Winter in TALLINN, Estonia - What to see and where to eat!
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- čas přidán 11. 01. 2024
- Hi everyone! This is episode ten of my Baltics plus Finland series in which I travel to Lithuania, Latvia, Estonia and Finland. In this episode, I explore more of the Old Town of Tallinn, the capital of Estonia.
The vlogs starts with me taking in a view of the city from one of the viewing platforms on Toompea Hill, the limestone hill in the central part of the city. From here, I walk towards the Alexander Nevsky cathedral and the Riigikogu, the Estonian Parliament. Along the way I talk more about the history of Estonia, in particular the meaning behind the words Reval (the former German name of Tallinn) and Tallinn itself.
At the Riigikogu, I talk more about Estonian politics and the key events of 2005 and 2021. I also explain the legend of the heroine called Linda and her role in the construction of Toompea Hill.
Next we walk down to the town centre and along the way I give more information about Estonia during the Second World War as well as the Soviet period. At ground level, I also talk more about the Estonian language, in particular the National Awakening and the struggle to promote Estonian in the 19th and early 20th centuries.
A student working for a delivery company stop me in the street and asks my channel name so that he can follow me. He is from Pakistan and we end up talking about cricket! Two cricket lovers from faraway countries talking about Cricket World Cups in Estonia - what are the chances!
I briefly head to the town centre to take in some of the Christmas spirit again and also browse the windows and outside merchandise of a few souvenir and clothing shops. I notice more magnificent architecture next to the town square, including the Holy Spirit Church and the Great Guild Hall building on Pikk street.
Lunchtime arrives and I feel a bit peckish, so I set off in search of something to eat. I stumble across a pancake restaurant called the Kompressor, and decide to fill my stomach.
After lunch it is time for more exploring, and I return to Pikk street where I walk the length of the street towards the city gate at the end. Along the way I pass various arts & crafts shops and visit a local Estonian souvenir shop where I buy a fridge magnet. I also pass the former KGB Prison Cells and the iconic St. Olaf's Church.
In the final stages of the vlog, I walk towards the port to see where my ferry to Helsinki will be departing from, before returning to my hotel, where the vlog ends.
I hope you enjoy this video about Tallinn, Estonia in winter! I also hope it inspires you to visit this magnificent city - not just in winter, but at any point. It is a truly magical experience and I already mentioned in a previous vlog that it is my favourite city in the world. I can't wait to return for a fourth time sometime!
If you haven't done it yet, please hit the LIKE button and SUBSCRIBE to the channel - it is free to do so and really helps me out in promoting my content to a wider audience. Also, I really love engaging with all of you, so please leave a COMMENT in the comments section!
Happy exploring!
Willie
30:57 Hell Hunt means Gentle Wolf in Estonian. The name was chosen to confuse English speakers :)
Haha that certainly is confusing but makes sense I guess! Cheers for watching my content :)
Another first class video from Willie thanks for showing interest place especially fine view!
Thank you very much Simon! Always a pleasure my friend
Hey Willie, we were your table neighbours there in Kompressor - nice to meet you and to see your video! We've been back to the Kompressor on three separate trips to Tallinn and can confirm it is always excellent food and excellent value, a very real chance we will be eating there again in December haha! See you on the road, safe travels :-)
Hi Nat! Wonderful to hear from you, I hope the rest of your trip was excellent and that there are plenty more gigs to enjoy across Europe or wherever :) Loved the pancake I had and I would go back just for that! Maybe see you in December again haha!
The lure of the fridge magnets proving too much once again😂. Very nice shop.
Tallinn certainly is beautiful, Willie. The view over the rooftops is spectacular. Sad story about the deer but pleased to see he has been immortalised in statue form😊
Absolutely, Sheila! I have a soft spot for a fridge magnet. Hope you enjoyed the arts and crafts too as I know you usually do! Love the deer statue too :)
@@willieexplore definitely👍
Absolutely Stunning again Willie! What a beautiful place, I could never have imagined! You definitely have to go back in the summer to show us again! Cheers 🍺🍺
I am so glad you are enjoying these videos! You should definitely visit Estonia yourself too. There are some fascinating places in this world of ours!
Willie Ek hou rerig van die Baltiese Lande! Uitstekende Video. Groete
Jis Tosca, ek hou ook van hulle. Ek voel ek het 'n konneksie met die mense hier, veral in Estonia. Groete daar!
Welcome to Tallinn Very nice and interesting video, thanks for sharing 👍💯
Aitäh Tiina! Appreciate the kind words :)
Did you also go to Pirita forest for example? Or TV Tower? You will see amazing forest with a lot of snow on trees!
