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Tallinn Trip – Vana Villem Pub

The first evening’s meal was at Vana Villem. We had the usual system that I chose three places that seemed excellent (and that I wanted to go to) and everyone then chooses between them. It’s a win-win, I get what I want and everyone gets a classy dining experience. This is really my benevolent dictator style of leadership, like a king giving his subjects some appearance of choice. This option was only a ten minute walk from the hotel and had a traditional feel to it, so proved the most popular.

It was certainly atmospheric. It wasn’t clear whether this was a modern recreation or an old building, we suspected the former.

There were some Oktoberfest options and I went for two of the German food choices. I didn’t feel that I needed a litre of German beer.

The beer selection was more substantial that I had expected. This is the Abstraction from Tanker Brewery, a fruity, juicy and hoppy beer. I couldn’t identify what sort of fruit it was, my palate isn’t that advanced.

I went for two starters from the German menu, sausage soup with sour cream and bread. It had some depth to it, it was hot and the flavours were pleasant.

And the second starter, potato salad with a sausage, which was rather less meaty than perhaps would have been ideal, but the salad was creamy.

Some of the decorative features.

The dessert of chocolate fondant worked nicely, it was runny inside and the pomegranate seeds added texture. The drink is Sauna Session from Tanker Brewery, apparently it was birchy (auto-correct is trying desperately to change that to bitchy) but I don’t know birch tastes or smells like. It had a slight herbal and medicinal edge to the beer.

The payment process was smooth and the waitress was able to remember what we’d all had to put together five different receipts, quite a forensic achievement. I hadn’t expected this, but it transpired to be something that was commonplace in Tallinn, I was suitably impressed as I can imagine I would have wilted at such a request at the end of a meal. Bev only had a few minor complaints and Susanna sent her main course back so it didn’t get cold whilst she had her starters, but Ross, Steve and I experienced no issues. To be honest, we are the three unsung heroes when ordering food, like culinary commandos trying to deliver a smooth and timely dining experience for all.

October 19, 2024
Tallinn Trip – Ukraine and Estonia

Beautiful. The Ukrainian and Estonian flags. I’m not really too misty-eyed about flags, but these have such a deeper meaning that they seemed quite dramatic despite being still.

October 17, 2024
Tallinn Trip – Ragu Cafe

We decided to walk to the centre of Tallinn, which I thought was by far the most sensible thing to do and it only took around 35 minutes. Those with excessive amounts of luggage dropped it off at the hotel, but Susanna needed food urgently. There were limited options very near to the hotel, but Ragu Cafe was one of them, even though its Google Review score was lower than I would usually risk.

The excitement builds, Bev is positively bouncing up and down as the photo shows.

Generic lager and generic biscuits, this wasn’t really fine dining. On Saku, this historic brewery met its end as an independent operation when Carlsberg bought it in 2008. As a beer it’s inoffensive, but I was hoping for more craft beer delights during the week. The others had a variety of dishes, I think that the consensus was that the basic requirements were met, but there wasn’t much going above and beyond. However, the service was friendly, engaging and efficient, so it met the demands Susanna had made that she needed to be fed. We then shuffled off to the Old Town to experience some culture, whilst I was pleased that I had had my first beer in Estonia.

October 16, 2024
Tallinn Trip – Ryanair (London Stansted – Tallinn)

We were allocated the gate that was the furthest possible to walk from the main terminal and I was surprised when we got there that the two decadent members of the party who had paid for priority boarding decided that they would stand in the non-priority queue.

They soon moved when they realised that they were standing with the hoi polloi. There was the usual excitement of watching the Ryanair staff measuring bags and customers getting annoyed that they were being surcharged for carrying their huge bags on. Steve, Ross and I ended up standing next to Bev and Susanna in the queue to board, so their priority boarding experience was short-lived.

Ready to board.

The aircraft was EI-DPH, a 17 year old Boeing 737.

The flight was delightful as I had three seats to myself. Given my slight lack of sleep, this made the journey rather more enjoyable. The legroom isn’t great, but, in fairness to Ryanair, it’s pretty much the same as British Airways. Ryanair seats don’t recline, which is by far the most sensible state of affairs in my view, and the extra space meant I didn’t have to fit my bag in by my feet.

I fell asleep and woke up near to Tallinn. This was a perfect flight by all accounts, it was more expensive than my usual Ryanair purchases as it cost around £30, but everything went as it should have done and we arrived on time.

Woooooo!!

Steve was excited to see this. Now we just had to work out how to get to the city centre. Susanna wanted a private taxi, Bev wanted a bus, I wanted to walk, and Steve and Ross were happy any which way.

October 16, 2024
Tallinn Trip – Camden Bar and Kitchen

As I get £18 discount on my meal here with Priority Pass, it was where everyone agreed to meet. Well, it’s where I said to meet, but that’s the same thing.

