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Tallin - Well preserved old town26 Sep 2006
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Old Town Hall by Day
Old Town Hall by NIght
City Walls
| My first "post soviet" country. Actually the Baltic countries hate 'Post Soviet' as far as they are concerned it was an occupation by a foreign power, but more about that later. Tallin Old Town is very beautiful, compact and well preserved. The city walls are mostly intact and in many places from the backdrop to attractive parkland. Although there is a lot of tourism, especially from the UK, it did not seem to overwhelm the city. At least when I was there, an admitedly quiet time. There is little in the old town to remind the traveller of the Soviet occupation so it is quite important to try to get away from the tourist fleshpots and see a little more of the suburbs, especially if you want to visit souless housing and huge factory complexes. The occupation museum gives a good insight into the Estonian perspective on the one German and two Soviet occupations. The funny thing is, I find there is little to write about my time here, perhaps it is the time of year, or maybe my own tiredness which has left an impression of Tallin as a quiet place with only the Old town to really recommend it. Even the walking tour failed to leave much of an impression. What is improtant however is the different ways in which Tallin , Riga and Vilnius have adjusted to the influx of European money and western tourism. See A tail of three cities elsewhere in this blog. Comment on this story |
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