Day 15 - Tallin

Just as well we made the most of the sunny morning yesterday as by late afternoon a storm brewed up. The pine cones were clattering off the tree onto our roof. It rained on and off during the night but by the time we were underway it was fair, though cool.

We needed some Kefir and fruit from the co-op and fuel in the nearby village then we were off. It was supposeed to be less than an hour to the Kardriog Palace and art gallery in Tallin. It was surrounded by beautiful parkland - but the car park was a private one for a gym. We drove 4 sides of a square, about 4 miles, searching but there was no parking so Mr C had the bright idea of heading straight to the Europark we were going to stay the night, park up and use the phone app to call a Bolt taxi which was €8 to the gate.

The palace, built for Peter the Great in 1718 as a summer residence is a magnificent monument to imperial extravagance. The main hall is decorated in rich stucco work and has a grandiose ceiling painting. It’s considered to be one of the best examples of baroque design in Northern Europe. €8 for seniors. The current exhibition was on Spanish art from Velasquez to Picasso. A small painting of an old woman was done when he was 16. I was particularly taken by Joachim Sorollo’s painting of a woman waiting for the catch to come in and after reading Thunderclap I was more appreciative when looking at the two Dutch still lifes, one of lobsters. Exquisite. The permanent collection also included Faberge eggs and silver.

We got a Bolt back to the old town to the point furthest away (Freedom Square €4.50) from where we’d parked the van, so that we could walk back, seeing as much as we could on the way, zigzagging to find churches and pretty streets. Tallin is very quaint and much more touristy than Riga. We saw several churches, the Aleksander Nevski Cathedral (no photos allowed, so no donations given!), the baroque palace built on orders of Catherine the Great, Toompea Castle, (1229) reached by Luhike jalg, a narrow winding lane with a staircase. We headed down to the Town Hall, which was in a square busy with outdoor cafes and many tour groups, then on to see the House of the Brotherhood of Blackheads with its renaissance facade from 1597 and the beautiful green and red carved door. Unfortunately the road outside was being fixed so we stopped for a drink on the way till they’d finished. There was a police presence at the park if the street dedicated to protest posters and graffiti about the war in Ukraine - there’s obviously a lot of support in the Baltic States for them Then it was only 10 minutes to the Europark, passing the Three Sisters, three painted 15th century terraced houses. After passing under Fat Margaret’s tower we were out of the old city walls and near the port where we are at our €8 P4N.

One thing that strikes us about this trip is how miserably unfriendly people seem. Even young people who can speak English are cool in manner. Last year in Central Europe people were friendly and chatty, but even on camp sites (mainly local people but also German and Finnish) they struggle to acknowledge a smile and a hello.

News from home - Nathaniel finally got his wish, to buy a Nintendo switch with some of his earnings. He’s learning the value of money and deferred gratification all at once! Ella was more interested in petting a neighbouring cat which had wandered in to visit.

#2 daughter had spent Sunday at a football tournament which hadn’t gone well for James’s team. They lost most of their matches but could they go home? Oh no there was a knockout for the losing sides so poor daughter had to stay. Phil certain got to chill out on Father’s Day. Needless to say Luke was working nights.

50 miles driven today and 4.5 walked. We have been travelling for 2 weeks. Soon we’ll be heading south and west.

Blip is the interior of the Kadriorg Palace