Ross isn’t being anti-social, we had just moved to a bigger table and he was waiting for his food to arrive at the one he had ordered to. Bev was in good form, she didn’t need accessibility assistance on this trip. Steve rather enjoyed pushing her around last time in her wheelchair as it meant he got through everywhere faster in the airport.

Latte. Rich, tasty and only lacking in the JD Wetherspoon option of having free refills. The ordering process here is a little convoluted, Ross ordered on-line and found it easy, I had to order at the bar and found it easy although time-consuming, Susanna ordered at the bar and found it easy, Steve ordered at the bar and had a long wait, whilst Bev ordered on-line and spent five minutes moaning about how difficult it was. It boded well for the week, although when Bev is around the air often hangs thick with the scent of indecision and confusion.

This is the small breakfast and I heard that one customer was annoyed they wouldn’t make substitutions to his breakfast in the way that chains such as JD Wetherspoons might. I feel the pain for the restaurant, I’ve heard swaps from customers in other places such as “no beans, add a couple of sausages” or “no tomato, add two rashers of bacon” which don’t seem entirely in keeping with a smooth stock control system and ease of service. I can’t say that I’m too enthused by mushrooms and I would have rather have the bacon burnt a bit more, but it’s not a bad little arrangement here. The service time was reasonable, the staff were friendly, the venue was clean and Bev didn’t complain too much.

October 15, 2024
Tallinn Trip – Getting to the Airport

I fear that I’ve resigned myself to knowing I’ll never catch up on this blog, as I type slower than I travel. The poor neglected blog languishing in the digital dust as my tapping away is too pedestrian, it’s all a bit sub-optimal. Anyway, let’s see how far we can go on the group trip to Tallinn with Steve, Susanna, Bev, Ross and myself. I’ve skipped my Belfast trip, maybe I’ll one day get back to it.

My expedition started with Liam driving me to Stansted Airport on Sunday evening, he’s very good like that. I’m hoping Liam thinks I just really enjoy his company rather than his chauffeuring services, although both of course are true.

Once more unto the breach…..

I know that standing in Stansted’s mid-stay car park at midnight might not sound appealing, but it means travel beckons, so it becomes just a little ethereal.

I ponder who has tagged this sign. They’ve come all the way to Stansted Airport mid-stay car park to do that. It feels just a little desperate, it’s not exactly Banksy is it?

All aboard the midnight express to Stansted’s terminal building.

And safely in the coach station for three hours. I had crisps, I had water and I was using one of the few power points available, what more could I really want from life? Sleep maybe, but who needs such luxuries really?

On the bright side, my wait wasn’t substantial, the flight was the first of the day.

The security lines opened at 03:00. There was a rather tumultuous rush to get through, although I’m not sure where any of the passengers thought they’d be getting in such a hurry. Airports seem to bring out extremes in people, some remain placid and care-free, others are barging around with an unseemly haste.

This is what happens when you get through in a hurry. Nothing is open and there are around 500 seats available.

The calm before the daily Stansted storm.

Ross arrived soon after and I could see on friend finder that Steve, Susanna and Bev weren’t far away. It was time for the new adventure to begin, a week of gossip, history, craft beer and food. How lovely.

October 15, 2024
Katowice Trip – Katowice to Krakow and Coming Home

I have something of a backlog of posts, once again, and I still haven’t excited and delighted my two loyal blog readers about my trip to Belfast, let alone the group trip to Tallinn last week. So, I’ll speed things up somewhat. And, not wishing to panic my collection of readers, but there will be a lot of posts about Tallinn.

I left the hotel early to get the train from Katowice railway station. I’ve written about this many times before, so I needn’t dwell.

Mine was the 09:38 service to Krakow.

A beautiful train, marking 20 years since Poland joined the European Union. It wasn’t though the train that I’d be going on.

A view of the railway station, something I had time to do as my train was running ten minutes late. I didn’t understand the station announcement, but I knew the train must have been delayed as there were some sighs and annoyed faces when the Polish announcement was being made.

Here we go, the arrival of the train!

I’ve edited out the passenger, but I loved the cat who was very well behaved and kept poking her head out to see what was happening. I had a reserved seat, something which works on Polish trains in a way that it completely fails on British trains.

Safely into Krakow.

The main square. I’ve explored Krakow many times before and I only had an hour here so I decided not to do anything too fancy. I was flying back from Krakow rather than Katowice as it was much cheaper.

Back at the railway station after my perambulation around the city centre. It was a little early for a beer (beers early in the day are only allowed on trains and in airports, that’s the rule I’ve set myself), so I thought a nice walk around Krakow would be in order.

