Friday, January 2, 2015

Tallinn Visit -- Part 3: Food, Music, and other Delights

Tallinn boasts the only vegan restaurant in Estonia, Vegan Restoran V.  It's just a block or so from the old town square and well worth a visit.  We didn't learn about it until the last day of our visit; but had we known of it earlier, we would have definitely eaten there more than once. The atmosphere was relaxing, intimate, and welcoming.  The food was imaginative, delicious, quite reasonably priced, and beautifully presented.  Whether you are vegan, vegetarian, or carnivorous, you should check out this place if you're ever in Tallinn. Sten had pasta shells stuffed with vegetable, spinach, and tofu in a sun-dried tomato sauce. 



I had the beetroot and chickpea burger with oven-roasted vegetables. 




As most every place in the old town, this building is very old with wide beams in the ceiling.





One of the churches in the old town, a Lutheran church on the way from our hotel to the town square, advertised a Christmas concert by a women's choir.  We had visited the church earlier in the day and thought we'd come back for the concert.






The choir, when not singing a cappella, was accompanied by piano, but also some excellent brass players and violinists on selected pieces.  Many pieces were familiar to us, but there were others with Estonian texts that we didn't recognize.  We were glad we came back for this beautiful concert. 


The next few photos are of various shop entrances and windows.  Some are entered by a flight of stairs from the street level.







It's an Estonian custom to greet arriving guests you're meeting at the train or airport with flowers as a welcoming gesture.  Flowers are highly valued and not extremely expensive.  There is a whole row of flower shops just outside one of the gates to the old town.




It sure was fun to see the name of this street. What a way to make me feel at home! I look forward to my next visit and connecting with some of my extended family.




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