May 28 – Exploring Tallinn | The Escapades of Pookie and Allan

• Accommodations: Tallink City Hotel

The bed was very comfortable and we got a good night’s sleep. Our shower is perfect…nice and spacious. The breakfast buffet was well stocked and Allan tried what we thought was a potato. It was actually a Karelian pie, a favorite in Finland. Eero said since so many Finns visit here in Tallinn, the hotel serves these pies. They are made out of rice porridge and baked in a rye crust. Eero said if you have good cholesterol, you spread Munavõi over the top. Munavõi is an egg butter mixture made of butter and chopped hard boiled eggs. I’ll definitely be trying a pie tomorrow…including the egg butter spread.

We did a three plus hour walking tour through the Old Town, through the winding alleys and over the cobblestone streets, enjoying peeking in the cafes, boutique shops, and seeing the beautifully preserved 14th-15th century buildings.

Tallinn, sits on the Bay of Finland, directly across from Helsinki and both Russian and Scandinavian culture and architecture are evidenced throughout the city.

Many of the old buildings have been fortified and Eero said that you can always see exactly where the new restoration has been done. It is done on purpose so people can see the ancient original building as well as where the restoration work was completed.

Our first stop on the tour was Viru Gate. This gate was part of the city wall’s defense system, built in the 14^th century and the best preserved.

We passed through the Town Square, which has been there since the 13th century. You can see a spire with a weather vine on top that depicts a soldier known as “Old Thomas”. According to legend, Thomas was a young lad who was excellent at firing crossbows. He won all of the contests that the wealthy citizens had arranged for their springtime entertainment, but since Thomas was a mere peasant boy, he was not allowed to win any prize. Instead, he was awarded the job of town guard for life and therefore Thomas is an important symbol of Tallinn.

We walked down Catherine’s Alley, once known as Monk’s Alley, and found ourselves under the windows of the Dominican monastery. As luck would have it, one of the Brothers poked his head out of the upper window and Eero started talking with him. The Brother, Alain Arnould from Belgium, invited us in to see the chapel. We all entered and he spoke with us about how years ago the Dominican church had a few hundred people, but since the collapse of the Soviet stronghold, they now have swelled to over 7,000.

The Dominican brothers settled in the medieval monastery and organized a chapel which was dedicated to St. Catherine of Sienna. The brothers wear white robes and Brother Alain told us that the white cassock (that the popes of the Catholic Church wear) likely became the standard papal dress in the 13th century due to the Dominican influence and that tradition holds today.

The Dominican mission in Tallinn is active. Brother Alain lives in the monastery with another Dominican brother and there is a group of lay people who also share their Dominican spirituality and worship in the chapel. The monastery was last restored in 1995.

We went by the largest church in medieval Northern Europe, St Catherine’s Church, which has become a venue for concerts and plays. The former church had been used as a granary, as well as a car repair shop, and a warehouse for the film industry because of the high ceilings, but now it is used for education and for bringing culture back to the city.

We visited St Olaf’s Church, believed to have been built in the 12th century. The first known written records referring to the church date back to 1267. It was extensively rebuilt during the 14th century. It was originally a Roman Catholic Church, but during the reformation it became Lutheran. During the Soviet occupation the church was handed over to the Baptists, who continue to meet there to this day. Interestingly, from 1944 until 1991, the Soviet KGB used St. Olaf’s Church’s spire as a radio tower and surveillance point.

Speaking of the KGB, we passed Pagari 1, originally constructed as an apartment house, but it became infamous throughout Soviet-occupied Estonia during the half-century of Soviet rule. Prisoners were incarcerated in the basement and tortured and eventually murdered. The prisoner rooms are still there and you can tour the building and learn how the prisoners communicated with each other through the prison walls. The building stands as a memorial to those prisoners.

Our next stop was the Ukrainian Cultural Centre and Greek Catholic Church garden. The center itself was built by the members of the Ukrainian community and is a place open to all people regardless their nationality and religion. We saw on display, a camouflage blanket that the Ukrainians made to send to the Ukraine to help the soldiers who are fighting the Russians.

We enjoyed a pre-dinner drink at a speakeasy with Diana and Peter and then we met the rest of the group for the Farewell Dinner. We had duck that was delicious.

Tomorrow we take the ferry to Helsinki.

Viru Gate

A good example of the original ancient building and the new buttress fortifications, so people are aware of what is new restoration and what was here for centuries.

Dominican brother Alain

Brother Alain speaking with us in the chapel.

The chapel

Behind the monastery.

St Catherine’s Alley

St Catherine’s Church

Explanation of the Western Portals of the church.

A tucked away alley after it was restored. See the picture below to see what it looked like not too long ago.

Before the spot was restored.

Tallinn Town Hall pharmacy is the oldest pharmacy in Europe that has continually operated on the same premises. It was first mentioned in town records in 1422.