The Church

Kiek in de Kok

The sign says, “Kiek” not “Knee” – I can never get these things right!

We were told that “Kiek in de Kok” translates into “Peek in the Kitchen” and there was a museum of the same name to visit. No matter – Rob refused to go in there!

Tallinn Rooftops

After coffee and pastry from the shop at the bottom of the hill, we decided to climb to the top and check out the view.

The view was spectacular! We weren’t the only one’s who thought so…

The laneway from this look-out led to a souvenir shop where Rob and I purchased a pillow cover as a momento of our trip to Tallin.

Here it is… Oops! Cut off Rob’s head!

Sorry about that Darling!

The Monastery

We stopped for an ice cream (I had green apple, can’t remember what Rob ordered…) and wandered about town. Turned a corner and stumbled upon this monastery. It was lit by candles on the floor and run by an elderly gentleman who explained the turbulent history to us.  

Check out the ceiling in this room!

The ‘Fool’s Head’ keeps people wondering….. was it a UFO, the devil… neither – just a ‘Fool’s Head’  The curator laughed as he tried to explain it to us, but his English was very broken and hard to understand.

Cars and Cobblestone

Rob wanted a picture of a Lada – said it would put the history of Estonia into perspective. (Salwa took both of the following pictures. I took some pictures too, but mine did not turn out so well.)

While we were in Tallin, the “1907- 2007 Peking to Paris” event for old car affectionado’s was also taking place and many owners were cruising through in their war-time vehicles. This guy had just stopped for some roasted nuts in the town square…

… sold by this lady at the ‘Olde Hansa Shop’

Ofcourse there were also modern cars – Audi’s were especially popular.

The Tower

The tower was very impressive. We were thrilled to hear that we could go inside.

There were 6 or 7 stories to climb, each with little rooms. There was also a wall you could walk out on.  We were lucky enough to be the only people inside at the time.

The history of the tower was all in Russian. Estonia was a conquered country and 26% of the population today is Russian.

We were trying to decide what this hole was for: was it a toilet for the soldiers in the tower? Or was it used to raise and lower supplies? You decide.

The passage ways were very narrow. 

We thought the views from the tower were great. We didn’t know yet that it just never ends in this town! Wait until you see the churches!

Typical Breakfast in Not-So-Typical Tallin

We finally decided to stop at a “take-away” and eat outside. We ate in a park across from a hill with stone wall supports, a staircase and a great view overlooking the city. The view from where I sat was pretty good too.

More flaky food!

This guy was sitting across from me and I really wanted to take his picture without him noticing, but I didn’t have the nerve to aim my camera directly at him.  I waited until we were walking away, so I didn’t get a really good shot, but I tried (those “qualms” got in the way again.)

Hey Barry, is there something wrong with your pastry?