Tuesday, May 30, 2006

Led astray in Tallinn

Having a beer at the top of the Radisson, with its fabulous view over Tallinn


I've now come to Tallinn, to visit my cousin Mark, who lives here, conveniently at the same time as his brother Robert, also visiting. Tallinn is the capital of the former Soviet country, Estonia. Following the nation finally receiving its independence in 1991, the country has developed as a thoroughly modern and pleasant place, with Tallinn being a fantastic place to visit. The old town of Tallinn is World Heritage listed, and very deservingly. We had a great time wandering the streets of the old town, visiting art shops filled with original and stylish pieces, rather than the standard touristy tack, beautifully maintained buildings, and medieval hilltop towers and walls. Tallinn is certainly a beautiful city.


Contrast between Estonian traditions and the Russian influence, even in religion
View over Tallinn from the top of the hill

But... as usual when meeting up with these particular cousins, I've been led astray... In the first 24 hours of my visit, we managed to complete a Tallinn pub crawl where one of my cousins was propositioned by a drunken Finn (also male), with the evening finishing at the same time as the sun was coming up (admittedly that's fairly early here in Tallinn at the moment), followed by a political protest in the morning where we were wedged between the Estonians and the Russians.

Left: Robert (left) and Mark at the start of the damage, and the Estonian flag flies at a political demonstration
And here I am with my newest cousin, Paddy (Mark's pet rabbit)




4 comments:

Alison said...

You look great here Claire and I am loving these photos - they are so professional!

Anonymous said...

I see you are having a great time but don't let your cousins lead you astray like they have in the past.

Anonymous said...

Good to see that you are applying all the stuff I have told you!

Anonymous said...

Love the "Coq" action claire! Who leads who astray?