A northern sojourn

“Almonds. Brown sugar. Cream. And 16 different spices and herbs.” In the bustle of the Old Town of Tallinn, a pretty Estonian in red embroidered frock was ladling sugar and cream into mounds of almonds that was being cooked in a wooden cart. The aroma left me woozy but before I could pop that nut for the ‘sweet’ medieval taste, I got a little distracted.

In the muddle of everyday Tallinn, I had so stepped back into time that I almost saw a Viking peeping from the clock tower and heard the shriek of the nobleman who was executed after a dispute over a bad omelette — he was the only man ever to be executed at the Market Square.

“Listen carefully, you might hear a goose-stepping ghost or see a spectral nun.” Thomas Mielke, the tour guide, was scaring the daylights out of me. “Let’s head to Rataskaevu 16, the most haunted house. The Devil once had a wedding party there…” Mielke’s ‘ghostly’ spirit refused to die despite my smirks about the medieval myths of the Old Town that even has a Ghost Street (Vainu).

Often tagged as the best-preserved medieval town in Europe, Tallinn lives its paradoxes with absolute élan. The original 2.4km long wall with 46 towers that dates back to 16th century serves as a stark contrast to Estonia’s modern reputation as the nation that invented Skype, the nation where “free broadband is every Estonian’s birthright” and the nation where the war cry to break free from Soviet occupation began not with the boom of a cannon, but with musical notes that soon grew into the Singing Revolution. In Tallinn, music is everywhere, it is the food for love.

Rather, marzipan for love, as the Estonians would proudly tell you. For it is in the Town Hall pharmacy that marzipan, the dainty confection made from almonds and sugar, was invented. The story about Mart and his bread is oft-repeated — it is the story of a clever lad called Mart, a young apprentice at the apothecary, who replaced all bitter ingredients from an alderman’s cold prescription with sweet ones and lo! The marzipan was born.

So grateful are the Estonians to Mart that they built a Marzipan Museum where the hand-painted confection comes shaped like a gorgeous woman, a spear-touting Viking and even a tiny penguin that waddles.

Beyond the countless museums in Tallinn are the myriad churches and monasteries. Established in 1246, St Catherine’s Monastery is the oldest intact building in the city and walking through the corridors one can almost hear the monks mumbling a prayer.

Not too far away is St Olav’s Church, the Gothic Church with a 154-metre spire that was the tallest building in Europe between 1549 and 1625. That tall spire also served as its nemesis, for lighting struck twice and fire consumed the church.

Amidst the old weather vanes and medieval churches stands the Aleksander Nevsky Cathedral, very Russian in its architecture and for Estonians, the most loathed symbol of Tsarist power. But it’s the Town Hall that has everyone’s jaw falling. Built in 1402-1404 as the headquarters for the ruling burgermeisters, it is Northern Europe’s only intact Gothic town hall with a weather vane in the shape of Old Toomas, the mustachioed mascot of Tallinn.

But Tallinn is not only medieval; drive a mile or two out of the city into Parnumnt and the edges of the Freedom Square, and you’ll bump into endless columns of art deco and the boxiness and curves of functionalism. In Kadriorg lives the president in an ornate pink mansion and on Pikk 16 is Maiasmokk Café, the capital’s oldest café that still echoes the opulence of Estonia before the Russian invasion.

That one day in Tallinn I thought I was in a time warp. I moseyed from gabled houses to functional buildings; from the park where the Singing Revolution is re-enacted every year to the swanky spas where African potato wraps and rose scrubs are elegantly listed; from the legend of the old man who rises from the Ulemiste Lake to the land where broadband does not conk off even in the dungeon.

As I sat by the sea and saw the Old Man rise from Ulemiste Lake, I remembered the warning — when the old man asks whether construction is complete in the city of Tallinn always say no. For if you say yes, the old man would call upon the waters of the lake and wash away the city in a deluge.

When the Old Man in a long robe rose out of the lake he asked me a different question. “Would you come again to Tallinn?” His sunken eyes peered at me. “Yes.” I answered before he could blink. (Okay, okay, I cooked that story about the Old Man asking me that question, but the myth prevails. So does my answer. I am packed for a Tallinn redux.)

Ready reckoner

Getting there: Finnair flies five times a week from Delhi to Helsinki. Finnair has daily flights from Helsinki to Tallinn. You can take the Viking Line or Tallink ferry between Helsinki and Tallinn.

Where to stay: Hotel Telegraaf, Three Sisters, Meriton Spa, SAS Radisson; double room per night tariff would begin at 100 Euros.

What to eat: Tchaikovsky in the Telegraaf Hotel for Russian-French cuisine, Ribe (try kama and rhubarb cake), Mekk for fusion Estonian food, Old Hansa for medieval Estonian food. Go to Vene Street for restaurants.

Currency: 1 EEK (Estonia Krooni) = 4.35 INR

The Personal Telegraph