two backpacks and a diaper bag

Thursday, March 15th. Tallinn. We had a late start to the day on Wednesday. Arthur woke up a couple of times the night before. But I got used to it. I was thankful to have at least three hours of continuous sleep.

After breakfast, we headed out. For the next two and a half hours, all we did was walk around Old Town. It was negative two outside but we bundled up Arthur well and he was protected in his little cocoon. He slept for the whole walk.

It took us a while to walk around because we had to take it slow on the cobblestones with the stroller. We also had to find alternate routes to stairs going up the Old Wall. The alternate routes actually allowed us to see other parts of town, so that was a nice surprise.

There were not very many people on the streets. At times, the town looked so empty but everything was just still so pretty.

On the way up to the Alexander Nevsky Cathedral, we found ourselves going through Freedom Square. This was the alternate route to the stairs going up Pikk Jalg.

We also went through a garden covered with snow. The light fog made the place look so dreamy.

I just loved the small cobblestone streets with the colorful buildings!

Even though traveling in the winter meant a very cold weather, the town was not overrun with tourists. We were able to take our time and enjoy the walk.

After a couple of stops at various viewpoints, and a walk up and down the small streets in old town, we stopped for a coffee break at Mademoiselle on Pikk street. We got Vana Tallinn coffee and a small dessert. Arthur was still asleep when we got there. But we were in no rush. We sat and talked and slowly enjoyed the cup of coffee. We sat by the window so we were able to people-watch from time to time, but there were not that many people outside.

Arthur woke up at some point, and after a quick feed, we continued to sit. He basically joined in on the conversation.

After a while, we decided to go back home. Our Airbnb is in a great central location that we were able to get back in a short period of time. Arthur was still awake when we put him in the stroller. He was not fussy at all.

Once we got home, we took a nap. Or something that resembled a nap. Then we cooked dinner, gave Arthur a bath, and put him to sleep. And I took another relaxing bath.

Arthur woke up several times throughout the night, but two of those times were memorable.

He hadn’t pooped the whole day, and I was hoping he wasn’t constipated. At 2am, he woke up, and while feeding, he let out a couple of push. It was a diaper blowout. The poop leaked to his back. I had dressed him in two layers, and the back of both layers were soaked.

Usually when I changed his diaper in the middle of the night, it would be quick and I wouldn’t need to turn on the light. But this time, I had to turn on the light to make sure I cleaned him properly. Sean also got up to help. This meant, though, that Arthur would slowly wake up. While changing him he started talking to us. And smiling. And engaging. As a result, after we cleaned him up, he wanted to play, and didn’t want to go back to sleep.

He finally fell asleep at 4am.

At 7am, he woke up again, and once again, while feeding, he pooped. I didn’t think it was a lot, but when I tried to put him down in the crib, I could feel that the back of his pajama was wet. It was another blowout. Both layers were soiled. Again.

I thought that was funny. I was so worried that he hadn’t pooped the whole day, but the poop was just waiting for the right time. Twice.

I couldn’t fall back asleep after that even though I felt so tired. Sean went back to sleep, and at some point, Arthur also went back to sleep.

We didn’t really get out of bed properly until around 10:30. We took our time having breakfast, getting ready, playing with Arthur, making calls, and finally, we were ready to go out just before 1pm.

While we were having breakfast, Arthur calmly entertained himself… and let out another poop. And, amazingly, this poop also leaked! I’m not sure how that happened. He was sitting in his car seat, not lying down, and yet the poop leaked to his back. So funny.

Good thing we made sure we chose Airbnbs with washer and dryer!

Anyway, back to the outing for the day. We only had one plan: Balti Jaama Turg. It is basically an indoor “open” market. It has restaurants, coffee shops, quick bites, supermarket, deli, meat shops, cheese shops, souvenir shops, a second-hand shop, and antique shops section.

The walk there was short and quite pleasant. It was colder today, and the wind was biting, but at least the sun was out.

When we got to Balti Jaama, we started wandering around the outdoor part of the market. Then Arthur started to wake up. So we went to the indoor part.

We decided to sit at a coffee shop to enjoy a cup of a coffee, people-watch, and feed Arthur. We were in no hurry to go anywhere else. We sat at the coffee shop for a while. At some point, we decided to walk around. I carried Arthur while Sean pushed the stroller.

Everything was going at a slow pace. It was super nice and relaxing. Time didn’t quite matter.

I got myself an Uzbek pastry. It had spinach and feta cheese on the inside.

Sean got new shoes and we bought some Angora socks.

While walking around, Arthur started to feel sleepy. We stopped for a moment, placed Arthur in the car seat, and Sean rocked him to sleep. Arthur quickly fell asleep. We placed the car seat back in the stroller and walked around some more.

The antique section was probably my favorite part. There were all kinds of things. From silverware and jewelry to records and propaganda from long ago.

Then I got hungry. So we headed back to Old Town to go find some Estonian food.

We had planned to go to Golden Piglet Inn, but when we got there, we found out that the restaurant was in the basement of Hotel St. Petersbourg. The stairs down were quite narrow and Arthur was sleeping in his stroller.

So we decided to walk down the block further and eat at Von Krahli Aed.

We ordered the Estonian plate for appetizer. Super yummy!!!

I had the rabbit for main course while Sean had the filet mignon.

Everything in this restaurant is organic, including the wine.

According to the server, the Running Duck was named after the actual Indian Runner Ducks that the winery let loose to run around and keep the field free from pests.

Towards the end of the meal, Arthur woke up. I fed him. Then we head home.

Arthur was awake when we placed him back in the stroller and we didn’t have to close up the cocoon. All the way back home Arthur was able to enjoy the cool air. He didn’t have the wind blowing in his face, but he was still exposed to the cold. I thought he would be complaining, but he seemed to enjoy the fresh air. He smiled a couple of times and he was even talking and engaging with us as we walked down the street.

We concluded our day with a bath for Arthur, a home-cooked dinner, and packing for tomorrow’s journey to Riga.

I wished we could stay here longer. The pace of the past two days really made for a relaxing and enjoyable time. Even Arthur wasn’t at all fussy being in the stroller. Although I still couldn’t get more than 3 hours of continuous sleep at night, the slow day-time activities and being out and about really stirred a renewed sense of energy.

I hope we could continue to feel this way for the next leg of our trip.