Don’t get me wrong, it is a lovely place and worth a visit but it comes with the accoutrements of successful tourism, scores of cafes, restaurants, souvenir shops competing for business. As well as pay a euro to climb this tower, 5 euros for that one and so on.

However, wandering off the cobble stones and beyond the old town I came across old wooden houses, quiet and showing their age, but with the sound of families inside.

 

 My biggest surprise was Linnahall.

Initially I saw it as a decaying piece of soviet era ugliness. Clearly in need of either being demolished or renovated and I supported the first option.

But then I read up on it. Originally called the Lenin Palace of Culture and Sports, it was built in the late 70s for the 1980 summer Olympics (the ones the United States boycotted because the Soviets were in Afghanistan, hang on, whose there now?). Unfortunately it was built in a bit of a hurry and not well. It houses a 4000 seat concert hall plus an ice skating ring but has been closed since 2009. I think it’s main problem is that when you are on it, or near it, you cannot understand it and, to truly appreciate it, it must be seen from the air.

For more information on it, go here