17 June 2018, Sunday
After the wonderful day exploring Tallinn’s Old Town yesterday, I woke up today feeling very excited about the day ahead. Once again, the forecast showed that it would be a day of great weather, mostly sunny with the temperature reaching a peak of 24 degrees Celsius at 1pm.
Super grateful that breakfast was included at my accommodation at Tabinoya. It was just a simple loaf of sliced bread with jam and coffee, but that was all I needed. I really loved Tabinoya. It felt very cosy and homely.
At about 9:45am, I left Tabinoya and walked to the Tallinn Tourist Information Centre, the meeting point for a free walking tour that starts at 10am. However, I saw that there was already a huge crowd of about 40 people or more gathered there. The group was way too big for comfort, so I decided to join another free walking tour instead, called Tales of Reval (click here). I found out about Tales of Reval when I visited the Olde Hansa shop yesterday evening and the friendly staff gave me a leaflet and recommended the tour.
I was the first person to turn up at the meeting point at Old Town Square just before 10am. I chatted with the “guide”, Gregorious. When I told him that I was from Singapore, he immediately said that both our countries have a lot in common, because both Estonia and Singapore found success as port cities.
What makes Tales of Reval different from other tours is that their guides are professional medieval actors. Gregorius was joined by his partner, Wilhelm, and both of them were dressed in medieval costumes. Gregorius even carried his ceramic mug with him all the way, sipping on it as he went along. He assured us that it only contained water and not wine.
The number of guests who eventually joined the tour was smaller than the previous group that I abandoned, with about 20 people, so it was more comfortable. We started the tour at Old Town Square just after 10am. Gregorius appointed the youngest and strongest guy in our group to carry the flag as we moved along, poor thing!
The first stop was Peppersack restaurant. We were told that this used to be a merchant’s building as it had a pulley system to haul sacks of pepper from the ground floor to the upper floors. Tallinn used to get its wealth from trading spices and pepper was one of the spices commonly traded. Quite similar to Singapore.
We then walked to landmarks like St. Nicholas’ Church and Cat’s Well at Rataskaevu street. The well is called Cat’s Well because in medieval times, strange sounds would occasionally emerge from the well. Evil spirits were believed to be lurking at the bottom of the well, so the locals threw live cats into the well in order to appease the spirits. The well was eventually closed because of contamination, for obvious reasons.
Next, we went to see Mestkits, the famous deer sculpture, located at the grassy area at the foot of Toompea hill, just beside my Tabinoya accommodation building at Nunne. The sculpture displayed here is a copy and it was installed in 1995. The original bronze sculpture was displayed here in 1929 but later moved to the Tallinn City Museum after repeated attempts to steal and destroy it.
Gregorius told us that Tallinn used to be called Reval, where “Re” means “deer” and “val” means “falling”, so the name literally means “deer falling”. Legend has it that a Danish king was hunting deer at Toompea hill and a deer reached the end of the hill and it had nowhere left to run. So when it was faced with either being killed or jumping to its death, it chose the latter. The king was so impressed by the deer’s bravery that it decided to name the town Reval.
Gregorius went on to explain that the Danish took Toompea, the highest point of the town, while German traders came later and established the lower parts of the town, including building St. Nicholas’ Church. The German traders brought wealth to Tallinn and traded mainly salt and spices.
Next, we visited one of the remaining original merchant houses, now occupied by Tallinna Linnatheater, or Tallinn City Theatre. Like the Peppersack building we saw earlier, this building also had a pulley system above its entrance.
From the height of the building, you could tell that this merchant was very rich. The front façade was narrow but the building was actually very deep, much like our shophouses in Singapore. The peculiar feature of the building was that the upper levels had small wooden doors instead of glass windows. This was because of a “sunshine tax”, where building owners were taxed according to the number of windows they had.
Gregorius and Wilhelm then brought us into the building. It belonged to a man named Christian Kappel and his wife, who became the owners in 1551. It was completely restored in 1974 and beautifully preserved. I love the grand old staircase and exposed wooden beams on the underside of the ceiling. The main building had a typical three-room plan: a spacious hall with a hearth and a kitchen, a living room and a back room. Three storage floors for storing cereal and other goods were located above the hall. We also saw the “housetree”, the main stone pillar, and touched it for good luck.
The next part of the tour was fun. Wilhelm told us that the pointy shoes worn by the people during medieval times served a purpose. The longer the nose of the shoe, the wealthier you are, because more material is being used to make it. Apparently, the people also used to put their gold coins through the nose of the shoe and attach a string from the tip of the shoe to their knees or even their shoulders. So it was really heavy and difficult to walk. That is why they had to walk by having their toes touch the ground first before their heels. Gregorius and Wilhelm then demonstrated how to walk this way, and asked us all to try it out.
As we walked along Pikk street, we saw many beautiful and unique buildings. One of it was the Reichmanni maja (Reichmann House) building at Pikk 23/25. This three-storey building (four storeys in Singapore’s context) was built in 1908 in Art Noveau style, with a round tower at the corner. Very beautiful.
