Tallinn, Estonia

The 8 am high speed catamaran ferry from Helsinki, Finland takes us to Tallin, Estonia.  We walk across an unusual ferry terminal with many concrete steps going up and down. It must be some left over  “R” thing. Estonia is rebuilding itself after being controlled by Russia for 60 years. That’s an interesting story for another time.

We enter the Medieval city through an ancient stone gateway.  Wandering around the smooth cobblestoned streets and alleyways, we find our way to St. Olav’s church.  

 We choose to climb the torturous narrow stone stairway up to the top of the tower. Annika is waiting. She is the guide who directs tourists to walk around the tower one way.

She is the first Estonian person I’ve ever met.  She is so nice. I am a little freaked because of the height and the unusual fencing on the copper roof. After two minutes of chit chatting with her, I realize we have something important in common; our husbands were born in Pennsylvania!  

Looking out over the rooftops, it’s fun to imagine what life was like all those hundreds of years ago. Descending the steps combatting the upward bound tourists, is a challenge. Seeing all the people coming up, we are glad we got there early!

The red, yellow, and orange colors of the town give a fairytale feel as we find our way up and down the different parts of the city. Finally we sit on the white sheepskin covered wooden chairs for a coffee in the town square – good coffee.

After climbing up through another gateway to the upper town, we find more churches and gorgeous views. This place is enchanting. We find a stairway descending on the outside wall. We need to get back to the town square to meet our cousins.

This is a pre-arranged meeting that actually happens all because of our cat! We need someone to help take care of Montana so when we ask David he tells us they will be in Tallin on the same day as we are! What a coincidence.

We find David and Clea Fairchild in Tallinn! We enjoy a great lunch at Olde Hansa Gild; elk jerky, lentils, lantau, cabbage, mushrooms, rabbit, and other yummy Medieval type foods – like Irish coffee and fruit cake balls.

Tallinn is a great place to wander with cousins.