And safely at Krakow Airport after a short train journey. I had bought a train ticket on-line, one elderly English couple were cut some slack by the ticket inspectors and they sold them a ticket even though they could have fined the pair.

There we go, a short and sweet post. “Brevity is the soul of wit” as Shakespeare said…..

October 14, 2024
Katowice Trip – Rozbark Narrow Gauge Railway

There were a few clues dotted around the place which suggested that there used to be a narrow gauge railway around Rozbark, there’s little that gets past my detective mind. Given the industrial nature of Silesia, they were early to this and had horse-drawn tracks set up in the eighteenth century. Before the standardisation of tracks, the network of narrow gauge railways became quite extensive in the region and they became very profitable in the late nineteenth century.

The start of the walk (or the bit of the walk that I did), and unfortunately, there was a lot of rubbish dotted around the area. The development of the railways in this region became more complex after the First World War, as the new Polish state built lots of new bits for their country, whilst the Germans didn’t do much with their bit. The Polish system had to ensure they stayed within their boundaries, although a small section went through Germany, although with no stops.

The former track route, running parallel or next to the road.

Walking towards Bytom. The Soviets caused massive damage here during their occupation and withdrawal in the Second World War, their soldiers ransacked property, burnt down buildings out of malice and it’s evident from the local histories that the Poles haven’t forgotten this.

Very peaceful. Unfortunately, the period in the late 1990s saw massive theft along these lines with track, track bed and other items being plundered and ransacked. The damage done so recently has plagued the economic reconstruction of the area, but the recent investment in the area has improved matters a little.

Makes for a pleasant walk.

The views of Bytom from the railway bridge, looking both ways.

The route of the railway goes on. I only walked for around a mile of the route, but I suspect a longer network of trails will appear in the future, perhaps all better signed with more interpretation boards. Some of the network remains and is the oldest section of narrow gauge railway in the world that is still in operation.

October 14, 2024
Katowice Trip – Ibis Budget Katowice

I’ve visited this hotel many times before, and have written about it many times before, and it’s always one of my favourite accommodation options in Poland. The staff are friendly, the rooms are clean, it’s peaceful, the breakfast is reliably decent, the prices are low and it’s just relaxing. This time, the hotel kindly upgraded me to the largest room they have, something I know because I had a little look on the fire escape plan, which for the low price is entirely functional for my needs.

I accept it’s not the most beautiful or luxurious room going, indeed some visitors have said they thought they were in prison, but I don’t have very decadent standards. My friend Richard is only happy if the hotel provides blueberries hand-picked by Finnish monks which are left in a bowl made from wood sourced in the Falkland Islands, placed next to a collection of towels made in the shape of swans. I’m generally happy with a door and a bed. Incidentally, this will be a handy way of seeing if Richard is reading this blog, as that might be my third loyal blog reader!

I won’t witter on here about the generalities of the hotel, as I did that on my last stay here in 2022.

Kettles don’t come as standard in Ibis Budget rooms, so I appreciated this kind gesture. They also provided sachets of honey with the tea which is something that I’m not sure I recall many other Accor hotels doing.

The obligatory breakfast photos from across my three night stay. It’s not exactly a gastronomical treat, but it is reliably filling and contains a range of pickled items. Sometimes the simplest of things, especially if they’re keenly priced, are the best. Coffee, orange juice, cold meats, something pickled, rolls and maybe even some fruit to shock and awe my body.

You can choose to not have your room cleaned and you get 100 Accor points each day for this. I went for this, and the allocation of the 200 points to my account was done same day, it’s sometimes something that I have to contact the hotel about after the trip. But Polish efficiency rarely fails them. There’s a Novotel which is literally next to the Ibis Budget and I’ve never made it there, partly because this hotel just feels the better value.

October 14, 2024
Katowice Trip – Rozbark Promenada

Rozbark (or Rossberg when it was German) grew quickly in the late nineteenth century and early twentieth century when the mining industry suddenly expanded quickly, with the population of the town growing from 4,000 in 1880 to 24,000 by 1927. It was a wealthy border town, but it came to be part of Poland after the Second World War and soon after became part of Bytom. I couldn’t quite get to the bottom of what was happening with this street, it says in some places that the economy collapsed after the Second World war, leading to properties being abandoned, whereas other sources suggest many buildings were taken out of action due to subsidence from the mining. These are some grand properties, or at least they were, with a fair chunk of the buildings down the street needing substantial repair. However, some properties are in the process of being repaired and restored in what is now effectively a suburb of Bytom. The area felt like somewhere hit by economic decline, the demise of the coal mining industry was a huge challenge to Bytom and Rozbark.

It comes to something when the wall painting is in far better condition than the building that it’s on. There were a lot of similar images in the area relating to the local football club, Polonia Bytom.

October 11, 2024