Tallinn, Estonia

staying cool in the great north

I’d like to start a series that has three travel tips focused on the things I love to do when I am traveling: go on an adventure, settle in for a coffee and a pastry, and explore a cultural event. I’ll work in some storytelling to give you a sense of what a place is like. So, without further ado, here are three tips from Tallinn, Estonia.

Adventure

During my time in Estonia, I felt like I was in the animated movie Anastasia. The gorgeous, historic, and pastel colored buildings look just like a movie set. The well dressed Estonians in their shearling hats walked through the city as if they were in a snow globe. The cutest part: almost every child I saw wore a full snow suit and was carried around not in a stroller, but a sled. Estonia’s northern location means there are only about 6 hours of daylight in the winter, and there wasn’t any sunshine during my stay. My snowy walk to this quiet yoga studio in Tallinn was a highlight of my trip. Passing through the city streets, bundled in multiple layers, I entered the studio and felt an immediate sense of warmth. The white walls and floors overlooking the completely grey sky brought a serenity to my Friday morning. Not to mention, the music was flowing by our DJ and teacher Pille. It’s so fun to feel like a local when you’re traveling and get a sense of the community that lives here.

Blissfulfix Studio in Tallinn

Coffee and a Pastry

I grew up eating sticky buns on summer Sundays down the shore. My grandfather would ride his bike down to pick some up for us (if we were lucky). Food is so much tied to emotion and memories, and I have always loved bakery treats ever since. While looking for a place to tuck in for a rest, I peeled open the thick, red velvet curtains at Pulla Bakery, and my glasses immediately fogged up. I was greeted by the warm honeyed scent of sticky buns. I loved the way the owners excavated these babies from their trays, using surgical tools to keep the puff in tact. Not to mention, the cafe had architecture magazines, great design, and a cozy ambiance. I loved settling here and watching the snow fall. Pulla bakery is one example of many awesome shops and cafes that make Tallinn a very hip city. Some say Estonia is having an identity crisis: it has the cardamom buns and design factor of Scandinavia - but it’s really part of the Baltics. With close ties to Finland, some people feel Estonia is more Nordic. Luckily for me, I got the Scandinavian buns at Baltic prices, another really great highlight of visiting Estonia.

Culture

I went to some great museums in Tallinn, but I’ll focus on the best free walking tour I’ve ever done! Thank you Estadventures! I always love to investigate a place linguistically. I was fascinated to know that due to Estonia’s geography and history (it is on the border to Russian and declared independence in 1991), 44% of people in Tallinn speak Russian as a first language. Estonian is the national language but I noticed most signs and public information were available in both languages.

Another interesting fact I learned on my tour is that Estonia is known for its start-ups. The Wise app, which I use daily, along with Skype, are two successful Estonian companies. In fact, with a very small population of 1.3 million people, it’s said that there’s a start-up for every Estonian! One of the Estonians I met (my yoga teacher) also was working on a dj app startup, so it did prove to be true. During the tour, we learned about the difficulties Estonia faced during various occupations. I was very curious: how did Estonia go from a struggling former country of the USSR to a modern tech hub?

My tour guide Kadri attributed the change to a program called Tiger Leap. It was initiated in 1997, just six years after becoming an independent country. The goal of the initiative was to provide all schools with computers and computer education. (Read more about it here). As a result of this, Estonia has become a very tech-forward company. They already have over two decades of online voting, and have also written internet access into their constitution as a basic human right.

After the tour, I checked out the best antique market I’ve ever been to in my life! Right above a modern food market called Turg, there is an entire floor dedicated to independent seller shops. There were so many baubles, old Soviet uniforms, paintings, and vintage clothing.

Have you been to Estonia? What did you think?

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