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Tallinn, Estonia
Sea: Calm
Weather: Warm & Sunny
Another day, another city. We last came to Tallinn on our first ever cruise back in 2007 and loved the city back then. It’s very oldy-worldy and so well preserved as a town.
After breakfast, we headed up on deck and could see the town in the distance.
A shuttle bus was running today to drop passengers on the outskirts of the city.
We were loosely following the Tallinn Self-Guided Tour from Nomad Epicureans to try and see as much of the more interesting sights in the time we had ashore. We entered the inter sanctum of the city via the Viru Gates and wandered through the lanes until we reached the Town Hall Square.
The Town Hall itself has an unusually tall tower and the building is quite ornate. In front, is a large open square that has numerous bars and restaurants around the outside.
From the Town Hall Square, we headed up Toompea Hill to explore the narrow lanes and get great views of the city. The Alexander Nevsky Cathedral stands proud – the Orthodox Church built in the late 19th Century when the country was under Russian Rule, a stark reminder of Estonia’s history.
At the top of Toompea Hill are some great views of the medieval city walls.
One thing we can remember from our previous visit is the view point overlooking the city out to the docks where Britannia was docked. It did not disappoint looking out over the city roofs
Time to wander back down in the city and we wandered down Pikk Jalg – the main street linking the lower part of the Toompea Hill to the city.
Street vendors had set up along the edge selling paints and other souvenirs.
It was pretty warm wandering around Tallinn, so whilst in the Market Place, we took advantage of one of the many bars to sample a local beer.
From the Town Hall Square, we started to make our way out of the city and wandered along the narrow street of Pikk. Some amazing buildings along this road.
One thing we had wanted to see was the KGB Prison Cells – alas, as we walked by, it was closed. Perhaps next time.
At the end of Pikk, we headed out of the walled city and made our way back to the shuttle bus pick-up point.
A really good day exploring and we headed back to the ship, just in time for the Syndicate Quiz. Ellie & Alex were running the quiz today – they were enjoying chatting to everyone they didn’t get the full twenty questions in – we ended up with 13/17 points which was joint second.
A quick drink in the Sunset Bar and then back to our cabin to watch sailaway from Tallinn. Afterwards, dinner in the Main Dining Room and then a leisurely evening in the sunset bar reading our books and watching the wake of the ship.
