More about Tallin

Our hotel here is most interesting. It is the first hotel to have a bee colony on the roof and uses the honey in its food. Definitely honey for breakfast!  Latvia was certainly into eco friendly produce, so let's see what else Esthonia has to offer!
Today we went by coach to look around the outer part of the city. It was quite  chilly and autumnal but fine til this afternoon.
We passed through neighbourhoods with wooden houses and large grey communist blocks too, all three countries being similar in that respect. I am currently reading Colin Thubron's, Beyond the Silk Road, which is reinforcing everything I'm learning here except on other frontiers, with China and Afghanistan. There is this imminent proximity with Russia and it's unpredictability.

We started from a lovely park, where local schoolchildren were having PE, what a great idea, since many of our schools have lost their sports fields! There were also people doing Nordic walking, well we are in the right territory! We saw Peter the Great's cottage and the Baroque Kadriorg Palace and the separate houses for cooking and cold storage. Apparently a special fur coat was made to keep the food warm in  transit. He last was here in 1723.

Neighbouring the palace was the president's palace, where we walked into the drive way, there being a couple of guards outside. Apparently it is relatively straightforward to get an audience. But she is not popular. It is one of these systems where a president is chosen or sometimes more than one potential candidate and there is a vote by deputies. This one was an EU employee with no political experience. The people do not vote but think they should.

We visited the inside of the cottage, which was restored by Tzar Nicholas for the people and us now a museum. Then we returned to visit inside the palace with more ornate interiors and paintings. Peter the Great was a good artisan, going to work in various workshops across Europe to improve his skills. Could we imagine Putin  or Trump doing that? He also sent Artists out to improve their skills. There were a lot of portraits here by those who had honed their skills abroad.

A foray into the coffee shop was interesting. The sign said it opened at 11am, people entering were told 10 more minutes, so waited patiently in the seats. She  she finally decided to open, two people, obviously Estonians, walked to the counter and got served. The British queuing culture stood for nothing! I suppose if you've queued in communist bread queues you aren't going to let anyone get in front!

During our walk we also saw the KUMU gallery, a new building set into the hillside, that is the largest in the Baltic area. There was a Michel Sittow exhibition and I decided to return later. It is called the Titanic because of its appearance.

We stopped off at an amphitheatre and monastery ruins and various other landmarks before returning to the hotel.

I ate with Edna and Michael who live near Epping and have a friend in Billingshurst, connected  to the Rotary.  We decided to have a quiet lunch in the hotel, soup and salad. I couldn't face more tourists meandering through the old town, and lots of handicrafts galleries enticing me to spend, so opted for culture and quiet! After all We have seen three old towns I  the last week!  It felt like a day to slow the pace and take stock. We decided to try the trams, and firstly got on for the wrong direction. Then with the help of passengers discovered how to pay! There is a little flap by the driver, in which you place the correct money, then a ticket appears!!

 We arrived safely and I parted company with them as I had a deadline for a massage later, at the hotel. I visited the Sittow exhibition which was most interesting. Small, well executed portraits, and there is one in London and Banbury I discovered!

I did a fairly swift trot around the rest if the gallery and was amazed at the variety although confess to recognising no names. I was particularly interested in those exhibitions portraying life under communist rule. The building inside was fascinated and it was easy to get lost! Someone speaking the local language asked me, then in English, said I try to get out!

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 I walked back to the hotel, I am interested that people wait patiently at traffic lights to cross the road, with  no attempt to skip the lights as a pedestrian or driver. In fact there are no buttons to press.
When I arrived for my massage, the lady began talking in Esthonian, so after I had tentatively smiled and said English, she said, my English not good. My Esthonian, non existent! At the end she said, therefore two tips, and I thought she was going to suggest I rest and drink plenty. But instead, she said, those who like massage and those who don't! Ahh types..... I had really enjoyed it and managed to doze off, and came back to the room for another little rest. I took my book to the bar and had a glass of wine and plate of chips, in the absence of any other snack to take my fancy! A quieter afternoon and some downtime before heading off to Helsinki.