Chemist offers sweet cure for broken hearts

An ancient pharmacy in the Estonian capital promises a sweet cure for broken hearts: an almond-based concoction dating from medieval times that claims to ease the pangs of love. Since the Middle Ages a special marzipan prescription has been prepared and sold here for the heart to relieve the pain of love, said Ulle Noodapera, a pharmacist at the Raeapteek drug store which first opened for business in Tallinn s old town square in 1422. It is believed to be Europe s oldest pharmacy, in operation for 588 years. We keep making the special marzipan because the need for such a medicine has continued over the centuries, and patients with symptoms of love pain keep turning up seeking the cure, she added. The ancient recipe is a jealously guarded secret. It s not ordinary marzipan, but one made using a medieval prescription containing 72 percent almonds and 28 percent other ingredients that we will not disclose, Noodapera said.

Tallinn is a Baltic fairytale

I d been told that Tallinn was beautiful but it s hard to get the measure of a place when you touch down at midnight and there s little to see but empty streets and worn-out shop fronts. Why you come here? snorts the taxi driver. Tallinn not good. Oh dear. I m in the Estonian capital on a recommendation and was led to believe all would be charming. I sit back in the seat and sigh, watching my breath almost freeze in front of me. It feels a bit like no-man s land. Then, out of nowhere, the outline of medieval turrets rises above the city s old quarters as arterial roads give way to 13th-century cobbles - the reason people come here becomes obvious. Only 15 minutes from the airport and you re in a Baltic fairytale.

Estonia s Tallinn is like a Petri dish of capitalism

It s amazing what a stretch of water can do. The country of Estonia sits across the Baltic Sea from Sweden and Finland. Yet the struggles of the last couple of generations couldn t be more different on opposite sides of the sea. Traveling to this former Soviet republic spices up any visit to this region especially if you connect with the people and tune into their story about their struggle for freedom. During World War II, Estonia lost its independence to Soviet expansion and sank into a 50-year communist twilight. In an attempt to Russify the country, the Soviets moved out Estonians, moved in Russians, and built massive-scale, cookie-cutter apartment blocks. During my visit here in the 1980s when labor was cheaper than light bulbs an old babushka would actually go through museums with me turning on and off lights as we went from room to room.

The Estonian argument for English translations

The Apollo Solaris bookstore in Tallinn is Estonia s largest bookseller: modern, including a coffee area, and by all appearances much like any good bookshop in the UK or US, with the significant difference that its shelves are filled with books that most of us can never hope to read, because they are written in Estonian. Until someone invents a special pair of translation goggles that will convert every foreign word we look at, English-language readers are stuck on the outside of this particular bookshop experience, left to admire the decor, lounge in the coffee area, but all the while self-conscious and, if you re anything like me, depressed, irkingly aware that these shelves represent an enormous number of intellectual and artistic experiences that you, sad sack, will never have. A small contingent from Dalkey Archive Press visited Apollo a few years ago while scouting for Estonian novels to publish, and met with Nele Hendrikson, the product manager at Apollo, who was somewhat surprised to learn that an English-language publisher had come to Estonia for any reason other than vacation.

Tallinn, the city by the sea

When I took the cruise from Helsinki to Tallinn, I had absolutely no preconceived ideas about the little country called Estonia. All I knew wast that Tallinn was the capital, and the country was on the fringes of the Baltic Sea region. It was only when I began my walk around the Old Town that its beauty began to weave magic on me. Centuries-old streets, Gothic spires, medieval markets, gabled houses and half hidden courtyards juxtaposed with grandiose churches were but a peep into the 1000- year history of the tiny Baltic city. A winding cobble stoned lane led to the enormous Town Hall Square that throbbed with a life of its own. On the edges of the Square were dozens of cafes with tables spilling on to the sidewalk. The imposing 15th century Town Hall with its spire had a weathervane in the shape of the moustachioed mascot of Tallinn, known as Old Toomas.

Medieval Town with Middle Ages Charm

The capital and the premier metropolis of Estonia, the modern city of almost 400 thousand people betrays little of its centuries history as a crossroad of politics, business, trade and cultural centre. Yet this modern city of almost 400,000 people holds much to attract a curious traveler, from imposing squares, monumentalist architecture and fine museums, to the medieval streetscape and stone walls surrounding the Old Town, one of the UNESCO s World Heritage places. Cobblestones, courtyards and craftsmen To taste the atmosphere of Middle Ages a Tallinn s visitor firstly should take a walk down the cobblestone streets, diving into backstreets and common craftsmen workshops. The fascinating houses look like small museums of medieval nevertheless their owners still make there their souvenirs. Tradition-bound, alive and alluring While modern Tallinn leaves imagination exhausts as a usual big European city, the enchanting venues of the Old Town make their visitor taste the atmosphere of the Past, as in a superimposed film.