{"id":307,"date":"2012-12-24T20:01:25","date_gmt":"2012-12-24T20:01:25","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/blog.traveller.ee\/?p=307"},"modified":"2019-09-16T15:32:01","modified_gmt":"2019-09-16T13:32:01","slug":"top-7-best-souvenirs-to-buy-from-tallinn","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/testblog.traveller.ee\/tallinn\/top-7-best-souvenirs-to-buy-from-tallinn\/","title":{"rendered":"Top 7: Best Souvenirs to Buy from Tallinn"},"content":{"rendered":"

The amounts of people who stop in Tallinn<\/a> to admire the city for a few hours is huge. The cruise port of Tallinn is one of the busiest of Europe during summertime and a busy cruise port of course equals being extremely touristy. You can probably feed everyone in Tallinn with sweet almonds given out on street corners of the Old Town, fill warehouses with the postcards sold next to every church and build an amber mansion reaching skies from the amber found in every souvenir shop you\u2019ll hop into. So how do you navigate between all of this?<\/strong><\/p>\n

Lets figure what isn\u2019t Estonian first<\/strong><\/h2>\n

Since we are abundant with tourists buying things during high season, we sell random stuff because people like them. The Jurassic Park style insects inside of millions of years old fossilized tree resin is fascinating but the yellow stone so conveniently called \u201eBaltic Amber\u201c isn\u2019t really Estonian to be honest. That\u2019s why we call it Baltic \u2013 because we mostly get it from Latvia and Lithuania. The Russian nesting dolls that go into each other (matryoshkas) are fun, therefore sellable, however not Estonian at all.<\/p>\n

Estonian souvenirs have to apply at least one of these seven rules:<\/strong><\/p>\n

1. It\u2019s possible to survive a -20 Celsius winter with it<\/strong><\/h2>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

Image credit:\u00a0K\u00e4rt K\u00fcbarsepp courtesy of Visit Tallinn<\/a><\/em><\/p>\n

An Estonian winter is tough. The Estonians who don\u2019t hibernate (there are serious thoughts of teaching hibernation-skills in middle school) have their own ways of surviving the winter – either start drinking or live in a sauna \u2013 we tend to try to do both at the same time for maximum efficiency.<\/p>\n

For the ones who still sadly have to go to the outdoor-land (the poor sobs who still don\u2019t work via Skype at home), to survive extreme colds every Estonian has a grandma who makes mittens, scarfs and hats.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

A traditional Estonian piece of clothing is therefore woolen, knitted and packed with interesting patterns ranging from flowers to reindeer motifs and beautiful traditional Estonian patterns that have been in use for centuries.<\/p>\n

You can find beautiful handicraft sweaters, mittens and socks as long as you try hard enough. There are quite a bit of shops on Pikk street, find the sign that says \u201eEesti K\u00e4sit\u00f6\u00f6<\/a>\u201c for authentic stuff. You can also try \u201eEesti Esindus<\/a>\u201c on Viru steet for different handicrafts.<\/p>\n

2. It is simple and reserved<\/strong><\/h2>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

Estonians for some reason love linen. It\u2019s simple and reserved (read: gray and dull) like the Estonian peasants used to be. Linen was the unavoidable protest against the lavishness of the nobility, since there just were no other options for the simple folks. Nowadays it plays a huge role in the traditional Estonian clothing. We make everything from it – you can find a lot of uncomfortable hats, pants and shirts. Exactly like the peasants liked it!<\/p>\n

So once again, Pikk street with \u201eEesti K\u00e4sit\u00f6\u00f6<\/a>\u201c will help you out, there are also shops specifically focusing on linen around Pikk street.<\/p>\n

3. It\u2019s juniper<\/strong><\/h2>\n

\"\"<\/em><\/p>\n

Junipers, junipers \u2013 they are small and cute, smell amazing, their name sounds funny and adorable in Estonian (try saying \u201ekadakas\u201c a few times without laughing from the cuteness). Even though we don\u2019t have that many juniper trees central Estonia, there\u2019s plenty on the islands and coastal areas. We use the berries as spices and tell ourselves they are healthy, therefore should be eaten regardless of the terrible taste.<\/p>\n

Besides that we constantly try to cut them down to make spoons, table-mats and other kitchen equipment, but they just keep on growing back. Your kitchen will smell excellent after putting a hot pot on a juniper trivet!<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

There is a really cute and small shop in the Master’s Courtyard that is focused on woodcraft. The shop is called \u201ePuu ja Putuka Pood\u201c which translates to \u201eWood and Bug Shop\u201c \u2013 cute!<\/p>\n

4. It was made right in front of you<\/strong><\/h2>\n
\"\"<\/a>

Image credit:\u00a0Mari Kadanik Visit Tallinn<\/a><\/em><\/p><\/div>\n

Handicrafts \u2013 the beauty of it is it\u2019s all different and mostly pointless (read: decorative) . Tallinn\u2019s Old Town is filled with little secret gardens, pathways and unnoticeable streets where craftsmen spend their hours blowing glass, making pottery or hats, knitwear or almost whatever your mind can come up with. Keep your eyes open and find some of Tallinn\u2019s masters showing their craft.<\/p>\n

