I had very little time in Tallinn, but I still got to see most of “Old Town”. A compact, fortified city center with almost exclusively old buildings gives it its medieval touch and it almost feels like time travel walking through the narrow and bendy streets.
Zooming out a little, there is a lot of culture going on: Still in the city center – various art exhibitions and garden design competitions, a big public swimming pool, busy locals bumping into enchanted tourists.
Free Wi-Fi in all the main areas, charging stations for electric cars and free public transport (for locals only though) are just some proof that this dreamy city has well arrived in the 21st century.
When looking at the numbers it becomes evident why: About one third of Estonia’s population has assembled here. So this is where most of the companies go, where politicians see their priority, and thus, where most of the country’s money ends up. Fortunately I got the chance to also live in the countryside for some time and experience the other side of this small but nice country.)
Down at the harbor I found a gigantic structure – the (unused) “Town Center”, a Stadium built under Soviet rule for the Olympic Games 1980, now only good for climbing on it and watching the sunset…
And in the evening I went to an Open Mic event with my host. Although 3/4 of the performances were in Estonian I really enjoyed the experience. It made very clear to me the difference between young Estonians and the older generation: I am of course generalizing now, but my experience was that the older people were here, the less they spoke and understood English. Until at around 50 they normally would not know any English. Or maybe they simply did not want to speak?
