Tallinn
This place is great. The Old Town was untouched during the war. As I walked the cobblestone streets in Tallinn, I felt like I had traveled back hundreds of years in time.
The capitals of the Baltic states are Vilnius, Lithuania – Riga, Latvia – Tallinn, Estonia. Each one has an ancient “Old Town” at the center. I didn’t know it but each of these three cities is more charming than the last when you go in this order.
The streets open into areas called “plazas” with enough room to step back and see the great old buildings. Nothing is old like this in America.
I stuffed my guide book in my back pocket and just walked around this city in the evening. I heard some music and followed it to a dark doorway in an old castle wall. It went up a narrow, twisting, stone stairway lighted by candles.
At the top were a few tables and chairs along a narrow wooden walkway attached to the old castle wall. There was a tiny bar at the far end where a woman in medieval dress served warmed wine. I took a glass out to a table and sat alone, looking over the old city for a while. I was lost in space and time as the wine took away the chill.
your intrepid reporter,
Lee
Traveling Your Dream 