I had heard from some friends that while old town Tallinn is nice enough, the more interesting areas were the ones out beyond the touristic center. That said, while Balti Jaama Market is outside the old town center (just barely), it is far from unknown. Nonetheless, based on what I had seen and read I knew this would be one of the places I'd most want to see.
You walk in and are immediately presented with a few alluring options for a snack/beverage.
Like VegB12
Or Samsa Family Bakers (note, there are two Samsa options I saw; one right near the entrance, another further in; believe they are related).
Venture further in and you get multiple options for collecting your ingredients. Fruit & veg vendors, butchers, specialty & gourmet stands. There is also a full-on grocery store (Selver).
Upstairs is a wild and expansive selection of flea market stands / antiques shops / vintage/secondhand shops (saw a lot of second hand shops in Helsinki, too; appears to be in style).
The pics don't really do this justice, so I took a walking video.
So much stuff to check out. Unfortunately for me, not enough time.
But there was time for bringing home treats. Spent a good 10 minutes in Kalev selecting an assortment of things to bring home for Judy and I to try.
At this point it had been a few hours since my BK brunch on the ferry, so I stopped for a necessary espresso and some ham & cheese thing from the second Samsa location. Best I can describe it is like an Uzbek empanada/hot pocket.
For me it was a little too flaky and crunchy w/o that much actual ham & cheese. It would have to do, though, because I needed to head back outside to explore Telliskivi.
One quick vibe video of my POV while eating the Uzbek hot pocket before we go.
Of course the 'Creative City' would have been livelier on a warm and sunny Saturday, but I was in town on a cool and grey Sunday. Couldn't change that. Still, interesting to meander through while imagining what it could be at its best. First took a few pics as I found my way into the center of the area (if there is indeed a center).
Very creative / artsy / alt / indie vibes everywhere. I mostly observed from the exterior, though I did quickly duck into Fotografiska, which had a decent crowd for a Sunday afternoon. The whole area reminded me of Electric Avenue, in Gdansk, though what I saw there was largely closed up. But it does appeark to be a kindred entertainment development. (Fwiw, we passed through Electric Avenue during our bike tour in Gdansk earlier this year.)
Pretty sure that's F-Hoone, not FPizza, above and below.
This post will be light on narrative and heavy on photos. I took ~90 pictures while wandering around Tallinn's old town. Tried to edit myself and maybe feature ~25 of them. The thing is that everywhere you turn around town reveals another incredibly charming scene. Nothing wrong with just strolling around and enjoying the medieval scenery, am I right? So after my initial approach I did find Fat Margaret and used her as my entry point to the town.
Then with Fat Margaret behind me, I made my way down Lai toward Nunne.
And soon found my way to the Patkuli Stairs, which you can climb up for view and access to upper old town (aka Toompea).
And then bounced around the streets of Lower Town, taking a variety shots of the photogenic intersections, plazas, and boutiques.
In an ideal world I'd have had one or two nights to spend here and Judy would be walking around with me, ducking into the shops and trying some of the food. Maybe another time.
Next post will cover the Balti Jaama Turg and Creative City areas.
Since I only had one day in Tallinn I knew I needed a game plan to cover the ground I wanted to cover efficiently. Of course there is the old town, Kalamaja, and the Creative City. But something I read of watched on YouTube mentioned the Reidi tee promenade along the waterfront. I saw that was pretty close to the ferry terminal, so I made that my first destination to check out. You can see the ferry terminal marked by the heart icon below.
Grabbed a Bolt scooter pretty close to the terminal and made my way along the promenade.
Of course early October in general is not really the best time to vist the Baltic waterfront. And the day I was there was particularly not great. Grey, cool, windy. Even so, it's easy to see how this would be a terrific place for families, joggers, bikers, et al on nicer days.
(Whenever I see these little playground animal rides I smile. One of my favorite pictures is from the time I convinced Judy to pose on what I think was a squirrel in Paris.
Judy looks great, of course, but the puzzled child in the background takes the shot to another level)
Having checked out the promenade, spending a good chunk of time exploring the old town was the next priority. I pointed my scooter in the general direction of the center and stumbled upon the entrance to Rotermann Quarter. If you have less time in Tallinn than I did or just want to make better use of your time, I'd recommend pointing your scooter to Fat Margaret as a better entry point to the old town. But I found Rotermann pretty interesting. Mainly because I had no idea it existed. But also because it is quirky. Kind of a funky-chic aesthetic. Looks to be a viable entertainment district worth exploring if you're in Tallinn for multiple days.
The entry to old town from that side is a bit underwhelming. Little back parking area that needs some attention. Kind of generic (but nice) strip mall type situation.