Hi there! Unfortunately I didn't, so maybe that is reason enough to return to Tallinn again! Thanks for watching and commenting :)
Really enjoy Tallinn Willie, beautiful buildings But it has to be very cold, with all that snow about. Wonderful learning all about the Baltics. A part of the world we hear very little about. Kiwi from Virginia.
Always a pleasure having you tag along virtually, Swanoaks! Very cold indeed, but a wonderful experience in a fascinating part of the world.
Wat n ervaring. Dankie.
Dankie vir die kyk en terugvoering, ek waardeer dit!
Thanks for the good times, Willie! Great video and very informative
Appreciate the kind words, Jasper! Thanks for taking the time to watch my content for for engaging
From the house, Pikk str. 16 (19:08). Livonia is the homeland of Livonians. Livonians were relatives of Estonians. Practically extinct by now. Most of it was located in today's Northern Latvia. Livonia was also the name of Livonians student corporation.
The embassy of the Kingdom of Sweden is located in the same building. That is why the building has a Swedish flag.
That is great, Jaan, thanks for those insights! Do you know anything about the building at 29:32, also with the Swedish flag?
Nice video as always!
Really appreciate your support, Martin! Thanks for watching and engaging
Great Videos!
Really pleased to hear this, Vagabond Raven! Thank you
Hey Willie , Tallinn was awesome you did a fantastic job my friend . I'm looking forward for Helsinki video's keep it up man 💪👍
Thank you very much my friend, your engagement is always valued. Helsinki here we come!
Hi, thanks for the nice video! First mention of the city in 1154 qlwry (Kaleverü or Kaleweny) on the map of Roger II of Sicily. Reval - from the old Estonian county name Rävala ( in Latin Revalia) Tallinn - the first name written in Estonian 1536 (tally lynnhall) mean the castle of Denmark (Tanin Lydna and Talyna)
Thanks for your kind words, insights and for watching my content! It is greatly appreciated :)
The old zero point of Tallinn is located in the town hall square, which is also marked with a stone slab on the square, and standing at the zero point you can see the tower tops of four different churches: Niguliste, Toomkirik, Pühavaimu and Oleviste
That's great information for my next visit, thank you very much! I guess when I was there the Christmas market stands would have covered the slab? Thanks for watching and engaging :)
Kompressor is lege, remember going there 20years ago; Hell Hunt actually is an estonian name - translates to "tender wolf" so a slight twist to english speakers (hence the sign you saw a naked girl riding a wolf); When they made public transport free of charge here we were kind of worried the quality would drop but luckily, it's way decent;
Cheers for watching and engaging! That pancake was off the charts. Others have pointed out the Hell Hunt as well - very interesting! And I'm sure the people of Tallinn enjoy their free transport :)
@@willieexplore €8 these days, back when I went to highschool it was way cheap aswell, enough so that even poor students could afford it every now and then; and they had tequila happy hours every tuesday ^^ makes sense this spot is still standing while most of the pubs are closing up due to kaka government; thanks for the content
@@CatastrophicJett glad to hear it's been going strong for a long time! I do wish them every success and hope to have another pancake when I return. Appreciate the support!
@@willieexplore went through more of your videos, so nice you stay positive with all this nasty weather, no whinies at all; If you ever come back here and run out of ideas for content, let me know - can introduce you to some hidden gems of Tallinn and nearby that most of the tourists miss. cheers m8!
@@CatastrophicJett wow that is fantastic, thank you! I will certainly take you up on your offer if I'm back in the region. Glad you enjoy my content, I always try and stay positive!
Tallinns public transport is indeed free for citizens, you need a "greencard" to "purchase" a ticket for free to show what lines you use, etc. Being a citizen of Tallinn also gives you free trainrides inside the Tallinn area and free regional buses around Tallinn:)
Thank you very much for confirming that! Sounds like an amazing system, wish I had one of those green cards!
Reval probably is German loan from ancient Estonian county name Rävala, which surrounded Tallinn. County itself probably got its name from village Rebala, which is 20 km east from Tallinn. Rebala means "foxes place" in Estonian. So name Reval probably has more to do with fox, not deer. Another "lost in translation" case.
That might be so, but how do you explain the deer statue?
@@willieexplore statue is there exactly for the reason you explained. My point is that German name Reval doesn't come from "Reh fall", but from county name Rävala.
@@whatth444444 I suppose there are two different theories as to the name...who actually knows the right answer! Thanks for watching, I appreciate the support!
Very informative with all the historical information. However, you never show us the inside of all of those cosy cafes, bars and restaurants you keep passing. What do the locals eat? How much does a meal cost? How much is a glass of wine or beer? What is your hotel like? This could all be interesting for those planning a visit.
