#015: On the streets of Tallinn
Visiting Tallinn for a short weekend. The capital city of Estonia. Not knowing anything about this city and the country to begin with, we just booked the cheapest tickets we could get at the time. Checking out this corner of Europe that I personally had not thought much of before this but was happy to explore, even if for just a short weekend trip.
Turns out this little corner of the world is pretty unique and is doing some amazing things with technology these days. Que Wikipedia to fill in the rest of the information… ;)
Tallinn's Old Town is one of the best preserved medieval cities in Europe and is listed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Tallinn is the major political, financial, cultural and educational center of Estonia. Often dubbed the Silicon Valley of Europe, it has the highest number of startups per person in Europe and is a birthplace of many international companies, including Skype. The city is to house the headquarters of the European Union's IT agency. Providing to the global cybersecurity it is the home to the NATO Cyber Defence Centre of Excellence. It is ranked as a global city and has been listed among the top 10 digital cities in the world. According to the Global Financial Centres Index Tallinn is the most competitive financial center in Northern Europe and ranks 52nd internationally. The city was a European Capital of Culture for 2011, along with Turku in Finland. - More info here.
So there you go, I didn’t know Skype was born here. Learn something new every day. Given all that information, the main city centre does retain its medieval aspects pretty well. The cobbled streets and its little lanes are fun to walk around. the centre itself is full of restaurants and little shops, most of which are catered to tourists. Move slightly outside the centre and it gets quieter and a little less well maintained. There is some really nice architecture dotted around the city too. The Alexander Nevsky Cathedral is amazing to look at from almost any angle that you can see it from. Then you have the St. Nicholas' Church as well as the St. Olaf's Church just to name a few.
The main centre or old town area can be explored in one day, it is not that big. We then ventured just outside to the “newer” area of Telliskivi, which is now known as the creative centre of Tallinn. Lots of little designer studios, boutique shops and food outlets in this area. It was formerly an industrial complex and is about a 10-minute walk from the old city centre. Definitely worth the visit if you’re in Tallinn. This area and the old city area are enough to keep anyone occupied in Tallinn for the weekend.
The collection of photographs below are from my efforts to capture the look and feel of the streets in this fun little city. Hope you like them.
All photos were taken with the Fujifilm X100S.
Cheers.
