb highly recommended by our host. It was one of the nicest and most value-for-money places for brunch during my entire exchange! Called Grenka, we had an amazing omelette, pancakes and Rosti, at only 10SGD per plate! Their coffee was also really good!

Left via Bolt to the Tallinn Airport shortly after, and we realised we were about to take a propeller plane back to Copenhagen. Not going to lie, it was pretty nerve-wracking but we made it back to Denmark safe and sound!

And this marks the end of our 7D6N journey of the Baltic States! It was really an enjoyable week exploring really underrated places within Europe for sure! Hopefully with COVID over soon, many of these places should not be forgotten because of their own individual uniqueness about their architecture, museums and food! Thanks for joining my Baltic States experience and catch you guys on the next one!