History and Geography
Estonia
Screenshot from Google Map
Estonia, as we know it today, is a very young country. Indeed, the independence of Estonia was declared on 20 August 1991 at the outbreak of the USSR.
It has 1,316,000 inhabitants spread over 45,226 square km. The language spoken is Estonian, which is part of the Finno-Ugrian family (so very close to Finnish).
It has been part of the European Union since 1 May 2004 and adopted the euro on 1 January 2011.
Estonia is one of the least religious countries in the world, with barely 20% of Estonians practicing.
Tallinn
Screenshot from Google Map
Tallinn is the capital of Estonia and also the main port of the country. It has 430,000 inhabitants. The proportion of people of Russian origin living in Tallinn is very high (about 30%).
The old town is listed as a World Heritage Site by Unesco. It is notably twinned with Carcassonne.
My trip #1
I stayed 2 days in Tallinn. I took an Onnibus from Turku to Helsinki. Then, I took the ferry from Helsinki to Tallinn. The crossing lasted 2h30 on average. Ferry's companies, such as Tallink, Eckerö Line or Viking Line, propose 2 types of ticket :
Roundtrip / go-back way : just have to choose the date and the time of each tripOne day cruise: leave in the morning and return in the evening (the advantage is that it is not very expensive (19€))
I stayed in Old Town Alur Hostel in the Dorm Bed. The location was absolutely perfect : I was in the old town ! We found our hostel on the website called HostelWorld.
Prices in Tallinn are quite cheap. Indeed, I was a student and I was able to go 3 times per day in a restaurant. To give you an idea, the Finns make the return trip to Tallinn to refuel. True fact, on my way back, I saw almost all passengers with several suitcases or lift trucks full of bottle of alcohol (even old ladies !).
A really good restaurant, i pretty advice for eating incredible pancake is Kompressor ! The front doesn't look really great but you will eat good food for a nice price.
Prices :
Onnibus Turku-Helsinki : 4€-6€ (Advice : booking the bus in advance is less expensive ! )
Ferry with eckeroline : 19€ (WARNING : that is the price of the round trip for one day ! If you want to stay more in Tallinn, you have to take a route trips).
Hotel : 12€
My trip #2
I visited Tallinn a second time (mostly old town) because I was pretty sure my mom will love this place (and I was right ! haha).
This time we booked the ferry with Viking Line this time and booked the same hostel than previously (Old Town Alur Hostel). I am not sure it was the best place for 50 year's person lol but that made the job !
We completely visited the ALL old town. Hopefully the hostel gave us a map. For instance, We climbed the steps almost to the roof of a church, went to all the advised points of view, etc. The old town is quite small, we can visit on foot super quickly.
A good information to know: every day, the Tourist Office organizes a free guided tour of 2 hours. It is the same in the youth hostel where I slept, they organized and offered free visits or activities to do in Tallinn. It is a good way to visit with a guide and make acquaintances! Meet at noon in front of the Tourist Office.
We discovered by hazard a restaurant called Munga Kelder (fb). We ate there for every dinner. This soup is so gooooooood ! It is a creamy soup but I don't remember the name :( Btw, I highly recommend this restaurant.
Informations
Kompressor Pub : Rataskaevu 3, Tallinn / +372 646 42 10 / Mo-Su from 11 am
Monga Kelder : vene 12, Tallinn / +372 644 46 14 / mungakelder@gmail.com
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