We spent the rest of the day exploring the old city while trying to adjust to the 7 hour time difference. We had lunch at Mini Burger Factory, where I tried my first Estonian beer, and dinner at Restoran Mejocosi, an Italian restaurant. We stopped in the known oldest running pharmacy in Europe, which dates back to 1422. We also picked up some Marzipan, which is famous here for the painted marzipan you can buy and eat.
After lunch we walked across the street to the beach and found a bench to sit and relax on for a while. It was great to take in the local small town culture. It was very peaceful. We then made our way to manor country, stopping at three large manors. These manors were owned by barons and lords, with the manor complexes dating back several years. The houses that sit there now are a bit newer, from the 1700s and 1800s. They are beautiful houses that are now museums and hotels. We enjoyed walking the grounds of Sagada and Vihula manors, while only just stopping by Palmse on the way back to Tallinn.
We then walked to an adjacent neighborhood Kalamaja. This area is unique in Tallinn as it is made up of old wooden houses, many from the 1800s. This was once an area for factory workers and fishermen, but is now becoming home to a young population. Through the neighborhood and to the coast we found our way to the Seaplane Harbor Museum. This museum is housed in a unique former seaplane hangar that was originally built in the early 1900s as part of Peter the Great’s naval fortress. It has changed hands many times over the years with the changing of Estonia’s ownership, but now finds itself as a state of the art maritime museum. There are many interactive exhibits, and a highlight is the 1930s submarine Lembit, one of few remaining from pre-WWII. There is also an abundance of various ships outside in their marina, but we cut our visit short to head back to our apartment to rest and beat an incoming storm.
We had our first bad weather in the evening when the rain arrived. We were bummed because we wanted to walk around the city and take some more photos on our last evening, but that didn’t work out. We ended up just getting the to leave in the morning, then made it back into town to pick up some souvenirs and get dinner. Our last Estonian dinner was at Kuldse Notsu Korts, a restaurant serving traditional Estonian food. We had some delicious black bread with garlic and cheese, followed by a sausage plate with moose and pork sausage.
It was a fun few days in Estonia, but it was time to move onto our next stop, Copenhagen!