Find Katariina k\u00e4ik<\/a> and Meistrite hoov<\/a> amazing handicrafts. Just hop into small cellars and little workshops to see what are they making. You can ask the artists questions and leave with a beautiful piece. The price doesn\u2019t really differ from the things just sold in shops as well.<\/p>\n

5. It\u2019s made by Kalev<\/strong><\/h2>\n

\"Kalev<\/a>Image credit: Kalev<\/a><\/em><\/p>\n

Kalev is the biggest candy and chocolate maker of Estonia. Even though the company was bought by Norwegian conglomerate a few years ago the chocolate remained the same (except for the packaging \u2013 only try to mention the packaging to an Estonian and they\u2019ll go into a furious ramble about simpler times!).<\/p>\n

Kalev, at one point, was also the only company in the whole Soviet Union that made bubble gum (but only white bubble gum, colored gum was considered a capitalist item, obviously).<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Nowadays Kalev is loved by young and old, their candies and chocolates come in different sizes, shapes and tastes.<\/p>\n

You can find the chocolate in most souvenir stores, but it\u2019s definitely cheaper in normal grocery shops. If a shop doesn\u2019t have Kalev, that shop shouldn\u2019t exist in the first place. Definitely try Kalev\u2019s white chocolate with blueberries \u2013 it\u2019s heaven!<\/p>\n

6. It\u2019s called Vana Tallinn<\/strong><\/h2>\n

\"\"Image credit: liinetx<\/a><\/em><\/p>\n

Even though the name indicates centuries of tradition (Vana Tallinn is Estonian for Old Tallinn) we started making Vana Tallinn only half a century ago in 1960.<\/p>\n

During the Soviet times, Vana Tallinn was a celebratory drink, for some reason mostly enjoyed together with champagne.\u00a0This genius mix (read: bad idea) was called \u201eHammer and sickle\u201c, because that\u2019s what it does, hits you on the head and sweeps you off your feet.<\/span><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Vana Tallinn has tens of different spices, you can put it into tea, coffee or anything your mind comes up with and enjoy! There are many different versions varying mainly in alcohol content from 40% to 50%. There are also some special editions and a cream liqueur version available.<\/p>\n

Nowadays this sweet liqueur has become the drink we take with us if we visit friends in other countries. Finding it is pretty easy: it\u2019s in every shop you go to. Souvenir stores have them but the prices are more reasonable in a food or an alcohol store. Keep in mind you can buy alcohol from 10AM-10PM, so do your shopping in that time frame.
\nThe most known Estonian drink has its own website: Vana Tallinn<\/a><\/p>\n

7. It\u2019s weird and soviet<\/strong><\/h2>\n

\"\"<\/a>Image credit: Kalev K\u00fclaase<\/em><\/p>\n

For those looking for something different and odd \u2013 visit the Balti Jaam train station flee market<\/a>. This is our Diagon Alley. If there\u2019s something you need \u2013 you can find it there!<\/p>\n

From normal fruit and vegetables, clothes and shoes to old Soviet memorabilia and weird rusty tools and generally pointless things with indeterminable uses, it\u2019s here.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Keep in mind haggling is not common in Estonia and the shopkeepers usually aren\u2019t fluent English speakers as well.<\/p>\n

The market is open every day 10-19, but the people with the awesome crazy things usually leave a bit earlier. Get there before 4PM just to be sure and follow the signs to the second floor and look for “Antiik” (“Antiques” but it’s still mostly Soviet stuff just that “antiques” makes it sound a bit more legit). Don’t be put off by the modern look of the market. Balti Jaam has gone through a little pit of a face lift but you can’t root out all the strangeness. Some dodgy stalls with no telling what they sell still persist behind the new looking market. Check them out!<\/p>\n

Hopefully this will sway you away from the amber and magnets and help you find real Estonian things. Good luck!<\/strong><\/p>\n

For a complete guide of what to do and see in Tallinn read this post<\/a>.<\/strong><\/p>\n

Cover photo courtesy of Visit Tallinn\u00a0<\/a><\/em><\/p>\n<\/div>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The amounts of people who stop in Tallinn to admire the city for a few hours is huge. The cruise port of Tallinn is one of the busiest of Europe during summertime and a busy cruise port of course equals being extremely touristy. You can probably feed everyone in Tallinn with sweet almonds given out …<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4,"featured_media":2495,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[16,124],"class_list":["post-307","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-tallinn","tag-estonia","tag-tallinn","entry","clearfix"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/testblog.traveller.ee\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/307","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/testblog.traveller.ee\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/testblog.traveller.ee\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/testblog.traveller.ee\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/4"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/testblog.traveller.ee\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=307"}],"version-history":[{"count":22,"href":"https:\/\/testblog.traveller.ee\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/307\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":3539,"href":"https:\/\/testblog.traveller.ee\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/307\/revisions\/3539"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/testblog.traveller.ee\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2495"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/testblog.traveller.ee\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=307"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/testblog.traveller.ee\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=307"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/testblog.traveller.ee\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=307"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}