Tallinn – Small City of Great Contrasts
After an hour of leisurely strolling through the city with tour guide Marius, it is time for a break, not just anywhere but at Maiasmokk. The proud building rises at the fork of Pikk and Pühavaimu (Long Street and Holy Spirit Street). The façade is painted in light ochre, white arches span the windows, and a curved gable crowns the top. As soon as we step inside, a tempting smell of fresh pastries wafts towards us. The oldest café in Tallinn impresses not only with great coffee but also with a delicious cake buffet, handmade chocolate and an incredibly charming atmosphere. The café does full justice to its name «Maiasmokk» – «sweet tooth» in English. Marius asks about its history in the café, whereupon the shop assistant swiftly conjures up the long-retired employee Otto Kubo, who readily tells us about the café in excellent German. My remark that I come from the founder's homeland is greeted with delight and the observation that I must then be from Graubünden. Martin Simon Caviezel had emigrated from tiny Zillis-Reischen to Anklam in Prussia and took over a confectioner's shop there. Four sons followed him and moved on to Riga to start a successful confectioners' company there. Hilarius Caviezel, known as Lorenz, expanded to Tallinn/Reval, where he founded his own confectionery in 1806. In 1864 the business was sold to the German Georg Stude, who built the Maiasmokk café, which has remained hardly changed to this day. In the 20th century it passed from Stude to Kalev, Estonia's largest confectionery company. The successful Caviezels are still remembered in the city of Chur by the Riga Haus.
\With Marius we now head up to Toompea Hill. Lühike jalg (Short Leg) is one of Tallinn's spotless lanes. Anyone climbing up from below will soon break a sweat, but the beautiful, closely packed houses and the picturesque gateways make up for the effort. Along the way, Marius opens up insights that I would never have found on my own. The fact that he is actually a restorer by profession makes the tour even more exciting – everywhere there are stories about all the hidden treasures. The people of Tallinn like to boast of their medieval superlatives, and are very proud of the tower of St Olaf's Church, which at the end of the Middle Ages was supposedly the tallest building in the world, and of the oldest pharmacy in Europe. The city fathers have restored their old town with great love; it was founded in the 13th century by Danish conquerors and later came under the rule of the Teutonic Order, the Swedes and the Tsarist Empire. But it is not only the historic buildings from the Middle Ages, the historic flair and the picturesque old town, which resembles a picture book, that enchant us. It is the exciting contrasts: a city somewhere between Scandinavia and Russia, between the Middle Ages and the digital modern age – which, with very little imagination, also recalls a distant, faraway fairy-tale world.
\We arrive on Toompea Hill right in front of the magnificent Alexander Nevsky Cathedral, a Russian Orthodox church with five XXL onion domes that is not quite as old as it may seem. The golden splendour inside overwhelms any visitor who is not used to it. Directly opposite stands the heart of Toompea Hill, Toompea Castle with its ornate Baroque façade, behind which the Estonian government has its seat. A few steps further on rises the cathedral, a late Gothic building which, unlike the medieval castle, has survived the centuries. The tombs inside, decorated with sculptures and coats of arms, are well worth seeing.
\A tip: on the north side of the castle, somewhat hidden, you will find the Piiskopi viewing platform, from which you have a gigantic view over four brick watchtowers and the Gulf of Finland with its numerous ferries. Of the 16-metre-high city wall and the once 30 watchtowers, the majority has fortunately survived to this day – because time stood still and money was lacking. On the east side of Toompea Hill you come across another viewing platform – Kohtuotsa – with unforgettable views of the medieval old town with the modern district in the background. From here you can see most of the towers and even the tallest, the Tallinn TV Tower.
\Anyone who now thinks they have landed in a lovable, slightly dusty, medieval state in Estonia is greatly mistaken. Estonia guarantees its citizens free access to the internet – by law; the government has been paperless since 2002 – and elections are held by e-voting. In technology, they are far ahead of Switzerland, like almost all of Western Europe.