Estonia is far enough north to have a midnight sun and even now, in late May, the city of Tallinn was bathed in light as we landed at 11pm. It’s been a mild winter, according to Merle, but summer hasn’t brought the expected warmth. A northerly wind today gave the city both blue skies and an icy disposition as I wandered the old town, hearing the stories. Merle says that there are many stories about every building in the old town and I learned a few from her and from the costumed locals scattered around town. More to come on those stories.
On the plane, I’d read an article by an English tour operator who was disappointed with Estonia’s lack of commitment to their tourism industry. They had a lot to offer, he said, but if shops close two days each week, tourists wouldn’t hang around to see it. I haven’t been here long enough to see the shops shut, but the commitment is apparent in the costumes people wear in the old town and the smiles they throw to all the tourists make it look like they enjoy the fancy dress. A woman in a red and black cloak mans the entrance to the Town Hall Tower (64m up to a bell tower overlooking the main square). Girls in burgandy robes encourage tourists to come try the monks’ cooking. Men in white shirts and braces serve at a traditional restaurant and a girl in a hooded cloak sits at the bottom of the Maiden’s Tower, telling of the legend of the maiden.
My only disappointment is that, according to another article, the locals have all abandoned the city to the tourists and fled to their traditional place in the countryside, so I don’t know which of the people I see about town are truly Estonian. It will be good to get out to one of the 1500 islands this weekend to see something more definitely local.