Tallinn – jewel of the Baltic ?

Tallinn is a very pretty city, the Old Town part of it at least.

A word of advice, don’t go during the summer months. The place is absolutely swarming with cruise ships full of tourists. Standing on the shore front during the afternoon I counted six cruise ships moored in the port and there was another one on its way in. Apparently this is normal every day May, through to late August/September. Virtually anywhere you go in the old town you are getting in the way of another herd of sheep following a guide with a numbered lollipop.

Apart from that, the old town is very nice, very photogenic (assuming you can get a shot without some babbling Italian OAP tourist in it) and still well worth a visit. Some friends of mine went there in winter – much better idea.

If you do go, and if you like beer, you just have to visit the Beer House. Its the only micro-brewery in Tallinn and their range of 7 home produced beers are pretty damn good. Ok, the place is made up to look like a faux Bavarian beer hall, lederhosen and all, but trust me….the beer is good. They even have tables with their own beer taps???

If you sit at a table with a beer tap, you can join the beer rally. The pub keeps a tab on how may beers you drink, and the one who downs the most in a month wins a prize. But wait, to even qualify for being considered there’s a 20 liter minimum……hmmm…..difficult. I wonder if this idea would take off in Norway….haha, that was a joke!!