Baltics Part 2: Tallinn, Estonia

On the second leg of our Baltic trip, we crossed the Baltic sea from Helsinki to Tallinn.
We went through a 2-hour ferry ride in, no kidding, the biggest and fanciest ferry I've seen in my life.
The ship was huge that it felt really still inside. They have multiple floors, even rooms.
It's probably like a cruise, but I'm not sure since I have never been in one irl lol.

We arrived in the morning and we took a stroll inside Tallinn Old Town. I have to say that Tallinn's old town is 100% one of the best in the world.
We were there just in time for their famous Christmas Market (also, I have to say that I had my best experience in Tallinn during my Baltics trip).

isn't this old town like a dream?

the famous well that's supposedly haunted

it was really serene even in the middle of a tourist attraction, straight up from a dream

The pictures can't really do justice (especially these were taken by me), buut going there in the winter is the best decision! It was covered with fresh snow and everything is like an excerpt from a fairy tale.

We stayed in an Airbnb near the Old Town, specifically in front of Tallinn University.
To be very honest with you, I had no idea that I would ever go to Estonia, nor that I was familiar with the country. However, I knew (from my colleagues), that Tallinn is a tech-savvy city, center of start-ups, or in their words: advanced digital society.
Which was ironic for me because my iPhone 11 only had E signal throughout my stay. I think that's because it was too tech savvy that a regular gadget like my phone could not keep up lol.

We were sort of tired (tbh vacationing in winter is really something for me, especially with the heavy coat and constant wet shoes). But we spent 90% of our time walking around the old town.
The charm of this place is endless. Maybe it's the snow, or maybe the fact that it was really serene in there, I was really, really in awe.

doesn't the tower make me look like I'm in front of Rapunzel's house?

I cannot remember just how many times I said that Tallinn Old Town covered in snow is the perfect mix of Rapunzel and Frozen.

Long story short, I love the old town a lot that I spent most of my time in Tallinn in this place.

Their landmark, Alexander Nevsky Cathedral is also located here. In the evening, me and my friend had so much fun sliding in the snow in front of the cathedral.

There was a slope covered in snow where local children used as a natural slide, I was just staring.
And before I knew it, I also did it! It was so much fun, 100% the highlight of my Tallinn trip I did not even take a picture (but a lot of videos for sure).

Oh and also, Tallinn has one of the prettiest christmas market (according to so many websites).

I have to say it's rather small compared to the markets I visited in Germany (where I genuinely believe they take decorating Christmas market as a sport).
BUUUT, I kinda understand why it's one of the prettiest. It is the old town itself.
The setting is already magical, straight from fairy tale book, that's why the Christmas market kinda felt surreal too.

pardon me for not taking a picture to show what I meant by magical hehe, but it was indeed beautiful

In Baltic countries, they have a very famous drink with different naming in different countries: Glogg/Gloggi, but it's basically a spiced, warm drink (usually alcoholic, but they also serve the non-alcoholic ones).
It felt really comfy in your mouth and stomach, perfect for winter. I looove my visit to Tallinn a lot.
Obviously I would love to explore beyond the old town, especially to see Estonian nature that is quite underrated.
I only have good experience here. According to my colleagues (who did their study trip to Estonia), Tallinn is the HQ location of so many startups like Bolt.
They are really advanced in this area that they are encouraging and commissioning people to open their tech business in there. I, of course, during my winter trip did not pay a visit to any startup HQ, but actually Tallinn is indeed a popular destination for this niche.

As for me, I just love the fact that I did finally create my first ever snow angel.
I've never seen this much snow before heheehe, usually it's just a bit of snow and they left me with slippery road for days.

After Tallinn, we continued our Baltic trip to Latvia, Riga.

And that is for next time!