A taste of Estonia’s past and present

Between trying to see as much as possible in a limited time and trying not to forget to actually relax on holiday, it can be tough to find time to exercise.

For a while there our trips themselves, e.g. climbing Kilimanjaro in Tanzania, were exercise in and of themselves so we didn’t need to worry too much about it. In fact, I used to lose weight on every trip because we spent so much time being active. Then Ella started to join us on our travels and there was a period there where I was gaining weight every time we left the country instead of losing it. Now that Ella’s getting a bit older we’re starting to have access to more active options and when we find one, we tend to leap at it.

In Tallinn this came in the form of 250km of bike trails and a bike rental company called City Bikes. 

As you can see, where Ella had to make due with a kid seat in Hanko, in Tallinn she had a number of rides to chose from and fortunately, we agreed. The Babboe City cargo bike caught both our eyes so Katy got the day off Ella carriage and I rode the heaviest bike of my life.

Sadly we didn’t have time to ride all 250km of trails but we managed to get out to the Rocca Al Mare Estonian Open Air Museum, located about 8km of (thankfully) flat trail from the bike shop, as our destination.

So what is the Estonian Open Air Museum? 

Well, for those of us from the Toronto area, the EOAM (they don’t actually call it that but I have lazy fingers) is the Estonian equivalent of Black Creek Pioneer Village. Essentially a large park in which they’ve recreated parts of life as it was a long time ago. The museum includes 12 farms that represent life in different regions of Estonia in the 18th, 19th and 20th centruries. One neat feature was that you could take your bikes in to the park which allowed us to see a lot more than we could have on foot.

Some highlights? Well, I’m glad you asked. Let’s see, there was a giant wooden swing.

Dancing to live accordion music.

Chatting with the goats.

Feeding the sheep.

Hoping the cool kids don’t notice

Back in Tallinn we decided to head over to Telliskivi, and old factory complex that is now a range of creative spaces, shops, and restaurants. It’s similar to the Distillery District in Toronto or the Neighbourgoods Market in Cape Town, just perhaps a little earlier in it’s redevelopment.

While Katy did a little shopping it took Ella about two minutes before she came running to say that she wanted to show me something. Yes, she can spot a play area from a hundred metres down a hall.

Our main reason for visiting Telliskivi was to try one of the restaurants, Foody Allen.

Foody Allen was definitely worth the walk and a nice place to get away from feeling like a tourist. The food was good, the space interesting (in case you’re looking to host an event in Tallinn).

Oh, one last note, a little belated kudos are in order for Katy. Finland actually marked country number 50 for her. So, only 140 or so to go!