So we've been to Tallinn in Estonia before and we like the place, so knowing we didn't have any tours and could spend the morning pottering around by ourselves was good news.
Tallinn is the capital of Estonia, and seems to have missed several hundred years of history. It's a "beautifully preserved medieval city of castles, moats, red-capped towers, bastions and gabled, tile-roofed houses". To be honest, I'm not sure we've seen a castle, or a moat. But it wouldn't be hard to imagine a knight in armour with a lance in his hand, galloping down the streets on a horse decked out in the knight's colours.
Tallinn has 18 towers (from an original 25), each with different names. My favourite is Fat Margaret, although we didn't see that tower on this visit. (Look at my blog entry from a couple of years ago if you want to see pictures).
The old town of Tallin has been designated a World Heritage Site, we've designated it charming. Here are the pictures.
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| These are the Viru Gates at the south west of the old town. The 14th century round towers are only a small part of the old gate system here. These towers are now a symbol of the town. |
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| St Alexander Nevsky Cathedral. It seems a little out of place, but the Russion Orthodox chuch is stunning both inside and out |
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| A view over the old town from Toompea Hill |
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| This is Town Hall Square. The Gothic Town Hall to the right dates back to 1404 |
OK, so we didn't walk as much around the old town as much as we have in the past, and we failed spend time investigating the old walls, as we planned. All was not lost though, we did spend some time in the tat shops, which were overflowing with Russian Dolls and Amber. I didn't buy any, but I did get these beautiful hand made candles. (I have someone in mind re Christmas pressies)
So that was our day in Tallinn. Tomorrow we reach the highlight of the cruise, St Petersburg. We'll be acting as escorts and it looks like we have a couple of full days ahead. Awesome.
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