The bear enigma

I've had a good long walk around this fascinating city. Uus and Aia are strange streets that feature a few old buildings but also shops, carparks, apartments and the general small stuff found almost everywhere in the world.

Kanutiaed is one of a number of stretches of tranquil parkland dotted around the edge of town. Here there is a tramp asleep, a couple of giggly schoolgirls, a young mum with her baby in a pram. I sit for a while on a bench and watch the shuttle buses come and go.

Shortly I catch one back to the Port of Tallinn. Here lies an enigma. Dominating the skyline, but not encroaching on the view of the town, is a sculpture of a bear. Notices I saw as we passed by on the bus, seem to indicate that this is the site of an Historical Theme Park, yet I've been unable to find any definitive information about it. From its location, I suspect the building was originally the Tallinn City Concert Hall.

Suur Kloostri

I rest briefly in a quiet park, Tornideväljak before returning back towards the walls along Suur Kloostri.

Tammsaare Park

We go past the edge of Tammsaare Park which was established in 1948 on a former bombsite, and used by many Tallinners to go in and out of the Old Town. It was originally called Stalin Square but was renamed in 1978 in memory of the novelist Anton Tammsaare.

Berzelii Park

We drive past Berzelii Park, which in the hot summer of 1951, was the scene of the so called Berzelii Riots, when bored, and often drunk young people gathered in the park night after night. The continuing riots escalated and reached their peak on the night of August 26, when there was a stand off between 3000 young people and policemen called in from five different cites, including military police.

Now it looks so peaceful.

Djurgården

Djurgården, the island which we are circumnavigating, was until the end of the 18th century a royal hunting park. Now it is the green lung of the city, a place where one can spend the day on the grass with a picnic basket, walk the dog, or visit a museum. The houses along the shore used to be weekend cabins during the 18th and 19th century. Today these homes are permanent residences.