Get Rooted #4 – Spring has (finally) Arrived! 

The weather in Estonia can only be described as unpredictable. Just when I thought we were reaching Spring in April, the next day it was snowing! But this Friday I woke up to a beautiful, cloud-free 28 degrees which lasted for an entire weekend. With my best friend visiting, we decided to make the most of the beautiful weather and soak up as much sun as we could.

After getting a nice tan on my balcony on a Friday morning, I decided to go for a run on the Pirita Promenade which overlooks the shoreline. The 2km path was full of bikers, rollerbladers and runners, and takes you straight to the Pirita beach and yacht club. The beach was packed, full of people swimming, playing volleyball, tanning or happily napping (like me!). It was pretty windy, and there were tons of sailboats, windsurfers and paddle boards. Looking forward to renting some of those next time the weather is this nice!

The old town can be described as Patio Season – practically every restaurant, cafe and even some bars had chairs set up outside. I’ve never seen the old town so busy, not only with Estonians but full of tourists a well. The best part was that none of the places we went to were ever too full for us. My best friend, Caroline, and I took full advantage of this and enjoyed a wonderful restaurant and pub crawl.

Telliskivi was full of life – the streets were lined with people playing ping pong, day drinking, patio dining and shopping at the outdoor markets. Balti Jaama market, which was reconstructed this winter, finally opened and was way bigger than I imagined. I guess I never really knew what they were building… what I thought was going to be a big grocery store actually turned out to be a uniquely designed building with pop up cafes, restaurants, stores, fresh market outside and a few grocery stores (so I was sort of right). Caroline and I grabbed some strawberries and cider, and enjoyed a beautiful picnic in a nearby park.

Tallinn seems like a completely new city, all the parks and trees have turned vibrant green, everyone is outside as much as they can and the sun never seems to set (I swear it’s up until 11pm and rises again at 4am). With one month left in Estonia, I am taking a full advantage of this summer weather. Let’s hope I can manage to get a tan by the time I leave.

Cheers,
Jackie

Photos: Jackie Muru & Marek Metslaid

Editor: Kärt Mättikas