The Old Town of Tallin

Recently I decided to go on a longer trip. I chose Tallinn. The Old Town of Tallinn is a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

It is surrounded by well preserved city walls. I entered by one of the gates.

Of course it no longer serves as a protection but in the Middle Ages it was probably quite powerful.

Let's take one of these medieval streets.

It will lead you of course to the Town Hall.

 It is an impressive building with a very tall tower.

The Town Hall is located on the market square. In summer it is of course ful of tourists. In winter it is empty and sad. The weather had one benefit though - you can see the size of the square. In one of the corners I noticed another interesting tower.

I decided to come closer. Oh, it is the St. Olaf's church. Between 1549 and 1625 it was the tallest building in the world!

 The tower's viewing platform offers panoramic views over the Old Town. Unfortunatelly it is closed in winter so I just walked around it.



Then I took another road with nice old buildings.

 At one of the corners, I met a nice chimney-sweep.

 Obviously, you have to rub his nose to bring some Estonian luck back home (hopefully this does mean you have to bring back some Estonian weather).

Just outside the Old Town you will see the National Opera and Ballet house.

I did not unfortunatelly have time to enter. I was in a rush to find the post office before they close it (at 5 PM!) so that I can send some surprise postcards to my postcrossing friends. Uff... I made it.



Elbląg

It is still freezing in Warsaw. Actually not only in Warsaw. To warm myself up a bit, I decided to visit another friend from Postcrossing, Adam. He took me on a trip around Elbląg. Elbląg is a city in Northern Poland. It was founded by the Teutonic knights in the 13th century.

Elbląg was part of the Hanseatic League so it was primarily a city of merchants. In the old days, you could acess the city through the Market Gate.

It used to be a part of the city walls, now it is a stand alone building.

Next to the Market Gate you can meet a young baker who was a hero of the defence od the city in 1521.

After rubbing the young baker's nose (it is supposed to bring luck and good fortune) I moved on to the Old Town.

The best known building in Elbląg is the St. Nicholas Cathedral.

The cathedral is one of the highest churches in Poland (it has 97 meters) so it is quite difficult to catch it in full on one picture.

Outside the Old Town you can also see some interesting things. Like a rainbow coloured tank.

You can even climb on it!

Unfortunately the snow made it difficult for me to see more of the city. Believe me, when the snow is up to your knees it is not easy to move.

Luckily the major of Elbląg decided to put on the streets braziers. What a great idea! But be careful, they are really hot.

If the braziers do not convince you to go to Elbląg now, you can wait for spring. Or simply have a virtual tour from your couch.