A short trip to the magical Tallinn, Estonia

For those who have been following me on Instagram, saw that after the launch of Travel Bloggers Greece last Sunday I was off for a quick trip to Tallinn, Estonia. Since there are no direct flights to Estonia during winter, I had to take the long route via Frankfurt. I flew with Lufthansa and arrived to Terminal 1 which was luckily the same terminal that I was flying out from to Tallinn. My stopover was for about 4 hours so I made sure there was free Wi-Fi available at the airport. This is a very important factor nowadays. Indeed there is free Wi-Fi which can be used for 24 hours, all you have to do is connect to the Telekom network and register your details, a few steps and voila you are online.

I decided to remain in Terminal 1, there are a few working stations available where you can plug-in your laptop and just work. For me these 4 hours was a great opportunity to catch up on all the emails and press coverage which we were receiving after our launch event. There was also a coffee and tea station where you can enjoy complimentary hot beverages. This type of stations are available at every gate during boarding, thus you can enjoy a nice cup of tea or coffee before boarding your flight. There are a number of food outlets, mostly serving sandwiches, Panini, and beverages. I decided to try the Italissimo and had a Camembert cheese sandwich and a cappuccino. Afterwards I boarded my second flight for the day and arrived at my destination around 16:30 pm.

The first point I made to myself the moment we landed was that, it was already starting to get dark which is something that I have forgotten about, living in Greece for so many years. I was traveling light so I didn’t have to wait for any luggage, and walking through the airport towards the Exit I was impressed that I landed into a living room. This is the feeling that you get from the Tallinn airport, that you are in some sort of lounge and there was even a kid’s corner where little travelers can play while waiting to board their flight. The distance from the airport to the hotel was less than 10 minutes, and it only cost me about 8,50 Euro to get there in a comfortable Mercedes black cab. I was staying at the Hotel Euroopa which was recommended by our partners as it was located in a 2 minute walking distance from their office where I was giving my presentation the following morning. This is a four star hotel overlooking the port. The rooms were very comfortable and everything looks brand new. The hotel also offers free Wi-Fi.

After a quick shower and change of clothes I was invited to dinner where I met the two lovely ladies from the Tez Tour Estonia office, Julia and Svetlana as well as Maria who works for the Marketing & Research Department in Moscow. We went to the nearby Enzo Café & Restaurant located in their office building. For dinner I had duck which was absolutely delicious as you can see in the photo below. Overall I really enjoyed the ambience and the service here. The creative menu, freshly baked breads and delicious desserts. This is where we had our business lunch the following day, where I again had duck but this time cooked differently. Unfortunately I wasn’t able to take any photos.

The next morning I woke up at 7 am and it was still pitch black outside, at 8:15 am we met with Maria downstairs for breakfast before heading out to the Tez Tour office for the presentation. It was still dark until about 9 am and overall the whole day was very gloomy. The purpose of my business trip was to represent Grecotel Hotels & Resorts and make a presentation to about 50 travel agents who promote Greece as a destination and more specifically Crete and Rhodes. This year Rhodes is a new destination for the Estonian Market. Our presentation started off at 9:30 am and lasted until about 12:30 afterwards we enjoyed lunch and then Julia offered to show us the Old Town. Together with Katerina who is the General Sales & Marketing Manager in Kiev representing Aldemar Resorts and Maria we went for a quick tour. It was very cold outside, but we really enjoyed our walk. This was my first time in Tallinn and I must say that the city is beautiful.

We walked to the main square which is called the Raekoja plats, here we saw the Christmas tree which was bare this time of year, however just a few weeks ago this same square was the liveliest part of town, with small Christmas stalls, decorations selling souvenirs and gluhwein which is the traditional hot red wine prepared with different spices.

On this same square you can find the eldest pharmacy dating to 1422. It is located right in the heart of Raekoja plats. Walking inside the pharmacy feels like entering a time machine. On the display you can see the ancient remedies which were used in the past like dried frogs’ legs, black cat’s blood and much more. It is with these magic potions doctors used to treat the sick.

The cobbled streets and ancient architecture is quite magical, thus we walked to the top in order to view this fairytale charming city from the top. We had to get back to the offices as we had our next presentation for the clients.

  In the evening we enjoyed a delicious Italian meal at the Gelsomino Restaurant and Pizzeria which is owned by an Italian Chef. The restaurant has a wonderful ambience, excellent service, candle light surrounding and is also an Art Gallery as it displays the artwork of an Estonia’s artist. After the meal we headed to the hotel and I was already at the airport at 4 am ready to fly back to Greece. I had a wonderful but short trip to Tallinn and do wish to explore this city someday very soon. Thank you for the glorious memories!