Truemans Travels

And my final Tallinn entry goes to the dancing duck! A happy soul. This was taken in the freedom square and the marquee behind had been set up for a blood bank. Presumably the band is there to attract donors. I have no idea about the duck

Sadly the Patarei Sea Fortress is now closed indefinitely as of early this year. It was originally built as a defence barracks but never used as such. It was however used as a prison, most notoriously by the KGB and blood was said to be still seen splattered on the walls. As a tourist sight, chilling and creepy but alas no more. I'm sure it's about to be turned into swanky holiday lets.

Now we are onto the slightly offbeat things to see around Tallinn Here is the marzipan shop and museum. A small museum in the basement that's free where everything you can see is made of marzipan. Bonkers! It's called Kalev Marzipan Museum which is in the Maiasmokk cafe.

Some more street scenes

The parliament building, yes its pink! Security appears not to be required. There are 101 MPs.

Kompressor is the place to go for pancakes but not happy smiley fast service. The place did not disappoint. The pancakes were huge and the staff really do seem to consider customers an inconvenience

Church spires abound in Tallinn although, according to our guide, Estonians are far more likely to be atheist or agnostic and take part traditions that come from their pagan past.

The medieval city wall

St Catherine's Passage complete with ancient tombstones lining the walls belonging to such esteemed people as the Magistrate of Tallinn, the Brotherhood of Blackheads and the Great Guild

Our apartment in Tallinn. It came with a sauna and the girls even had their own balcony. The apartment is in the Kalamaja district which is 5 minutes from the old city wall and next to a lovely farmers market and fast growing street food scene. It's very much seen as the hipster area. That's us alright!

Streets and alleyways in Tallinn

Town Square, Tallinn

Why Tallinn? Tallinn , the capital of Estonia, takes less than 3 hours to fly here from London. At the historical and medieval heart of the city looks very picturesque, covered in cobbled streets and filled with medieval houses and alleyways. The lower town spreads out from the foot of the hill, still protected by the remnants of a city wall which is the longest preserved medieval city wall in Northern Europe. (Apparently Estonia was reclassified last year from eastern to Northern Europe!) Outside the Medieval centre, gloomy Russian architecture is evident so little incentive to wander too far. The city's old town is well preserved and was assigned UNESCO World Heritage Status in 1997. Whilst the streets around the town square have plenty or tourists in the summer, one or two streets further out are virtually deserted. Other facts learnt on the excellent free walking tour this morning. Estonia has 1.3 million people, c.400k live in Tallinn. This makes Estonia one of the least populated countries in Europe. Earliest settlers date from 20k years ago and over the last few 100 years, the Danes, Germans and Russians have all occupied Estonia at various times. Perhaps this is why they value their independence so much. They've had a few goes at it. The first 'practice' one lasted a day towards the end of the First World War. Their modern independence started in 1991 although Estonians seem to consider their independence started in 1918 with that mini trial run. Other fun facts. They invented Skype In 2005 Estonia became the first nation to hold elections over the Internet In 2014 the first nation to provide E-residency available to anyone in a couple of clicks

Last two from Singapore before I fly home. A panoramic between Sentosa and the shopping centre and a panoramic of the beach next to the hotel

Shopping is the national pastime of Singapore. On an average Sunday afternoon, you have mass head shaving and Stormtroopers too. Who knew? Loved the last one - how to keep kids quiet. Plug them into a screen!

The lovely library room at Capella