NOVEMBER IN TALLINN

Ron Smith gets a taste of Estonian efficiency as he wraps up for a pre-winter visit to this fascinating city by the Baltic Sea

It was tempting. Tallinn in November, cheap flight from Edinburgh and cheap hotels. Let’s go! As soon as you arrive you get a taste of Estonian efficiency. Everything is in English (and Russian). You buy a card from the kiosk and the tram pulls up right at the door of the airport. This is the country where it is difficult to find anyone without a mobile phone, or landline, where Skype was invented. WiFi is everywhere, and the country is proud of its independence.

Because of the short days, it is mandatory to wear a reflector on your clothing; these are available free at the airport. The tram took me almost to my hotel, which was close to Fat Margaret. This is the name of a 1510-built squat tower, 24 metres in diameter with fivemetre thick walls to withstand cannons, and provided a firing platform to defend against attackers from the sea. It is now the maritime museum. The town walls took 300 years to complete, with 46 towers. Today there are still 26 towers left, and 1,850 metres of wall.

Estonia only gained independence in 1918, and with British military assistance, fought off

the Russian communists. However, the Second World War brought havoc as the country was a football between German and Russian forces. Eventually Russia won, and it was only in 1991 when Estonia once again regained its independence.

One of the “in” places to go is the Hell Hunter pub – the first pub in Estonia, opened in 1993. It even sells craft beer from Edinburgh. Prominent is a large poster of a lady rolling up her sleeve with the message that stag parties are banned, and “Estonian women will beat you up”.

The winding, narrow cobbled streets inside the ring of the old wall are a delight to explore. There are cafes and pubs galore and dozens of tourist shops. There is St Olav’s church with its 124-metre-high spire – in its day the tallest one in the world. All the streets lead uphill to the Town Hall Square. The Town Hall was started in 1403, and has been much rebuilt ever since.

Facing the Parliament building is the manyonion-domed Alexander Nevsky Cathedral. It is Russian Orthodox, dates from 1900 and has 11 bells from St Petersburg, the largest of which weighs 16 tonnes – when they peal, you listen!

One tower is called “Kiek in de Kök” which translates as a kyke in the cook – because

Toompea hill view looking over Tallin