We visit Tallinn at least twice a year, but most times, we walk the familiar routes. This time, we agreed to do something different, at least partially.
I neglected to mention earlier that when we visited Zoya, she told us that her village was a part of the Soviet Union for eleven years after the WWII: the Soviet Union leased a big chunk of land for it’s Navy base, and there were actual border control crossing points, and when a passenger train had to pass through this territory, the windows would be boarded for that stretch. She also explained how pretty much everything had to be restored when the Soviet Union abandoned the lease. In Tallinn, Boris wanted to explore one area which he said was closed when he was a child, for a similar reason: it was a Soviet navy base. That being said, when we disembarked, we turned in a direction opposite to how we normally walk from the terminal to the city center.
St. Barbara is the patron saint of miners, and there is a local legend about three miners who were led out of the mine by St. Barbara, and how one of them founded this church. The first church on that site dates back to the 14th century, but it has undergone continuous evolution and renovation, with subsequent rebuilding. The miners were exposed to multiple risks, including losing their way in the mines, being suffocated, falling into the cracks, and so on. And even without accidents, their health would deteriorate rapidly due to exposure to hazardous gases, high moisture, insufficient light, and other factors. The miners worked every day except Sunday, with no time off. It would take them about an hour and a half to get down to the mine, then they worked for six or seven hours, and it took them another hour and a half to get on the surface. With a life like this, they definitely needed the church full of light!
Traces of 14th century frescos on the wallsA tw0-key lock15th-century iron storage door“A reminder to be uncorruptable” 🙂 A picture of King Wenceslaus II giving the royal mining code Ius regale montanorum to the miners. This was a legal document that specified all administrative as well as technical terms and conditions necessary for the operation of mines.The Bible of Martin Tishnov, 1489Hand-written Hymn Book, 1470-1530, both Czech and Latin songsThe view from the museum balcony
I didn’t read enough about this place before we went there, so I will need to get back to this post and add more details. Boris visited the Silver Mines of Kutna Hora about fifteen years ago, and he wanted me to see it as well, so we booked an English tour and arranged the ride. At the end of the day, everything was timed in the best possible way, but as I said, we had to use a taxi.
Kutna Hora is a Medieval Czech town which prospered due to the outstanding deposits of the silver ore, relatively close to the surface. At some point, about one-third of the all Europaen silver was mined at Kutna Hora. The mining stopped in the 17th century when the silver ore deposits were exhausted, and the mines were abandoned, but in the 1960s, they accidentally found an abandoned mine, which is now used as a tourist attraction.
As one can imagine, it’s difficult to take pictures inside the mine :), there are stretches when you can only move forward sidewise, and there are stretches where you have to bend almost in half (the height is a little bit over a meter). Just a little bit I’ve taken, in the mine itself, and in the museum.
An original 15th-century oil lamp used by the miners. They could not use candles because they would consume too much oxygen. Such a lamp would provide very little light, and if it did go down, a miner would have to work in complete darkness until the end of the shift.Ore basket and other instrumentsA model of the mineThe tour guide leads us to the entry pointThe most spacious part of the mine. We are dressed in protective clothes similar to what the medieval miners used. They didn’t have any head protection, though, until much later when the leather caps were introduced – still a very minor protection, but more than nothing.That’s me after we got out 🙂
I will post more pictures from Kutna Hora tomorrow!
Time in Prague was 80% professional, and just a little bit of walking around. The meetup was fun because I had an opportunity to present my Security talk (which is rarely accepted), and Boris gave his temporal aggregates talk, which he would never give otherwise. Meetup pictures:
City pictures:
The neogogthic fountainThe 13th centure churchThe motorized butterflies
We spent the last two days in Prague. My good friend and colleague from Prague called for potential presenters for the Prague Postgres User Group, and I figured out I can do it as a part of my vacation, because how can I stay away from Postgres for ten days! Looked like it all would work well, and we could spend one extra day in Prague. Boris suggested we could go to the Kutna Hora to see the Silver Mines – he visited it many years ago, and the tripp was planned. When it turned out that the meetup needed one more speaker, I suggested that Boris give a talk as well, so it became even better!
Everything worked as expected, except that somehow I developed a very brief but intense cold, just for one day, when I needed it the least!
I booked a suite in Charles Bridge Palace Hotel through AAPR. I started using their booking system a couple of years ago (yes, I am eligible for their benefits for several years) and realized I can find some really good deals even in Tallinn! That was yet another “boutique” hotel in my life, and the “palace” part was very pronounced 🙂
The hotel entranceThe ground floor hallwayThe overpass connects different parts of the buildingThe sitting room of our suiteThe window view – daytimeThe window view – eveningThe third floor hallway (by our suite)The only problem with breakfast was that it opened very late – at 7:30. Usually, we are among the first for breakfast, and there is no rush around the buffet, but in this hotel, half of the guests were down there by the opening time.
We used Welcome Pickup for all our transportation because of a lack of time, even though the public transportation in Prague is more than decent. The only reason I mention it now is that our driver provided us with a lot of solicited and unsolicited information, and one of the things he was talking about was the closeness of the Czechs and Germans, specifically regarding their respective cousins. Overall, I had a better impression of the Czech cousin this time around, but Boris and I agree on the German aspect: very good meat dishes and very bad coffee 🙂 (well, you can say “not strong enough”, but honestly, even cappuccino was somehow “mild”)
Today, I did something I have never done before. My friend Zoya invited us to the stable, and we walked with the horses, and then tried to ride.
Here I am combing the tail of the minihorse named Romeo. The purpose of taking this picture was to show my granddaughters that the horse doesn’t mind combing, even when I pull hard!
Approximately fifteen minutes into the walk, I realized that walking the horse and pulling him when he demonstrates his temper is worse for my spine than holding my granddaughter’s hand, so I passed the bridle to Boris. Later, Zoya let me walk the bigger horse, so I got another fifteen minutes. I think I stopped both times at the right time, because my back didn’t hurt afterwards. Then, we both tried to ride the horse. I think I could get on her back on the fifth attempt 😂, but I did!
We tried to beat the rain twice today. The first time, we biked for about an hour and had to take the train to the city center, and then biked back home in the rain. I felt cheated because I was very serious about biking more today.
The rain stopped in the afternoon, and it even became sunny, and Boris said he would go for another bike ride, because there would be no more rain for two hours. We went, and we got so rained on, I can’t even describe it! Boris said it was much better than in the morning, because it was an adventure 😂. My biking clothes is still drying!
Gorgeous days of doing nothing! I am still doing all related to my NFP and the 2026 conference, but that’s a fun part of whatever I am doing, and so small compared to my regular workload. All this aside, there can’t be a better way of putting yourself into “doing nothing” than being in Finland during Midsummer, when everyone around is doing nothing, and even most of the museums are closed.
And this sudden warmth, when 66F feels ten degrees warmer than in Chicago, even withth the wind, and even by the water. I would never think about going short-sleeved at 66F in Chicago! But here I was, taking off a light jacket and walking in a t-shirt.
I went to Regatta, knowing there would be a line, and it was, but I stayed in it for less than 15 minutes, got the best cinnamon bun in town, a dark roast coffee, and sat by the water. I wondered about “Beware of birds” on the terrace railing by the tables, but I didn’t wonder for long! It was not even a seagull, but just a sparrow, who swung by my cinnamon bun, which I held in my hand!!! I was just: what’s that soft thing that fell down from nowhere?! And he was gone! Sitting on the railing, showing with all its appearance that he had nothing to do with what had happened! I had to cover my bun with the paper bag flap between bites!
Hettie's Reflections 