Tallinn

To the north of Europe, at the tip of the Baltic sea, just short of Russia and Finland

lies a city, mystical and mesmeric, with sights and sounds from the medieval land

So, making the most of our Nordic vacation, we took a day cruise from Helsinki

Landing three windy hours later, with about five hours in hand to explore that city

Having been to a few west European cities, we weren’t hoping for anything novel

A lively square, a famous church, and a big park, all linked via metro for easy travel

Missing the scaffolded entrance a few times, we tumbled into the old town of Tallinn

Where each stone was preserved, as though time had forgotten to be that cold djinn

Our first stop was the old city wall, that promised clear views treading up to the top

And stories of the cold war and WWII with the underground passages for a backdrop

Tall spires, watchtowers and gothic houses set in a unique ‘east meets west’ feature

Awed us, as we slipped through the cobbled lanes, encased by amazing architecture

Then under candlelight, we chose our soup and pie before settling on a tavern table

enjoying the confusion of the dark setting where no cutlery for soup was acceptable

Around a corner, we bumped into an ersatz wooden cart just outside a white building,

where a beaming lady in traditional attire offered us delicious goodies for savoring

Their trick worked and we were soon inside the Olde Hansa, a grand gothic granary

today serving food and drinks relished by the Hanseatic merchants of the 15^th century

We stood in disbelief as everything we saw gave a peek into the medieval precedents

From murals and furniture to cutlery and tapestries and even the musical instruments

Live minstrels enthralled us with old songs about love, miracles, saints, and dragons

And an elegantly costumed staff served us under a candle, the only option for vegans

The flickering golden light spellbound me into conjuring my own fantasy escapade

I was almost sure of finding a unicorn waiting outside, to take me on an aerial raid

But time flew instead, and those five hours we had had had slipped through quickly

Leaving us longing for a little longer experience of this beautiful Baltic capital city