Thank you for watching! To be fair, I do go into many shops, cafes and restaurants in my vlogs. Did you not see the lunch I had? Many restaurants and coffee shops are tricky because they play music. I don't drink alcohol but I mentioned the price of a coffee / cappuccino. I have made entire vlogs on how much things cost in places like Aruba and Madeira (islands where many tourists go and yes this is a question they want answered). But appreciate the feedback :)
@willieexplore Sorry, missed your lunch - oops! Just went back and watched it - looked good, hope your constitution can handle it.
@@witlof5492 no worries at all, you raise some very valid points in your post above which I will absolutely take on board
I wonder what kind of sources are you using. The deer-fall myth was created likely in the middle of the 19th century, in the era of romantic nationalism, when the Baltic Germans were busy not only with creating myths, but with building "medieval" ruins as well... Not only that there is no early sources at all about this myth, it also assumes that the Danish king was speaking in German!
The Danes named the town after the surrounding province of Revälä (modern names: Revala, Rävala). The province name is known as well in the Scandinavian sagas, as it is confirmed in the most important source from the conquest era, the Chronicle of Henry of Livonia:
"...They (the Danes and their allies) all brought their army "ad Revelensem provinciam" (to the province of Revele) and encamped at Lyndanise, which had once been a fort of the people of Revele. They destroyed the old fort and began to build another new one. "Revelenses et Harionenses" (the people of Revele and Harju provinces) gathered a great army against them..."
The province named "Revaelae" is confirmed in the Danish Census Book as well, in the records from 1219-20, including a list of the settlements within the province, and again in the records from 1230. Later, the province was merged with Harju.
About the impact of the Finnish TV in Estonia, perhaps you could check if you can find the movie "Disko ja tuumasõda" (Disco and Atomic War).
Thanks for watching and supporting my channel! As for the deer myth, according to my sources it was actually the Danish king Waldemar II who was hunting the deer in Toompea, when it fell off the cliff. Also remember that the Germans (missionaries) arrived in Estonia before the Danes did, and Germany and Denmark also share a land border - so I wouldn't be surprised if Waldemar could actually speak a bit of German! But you are right that there is a lack of documentary evidence for this myth. Do you know the story behind the deer statue below Toompea though?
@@willieexplore The story behind the statue is that for promoting art, there was a state fund, buying works for exhibiting in public space or public buildings. In 1929, it bought this sculpture for exhibiting in Tallinn; no idea, if the artist had the exact location, or the myth in mind or not when making it. Actually, 3 copies were made, and one was moved to Moscow later in the Soviet era.
If to follow the vocabulary in Estonian and Finnish (priest, cross, to baptize etc), before the Baltic Crusades, the missionaries in the region used to come mostly from Russia (likely, from Novgorod). Anyway, before the conquest, there was no much success, and during the conquest, the Danes and the Germans were in hurry who can baptize people first, to claim the areas. Things were getting quite nasty with that, like if the priests didn't reach everywhere, the representatives of some area were given "holy water" to "baptize" their people themselves, and the Danes hanged some of the local leaders for taking baptism from the Germans.
@@forgottenmusic1 thanks for sharing that, such an interesting history in this part of the world. Estonia and the Baltics have a strategic geographic location, so many would have been interested in capturing lands. I also find the myth of Linda fascinating and need to read the Kalevipoeg :)
@@willieexplore Kalevipoeg is a product of the same romantic nationalist era. There was a belief, that any nation had its epic, it just may have got destroyed in time. So, after the Finnish Kalevala (the songs are mostly authentic, if they ever belonged together is another topic) was completed, Kalevipoeg followed. Many of the myths did exist, though not as songs, but as stories, and how much was added wasn't documented. As Linda is actually a Scandinavian name, it is likely an addition to connect it with Lindanise, meaning something like "a castle of (not clear what exactly)", even if many elements of the story can be traced in mythology.
Oh well... at least the Latvian Lacplesis is really artificial compared to Kalevipoeg. The author took the Chronicle of Henry with all of its characters, back then pretty unknown for a random Latvian, and created a new story with a hero added. The only character in the epic not having a name, though it is presented in the chronicle, is the stepfather of the divine hero. He was the chief of Lielvarde; as the author was himself from Lielvarde, he had to make it the epicentre of the events, but as back then, Lielvarde was inhabited by Livonians, and he represented it as being Latvian, he had to "miss" the name...
Funny how you nail the long street signs but cannot pronounce "Pikk" Street :D
Always the sneaky short ones that get me!
28:21 - Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II and Duke of Edinburgh visited this house on her state visit to Estonia on October 20, 2006.
39:10 - Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II and Duke of Edinburgh stayed at the hotel. 👑
Wow, that is so interesting! Appreciate you letting us know about this!