TALLINN

“Money doesn’t buy happiness but it can help pay for the journey.”

This past week I was lucky enough to have visited Frankfurt, Germany and Tallinn, Estonia. I had been to Frankfurt one another time to visit the same client but Tallinn was a new experience for me. What made it even better is that I got to witness it with Maggie. I would best describe the two-day visit as being surprisingly beautiful. Old Town is a UNESCO World Heritage site as its medieval architecture and preservation is some of the most well-preserved in all of Europe.

Tallinn Overview

• Local Food: 8/10. Had steak both nights. The black bread is a game-changer. Apparently, there isn’t any yeast in it? If you go to Tallinn, and don’t eat this, shame on you! Maggie enjoyed the soups and seafood. Great presentation.

• Local Culture: 8/10. A lot of restaurants play on their medieval history and dress up head to toe in full-garb. The juniper cutlery is pleasantly unique and makes a great gift for loved ones.

• Scenery: 7.5/10. Some parts of the city are covered in graffiti and are run-down. There are still remnants of the Soviet Union which have been abandoned and large cruise ships sit in the port which is a bit of an eye-sore. The architecture in the Old Town is 1st-class.

• Friendliness: 8/10. Did you know Estonians speak Estonian? About 1 million people speak this language which most closely resembles Finnish.

• Walkability: 9/10. The city is relatively compact and can easily be seen by foot. Large crowds of cruise ship day-trippers descend upon the city from late morning-early evening, so for a quieter atmosphere, it’s best to head out very early or later in the day. Many great vantage points (towers of cathedrals) to get nice landscape shots.