Day 7, Tallinn
We had an active start to day 7 of our trip. Jerry joined a local cycling group ride and did a 30 mile ride with them while I headed to the gym. After working out we had some massages scheduled. These massages were right on time as both of us had tight and sore backs from Monday’s long ride and working on each other was just not cutting it. I know, I know, I’m a licensed massage therapist, but alas, I needed some professional help also.
After our massages we decided to negate any positive effects we might have gained and hopped right back on our bicycles to explore the western side of Estonia a bit. We set out to the Estonian Open-Air Museum. I was very impressed with the amount and quality of pedestrian/bicycle paths all over the city, this really made it feel safer to ride around. I just can’t trust these European drivers. We came across a beach with a very low tide on our way to the museum and I so wanted to get my feet in the water and just walk around but 1) we didn’t bring a towel and I figured it could get messy with the sand and bike (I’m kinda OCD about things like that) and 2) I remembered the water must be really cold because it was still chilly outside...[JP note: and close to the arctic circle] so we kept on going. 
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| The old windmill |
The museum was a life-size reconstruction of an 18th century rural fishing village.We had the opportunity to actually go inside some of these ridiculously old buildings which had the indoors set up as a family living there in the 18th century would of had it set up. They had a windmill there as well and we were able to go inside and get an idea of how things worked in there. It was pretty amazing. It made me think of how excited (and smart) the first person to come up with the windmill idea must have been once they realized they could harness wind to grind their wheat. The machinery inside was pretty surreal, all made out of wood-pulleys, levers, cranks, gears, cogs, etc… I guess I never imagined that wood could work in many of these ways so this was very surprising and awesome (awe-inspiring indeed) to me.
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| Inside the windmill. This was the first floor and the windmill had a total of 3 floors with equal amounts of infrastructure. |
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| Big wooden swing and yes, we were allowed to swing on it. I realized we were swinging on it incorrectly when I later saw other people standing on the part we were sitting on and holding on the the bar above. |
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| A sample layout of a home in the 18th century. This home had a total of 3 rooms: the bedroom, the kitchen and a storage room. |
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| A side of mashed potatoes and barley with pickles, tomato, bacon, and sour cream. I couldn’t get enough of this dish. |
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| Potatoes with braised cabbage and veggies, pork, and tomatoes. I was a little put off by how this pork looked so I stayed away from it and just focused on the sausage. |
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| Potatoes with sausage, pickles, and a fresh tomato, cucumber and onion salad. This was just so yummy! |
[JP interlude: After lunch I decided it would be cool if I fell off my bike, so I dropped the chain when we got started riding across the grass and fell over. Nat busted out laughing as she should have, and some locals tried to pretend they didn’t notice. One lady actually covered her mouth like she was yawning, but I’m certain she was hiding a guffaw. It was very funny indeed.]
[JP interlude #2: ever been cycling and ride over some in-ground railroad tracks and thought.. “damn.. what if my tires actually fell into those track grooves just perfectly while I was riding?” I’ve certainly thought that. So here is “what if”. You fall over on the ground. Again. That was also pretty funny, but I immediately assumed a train was coming. One wasn’t. In any event, hilarity again.]
We rode around the town on our road bikes when we got back. Riding on the cobbles was pretty crazy. Jerry took us to the highest point of the town and we were supposed to ride down to the bike shop, which was at a pretty low part of town. Downhill on the cobbles….pretty big deal. My bicycle and entire body were shaking and vibrating so much I couldn’t tell how hard I was holding on to the handles. It was very scary. In this photo I just finished flying down the steepest part of the hill, can’t believe we survived. [JP: it was awesome, actually… I can’t imagine how people race on these. I also can’t believe I didn’t destroy the bike. At one point the bell started ringing on its own, which worked out pretty well to warn people to get out of my way. Then I remembered the bike didn’t HAVE a bell… so I still have no idea what that was…] |
| Lasagnetta with snails in Gorgonzola sauce. [JP: let me emphasize that.. an appetizer that was miniature lasagna with big snails in it. Not an easy dish to pull off. It was supurb] |
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| The best caprese salad I’ve ever had. |
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| Foie gras with cognac seasoned fig and melon in blackberry sauce. |
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| Gratinated lobster with basil and Merlot wine vinegar and marinated cherry tomatoes. |
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| A side of pasta with sauce for the hubby. [JP: they were nonplussed when I asked for a side of pasta with my lobster. Is that so crazy? It’s an italian restaurant] |
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| Black risotto with seafood. The seafood included were mussels and squid and the black sauce is made of squid ink. |
Perullo Press 