Soon, we reached the Great Guild Hall, home today to the Estonian History Museum. The Great Guild was founded by the city’s most powerful and richest merchants in 1325. This building with the high gable roof in the late Gothic style was completed in 1417. This was where the upper echelon of Tallinn held their meetings and socialised.
Above the entranceway was a protruding lamp structure. Gregorius and Wilhelm pointed out that there was a symbol of a rose engraved on the underside of the structure. The rose symbolised trust, and whoever walked through the doors of the Great Guild Hall was supposed to keep the secrets of what was discussed within.
Finally, we reached Old Town Square again. Here, Gregorius told us about Old Thomas, the guardian of Tallinn. Old Thomas is perched at the top of the spire of the Town Hall building. According to legend, Thomas was an ordinary peasant boy who had an extraordinary talent with the bow and arrow. He beat the sons of the nobles in a crossbow competition, putting them to shame. However, he was unable to win a prize due to his low-born status. The nobles were so impressed with him that they gave him the job of town guard instead of beheading him.
Thomas became a local hero and he regularly gave candy to the children in Town Square. After he died due to old age, the children asked where Thomas was. Someone noticed that there was a figure atop the weather vane at the spire of Town Hall, so the people started calling it Old Thomas. Parents told their children that Old Thomas was watching over them, in order to appease them. Henceforth, Old Thomas became the guardian of Tallinn.
The tour ended at 11:25am. It was hands-down the best tour I have ever joined. Gregorius and Wilhelm had great rapport and I could see that they were enjoying themselves. I also liked the fact that Gregorius and Wilhelm remained in character throughout the tour. They referred to us tourists as “travellers”, passing cars as “horses” and the act of taking photographs as “painting”. They were both very humourous and witty, and gave very good explanations of the buildings and history of Tallinn. A must-do if you ever visit Tallinn!
After the tour, I considered having lunch at a café but I didn’t feel like spending too much money, so I went to the Rimi supermarket and bought a waffle pastry (€0.99) and a bottle of Sommersby apple cider (only €1.35/S$2.20!) and went back to Tabinoya. I then took the opportunity to catch up on my Facebook photo uploads while chilling in the cosy common area. I try to post the photos on Facebook as soon as I can so that I can keep the memories fresh and write detailed captions, which are useful for these blog posts later on.
At about 3:30pm, I went out again. I paid €1.50 to enter the Holy Spirit Church, a medieval 14th century church. The clock on the side of the building dates to the late 17th century and it is Tallinn’s oldest public timepiece. The church is rather unusual because it has a two-aisled nave and galleries on both sides. I quite liked it because it was very simple and original, exuding a sense of timeless beauty.
I then made my way to Viru Gate and saw Viru Turg, a small flea market selling handicrafts and souvenirs. However, it was about to close at 5pm so I didn’t manage to see much. I then wandered over to Kanuti Garden, where there was a fountain with a sculpture called Boys with Umbrella.
As I walked around aimlessly, I chanced upon Tallinn Old Town Records, a small and charming record store. The records were quite haphazardly arranged but I managed to unearth a few gems here. I bought three 7” singles for €10, quite a steal!
I walked back towards Old Town Square before heading to St. Catherine’s Passage. This alley runs behind St. Catherine’s Church and takes after its name. The alley is remarkable because it is lined with predominantly 15th to 17th century residences and it retains its medieval atmosphere. There are also a number of traditional handicraft workshops here, selling ceramics, jewellery, hats, quilts and other wares.
The Old Town is quiet and peaceful at this 6 o’clock hour and it is my favourite time of the day to take a stroll. I also love the thin, wispy clouds in the sky, and the long, dramatic shadows formed by the evening sun.
At 6:30pm, I went to the City Bike shop (click here) at Vene 33 to rent a bicycle. I wanted to rent the bicycle for tomorrow but the opening hours of the shop are from 10am to 7pm (during summer time), so I thought it best to pick up the bike today rather than tomorrow after 10am. I paid €15 (S$24.38) for 24 hours’ rental of the mountain bike. I then cycled back to Tabinoya and left the bike there before heading out again.
For dinner, I decided to indulge in a good one today, since I only take one proper meal a day (that is not bread). I found a reasonably-priced “fancy” restaurant called Clayhills gastro pub at Pikk 13, and ordered a wild mushroom risotto for €9.80 (S$15.93). It was delicious, but I was still hungry.
I then went to Maiasmokk Café (click here) at Pikk 16 for some dessert. This is apparently the oldest café in Estonia, established in 1864. It carried a selection of delectable cakes and pastries, and everything looked so good. I settled for a latte and a pastry with blueberry and marzipan fillings. Marzipan is my new favourite thing. There should be marzipan in everything!
After having my fill, I decided to go to the Patkuli viewing platform once again. Instead of going by Long Leg Gate Tower (like how I did yesterday), I chose a different way up via the Patkuli Stairs at Nunne.
At 8:30pm, I went to the supermarket again to buy some food supplies before heading to my favourite pub, Hell Hunt, to catch some World Cup action. As I get ever closer to Russia, I can feel the World Cup fever mounting with each passing day. Won’t be long before I finally step foot on Russian soil. But for now, it’s the end of my second day in Tallinn, and what an equally amazing one it was!
