Discover The Baltics: Estonia and Tallinn - walking and viewpoints

 

Today was the official start day of the tour. Finding our way back past the "Hell Hunt" pub, we followed 'Pikk' (street) until we reached the Great Guild Hall. Here we ventured through the "Borsi Passage", aka The Path of History; the history of Estonia is written on slabs along the street with key dates and events of Tallinn's history.

From there it was a steep climb up 'Pikk Jalg' also known as The Long Leg Gate; this was originally built to allow a direct connection between Toompea Hill and the harbour. It was suitable for riders and horse-drawn carts. Toompea Hill was home to the gentry that lorded over the countryside. The gate was governed by the Lower Town, the other part of Old Town, which was a separate political entity with rights as an autonomous town.

Having climbed 'Pikk Jalg', we found ourselves on Castle Square (Lossi Plats), the birthplace of Tallinn, where knights built a fortress in 1229 called Toompea Castle, now the seat of the Estonian Government. Also located here is the Alesander Nevsky Cathedral, the 19^th Century symbol of the Tsar's power in Estonia.

Wandering round, we passed The Short Leg Gate, which was (and still is) pedestrian-only access between Toompea and the Lower Town. This gate was run by Baltic Germans. Ethnic Estonians were considered to be second-class citizens, but many peasants escaped from the surrounding area to the city, where they at least became free.

We stopped at various viewpoints before dropping down to walk round the Old Town Walls above Schnell Park, following the path to Linda's Hill Park on the embankment of the former Swedish Bastion; this is where commoration events of the victims of mass repressions of Soviet power are organised and there is a memorial to the Declaration of State Sovereignty (20^th August 1991).

We continued onto the Hill of the Harju Gates on the embankment of the former Inger Bastion – in 1889, Charles Leroux started his flight on a hot air balloon from here. Descending the "Mayor's Staircase", steps decorated with eight ornamented vases, we reached "Freedom (or Liberty) Square" where the victory column of the War of Independence stands.

Passing the site of the Harju Gates, where some of the original tower can be seen under a glass casing on the street and the rest of the site is marked out in different colour brickwork on the street, we headed to a vaulted basement off Rulltli to have lunch in "Porgu". Antipasti consisting of smoked ham, pickled herring, salami, marinated mushrooms, bell peppers stuffed with cream cheese, dried tomatoes, pickled gherkins and croutons was served with their version of garlic bread; the ultimate Estonian beer/bar snack. Black rye bread with garlic on is toasted and then served with garlic butter on the side. We accompanied this with a sample of a honey beer for me and IPA for Andy.

To finish our walk, we visited the 'Cat's Well' mentioned previously and via the Town Hall Square down St Catherine's Passage, a small alleyway adjacent to the remains of St. Catherine's Friary, used by locals during busy tourist times. On the way we saw the medieval marketplace, the Town Hall dating from 1404, 'Old Thomas' the weather vane and a circular stone in the centre of Tallinn from which the tops of Tallinn's five most famous spires can be seen, before following the Old City Walls back to the hotel.

We met up with the group (there were twenty of us) and the guide for the briefing meeting and introductions before heading out for dinner at a fun but obviously touristy (and therefore expensive) medieval-themed restaurant called "Peppersack" located in a 15^th Century merchant's house. Towards the end of the meal was a theatrical sword flight. The food was nice: I had a steak which was beautifully cooked melt-in-the-mouth, but there wasn't much of it, and it was pricey to boot. We popped back to the "Hell Hunt" for a nightcap.