December holidays in Tallinn
I spent my Christmas 2017 and New Year´s Eve in Tallinn. My first time to be around at this time of the year. I would have traveled home but I deliberately decided to stay and have a taste of Tallinn´s mood during the holidays.
It was a unique experience; most students had traveled to their respective homes and as a result, the school was rather deserted. By extension, Tallinn city was mostly empty as most of its residents had also traveled to the countryside to celebrate the holidays with their loved ones.
However, this does not mean that everything was boring. Tallinn, normally, is not a congested city, so you can imagine how it looks like when almost half of its population is away. My roommate and I took that chance to explore Tallinn by foot. We would normally take long walks in the evenings around the town regardless of the winter cold and darkness, it was more interesting since there were not many people around, this means we had all the pavements and best observation spots in Old Town and other places to ourselves.
My flatmates had also traveled leaving my roommate and myself behind. I had all the kitchen to myself, I took this opportunity to try out different recipes for food as I sharpened my culinary skills. I invited a few friends who were around, and we enjoyed the meals together.
I spent my New Year´s Eve in a party with friends. By this time people had started coming back to town. The city authority had organized mega fireworks display at the center of the town. At the stroke of midnight on December 31st, 2017/ January 1st, 2018 Tallinn city skyline was lit by amazing fireworks not only from the city´s center but from various locations all over town.
After the festivities had ended that’s when I decided to travel home for a while and see my family and friends. As I write this I am in some airport somewhere in the world waiting for my flight. Now you have an idea what to expect if you remain in Tallinn as a student during the holidays. Finally, I want to notify you that Tallinn University has opened its 2018/2019 application cycle. If there is anyone applying or wishing to apply for MA International Relations, you can get in touch with me if you need any assistance such as finding out about the course structure etc. My email is samuelngangira@gmail.com.
Author: Samuel Kamau Ng'ang'ira ( student)