Our Last Weekend in Tallinn (22-24 July)

More about Tallinn (the last weekend) (22-24 July) So, after cramming the last few days of project work together, we were left with a final weekend in Tallinn. The leaders had given us lots of ideas of places to go, and things to see, and it was as a group that we had to make some decisions.

Friday

We had been invited to tour the police station on Friday with Maria (one of the leaders), and we took up this invitation. It is a new police building, and they are rightly very proud of the facility and its capacity both now and in the future. Like much of Estonia, it is very modern, and has excellent IT infrastructure to support the work of the local officers. Charlotte (our leader) was first into everything: locked in a cell, wearing a helmet, getting handcuffed! Of course, she was let out of everything, and we had a great tour. Maria presented us with an Estonian police dog mascot which we will pass to future GOLD Estonia teams, and we presented Maria with a few tokens to express our thanks; she has been instrumental in supporting the new training scheme, and given us lots of opportunities while we have been in Estonia. THANK YOU MARIA!

The imposing police station	First, was the holding cells	Charlotte the jail bird
Then joined by the team	Margaret testing out the riot gear	Charlotte in the driver's seat
Then we threw Charlotte in the back of the paddy wagon!	The police fleet	Charlotte being handcuffed
Apparently it is not at all comfortable!	Tallinn Central's area of responsibility	Thank you to Maria for a fantastic visit!

From the police station, we headed back on the bus to Tallinn TV Tower. Built outside of town, it gives a fantastic view of the whole of Tallinn (not just the Old Town) - or it would have if not for the low level cloud and mist. It was still a fascinating trip, with lots of interesting displays about how Estonia has helped shape the modern world, and a great cafe (for cake) at the top. Heading back to the hostel, we were treated to an amazing Mexican feast, and plans to play games and chill.

We learned a lot about Estonia

The view was poor (trying to look towards old town)

But we had fun anyway!

Saturday

Saturday we were going to the zoo, zoo, zoo. Probably not you? But we did, with songs and excitement. There were polar bears, and peacocks, and farmyard animals, and felines, and crocodiles, and monkeys, and parrots, and leopards, and did we mention polar bears?!. Fortunately it was only the farmyard animals who were making a run for freedom, and we enjoyed seeing some many amazing animals up close.

Peacocks	Strike a pose!	Parrots
At home with the animals	Getting close up to the animals	Enjoying the wonderful sunshine

Once we were back at the hostel, we split up for a short while. Margaret took Tamara to the local (only) Catholic Church in Tallinn for the weekly English Mass, while Charlotte, Emily, Alyson & Katie stayed behind to chill and prepare dinner. Once re-united, we headed back into the old town - some for a Ghost Tour, others for a beer in the square. The tour was less of a 'ghost tour', as a myths and legends tour of Tallinn. It was fascinating and we learned a lot (and laughed a lot). After a long day we headed back to the hostel, ready for the next day's adventures.

Off to church

Our amazing tour guide

Looking up as we learned the story of the window

Sunday

Sunday marked our last day in Tallinn, and the end of an amazing trip, and fabulous project. We spent the day doing what we did best - eating! Emily was our tour guide for the day, and had picked out all the best cafes and cake shops in Tallinn. But first, we headed down into the Bastion tunnels for an interesting look at a different part of Tallinn. It was quite cool (in temperature as well as being interesting), and we soon popped out in a different part of Tallin to where we started the tour. Next: onto the food!

We started at an amazing pancake place for Brunch (it lived up to the reputation of a full stomach for under €5!), but then needed to walk it off a bit before the next stop. Numerous coffee and cake shops later, we headed back to the hostel to get ready for dinner. Tonight would be a special dinner as we would be heading to the town square for our last night celebration. The food was the worst we had eaten anywhere on the whole trip! But the atmosphere sitting on the square was quite magical, and we ended up in the pub (on the square) as the night drew in, and the twilight lingered. Throughout our journey we had kept journals for each other, and it was a fantastic place to reflect, share, and laugh. As much as we wanted to stay, we knew that tomorrow would mark the next change in our journey. So, we headed back to the hostel to sleep and pack.

Next on the blog - did we all make it home? (Or to our next destination for the onward travellers)