Expat Travel Mom

Last stop on our Baltic route, Tallinn, and it delivered the snow we'd been chasing the entire trip. If you missed stops 1 and 2, Vilnius and Riga, make sure to go read those too! And just a head's up...when we booked this trip, we fully planned on the Christmas market in Tallinn too, BUT, closer to our trip, they changed the dates, so we just missed it. We hear it's AMAZING, but we still got all the feels.

A little history I didn't know before this trip: on August 23, 1989, roughly two million people across these three countries joined hands in an unbroken human chain stretching from Tallinn through Riga to Vilnius, about 420 miles. It's known as the Baltic Way, a peaceful protest marking 50 years since the Soviet Union and Nazi Germany secretly agreed to divide up this region, which led to decades of Soviet occupation. Independence wasn't restored until 1991. Knowing that now, walking through these three cities means something a little different.

Arrival and a Northern Lights Watch

We took another FLIX bus from Riga to Tallinn, watching the landscape change from wet to snow (we've been desperately trying to chase it!) along the way. Again, my eyes were wide open the whole time, while the teens either slept or scrolled, maybe a peek out the window here and there. We arrived at sunset, 3:31pm mind you, and trekked our way into the walled city, perched on a hilltop, and settle into our Airbnb. Tallinn is almost unreal...a medieval storybook town perched on a hill...does it get any more perfect than that? We had been told that it IS possible to see the Northern Lights from Tallinn, so we went to a lookout to try and catch them, but alas, it just wasn't visible for us. Instead, we built a snowman with the remaining snow on the ground from a previous storm, and called it a night.

Wandering Tallinn by Night

Wandering Tallinn by night is truly special. The way the city lights up and shows you it's beauty in a whole different way, is worth walking around at night.  

A German-Inspired Beer House, Standing in Line for Crepes, Brunch and Italian

Yes, we love food, and no, we don't always stick to local food because it's hard to get a lot of variety where we are, so we take it when we can get it. One night, we had dinner at a German-inspired beer house called Beer House (lol, that's it).  It was a bit gimmicky, but it provided warmth, decent food and tons of laughter for my family as we told stories and reminisced about our trip thus far. Another food stop included us standing in line for the famous crepe restaurant, Pub Kompressor, as was well worth the wait. You can reserve up to two days in advance, but the wait wasn't very long when we went. The savory crepes were filling (they have gluten free batter too!), and the sweet ones were just right. Our last eatery worth recommending was Must Puudel. They were smaller portion sizes (nothing wrong with that), but incredibly delicious and homemade. The oatmeal was soooo creamy. They have gluten free, vegan, vegetarian, etc. Worth a stop.

The Old Apothecary, Antique Stores and a Human Body Museum

We walked around the town during the day, popping into the Old Apothecary, still in use today. Absolutely gorgeous woodwork from floor to ceiling, and has a visitor section with a bit of history and bottles of some old tinctures! We then visited some antique stores (because it's a favorite of mine and the family knows I'll always duck into one), and hid from the cold for a while in the wonderful Estonian Health Museum. I told you a long time ago that you'll always find us in a children's or science museum when the kids are with us! It was a great way to entertain the teens when it a very cold day! They provided a family ticket for the 5 of us, and we spent about 2 hours there. We could have spent more, but so much to see in Tallinn. Great afternoon and lovely staff.

When we came out, it was time to dance in the snow and have some snowball fights, as the snow was finally beginning to arrive. It felt like A LOT for these teens who've been raised in the UAE, Singapore and Spain! 

A KGB Cell Tour

My youngest and I dropped the other three off at the KGB prison cell tour. On the way to it's location, you pass right by the Russian embassy, which was gated off, with tons of Ukrainian messages covering the fence and 24-hour police monitoring outside. That alone stopped us in our tracks and reminded us not only of the history that we were exploring along the Baltic Way, but of the current events happening not too far away. 

Ice Skating and SNOW!

While the other three were in their KGB tour, the youngest and I were met with SNOW. Large amounts of snow, coming down quickly, blanketing every inch of the city. We ducked into a coffee shop where we had some hot drinks while waiting for the others. To their surprised, they emerged from underground to a winter wonderland. It honestly couldn't have been a better last day and night! We headed to the ice skating rink, where the kids skated and we watched from inside with some cozy drinks. It was magical, the kind of magical that brings tears to your eyes as parents, watching your kids eyes light up with laughter, love and memory making.

Three countries, two Christmas markets, and honestly, more snow than we could have hoped for. This was exactly the trip we wanted.