Day 4 - A Day in Tallinn, Estonia - Dec. 30, 2015

We were up early as the bus was scheduled to leave for the ferry at 8:30 am.  Going down for breakfast just before 7:00, we found that buffet wasn't going to open until the usual time, 7:30. This was somewhat hard to believe, but that is the way it was. Back down for breakfast at 7:30, and the place was very busy. There were 260 going on this trip, and everyone wanted to eat before leaving.

Ferry to Tallinn

Ferry Terminal in Helsinki

It took a while to find a table, but once we did, we ate and were outside, ready to board the bus by 8:10. We took 6 buses to the ferry. When there, we were given our tickets. It was a slow process, but the ferry operator wouldn't give them the tickets before the day of the trip. Finally, we were inside the terminal, and then began the queuing for the ticket gate and the long walk to the ferry.

It was much busier than we expected, but we made it on the ship. Not knowing where to go, we basically followed the crowd upstairs. We came in on deck 5 and went up to deck 8. The crowd was milling around, looking for places to sit, so when we spotted a table with some empty chairs, we grabbed it. The chairs were uncomfortable, but we thought we would stick it out. This was an area where there was a cafe, but we weren't hungry so didn't purchase anything.

The trip was 2 hours, and when we got to Tallinn, we had to figure out the procedure for disembarking. Everyone who didn't take their car on the ship, gathered at one of the exits. The hallway was packed. We used the elevator to get back down to deck 5, and when the door opened, there was basically nowhere to to. Interesting, because we had to get off the elevator.  We pushed our way into the crowd, and stood there, jammed like sardines in the space by the exit. Then the door opened again, and there were people on the elevator with children in buggies. They also had to get off the elevator, and again, everyone squeezed closer together, letting them et off and into the crowd.

Ferry Terminal in Tallinn, Estonia

Then, another long walk to the terminal. When we got to the terminal, there was a very pretty girl standing in the walkway with a Destiny Tours sign. She directed us to where our buses were parked. For this part of the trip, there were 9 buses so we were in smaller groups. We found our bus, got on, and waited until everyone was there.  The temperature was lower here than in Helsinki, so it was going to be a long, cold day.

Our new guide came on the bus and introduced herself - Eva Marie. She was going to be with us for the next 6 hours as we did a quick tour of Tallinn. Tallinn is the capital city of Estonia, and has a population of about 450,000. The total population of the country is about 1.5 million, so this city holds about 1/3 of the people. We travelled around the shore area where the ferry came in, and then went farther into the city.

Gazebo in the Castle's pond

One of the first places she showed us was a large hotel that was built to accommodate all the tourists who came to Tallinn from Helsinki. She said that this hotel was built from a special kind of material Called micro-cement.  It was called this because half of it was said to be built of cement, and the other half built of microphones. This was the hotel where people visiting Tallinn generally stayed, and the KGB had infested it with microphones. The joke was that when someone complained while in the bathroom that there was no toilet paper, within minutes there was a knock on the door and on opening it, an employee was there and said, "Here is your toilet paper." Everyone got it then, and it sounds like this was what it was like at that time.

Castle - Home of the President

We had a quick glimpse of part of the city wall, and then we went to the castle that is the home to the president. It was originally a small castle built for the Russian Tsar to spend his summers. After Estonia got their independence

Grounds of the Castle

, it became the home for the president and his family.  The grounds are very beautiful, and it is easy to imagine how great they must look in the summer with all the trees with leaves and the flower gardens in bloom. However, at this time of year, it is cold. Not as cold as they usually have, but cold enough for the ponds to be frozen over. Our tour has not met cold while on tour, and after walking around this park and area of the castle, we were pretty cold. I would assume is was about -5, but it could have been colder.  There was no snow, which is also unusual for this time of year, but why should then be different than the rest of the world.

Amphitheatre with snow making

Amphitheatre and the view

Then back on the bus to the next stop. This was a huge amphitheatre that was built during the time of Russian rule so that large groups of choirs cold come and sing, making the people who gathered there seem joyous and happy. It is a huge outdoor amphitheatre with what are said to be perfect acoustics from anywhere in the area in front of the stage.  There was snow-making happening while we were there as they prepared for a snow festival that would be occurring later on. It was certainly cold enough to make snow, and it seems like they had just started as most of the field in front of the amphitheatre were bare.

Statue of this composer sits on the steps

After a short time there, we got back on the bus, to move on to our next stop. Eva Marie took us for a quick drive along the beach area, and then we turned and went back the other direction along the beach. There is a monument there that looks quite interesting. On one side of this highway is a large cement structure that looks like a channel built to carry water, and on the other side of the highway is another, in the same shape. The story goes that there was talk of building a bridge across the Baltic Sea to Helsinki, and this structure was the beginning of it. However, with Estonia being a very small country, they thought that they had done their share of the work, and now the rest was up to Finland to complete. A good story, but not likely to happen.

Gates to the Lower Old Town

Busy cobblestone streets

Then we were off to our walking tour of the "Old Town" and our lunch. When we got there, Eva Marie set off, walking at a fairly brisk pace. We went through the main gate into the old town, and then she took use through a number of streets toward our restaurant. Eva Marie was walking so quickly, that we had a tough time keeping up, and little time to look and take photos. It is hard to walk on the cobblestone roadways, and we had to keep our eyes on our feet, rather than taking time to look at the shops and architecture around us.  When she finally stopped at the restaurant entrance, I mentioned to her that she was going to fast for us old folks, and she needed to slow down. She was instantly apologetic, and now had this new information for later.

Our Restaurant

Then it was into the restaurant. We went down some rock stairs, around a number of corners, down some more stairs, and then finally came to a large, crowded dining room. We squeezed everyone in, sitting where there was an opening. Apparently there wasn't enough room for everyone in our party, and they had organized lunch in 3 different restaurants around this area.

Our lunch was a 3 course meal. There was a green salad at each spot, which was our first course. It was a nice salad, and quickly disappeared. The waiter came around and asked about drinks, but everyone was happy with the water that was on the table. After a bit, one of the ladies ordered a glass of red wine, and it was brought. The salad plates were cleared off the table, and then the main course started arriving. This was grilled chicken on a bed of vegetables, with a nice gravy sauce. Again, this was very tasty. The vegetables were nice to have, and the chicken was pretty good. The gravy made for some good dipping. There was a bowl of bread on the table, some black and some white. I had a piece of the black bread (no butter) which tasted quite sweet and made for good cleanup of the gravy.

The final course was a piece of cake that had a jello top. Again, this was quite tasty. The jello top had small pieces of fruit embedded in it. A small, dark berry in there was quite tart, while the addional berries added some further flavour. The cake part was somewhat dry, but in all it was a nice dessert. Coffee was served at this point. It is strong coffee, but I like the taste of it.

Huge Tree in the Market

Then it was use the bathroom, and meet outside for our walking tour of the lower Old Town, and then on to the upper Old Town. This was going to be a 2 hour walk, and we were already tired, so not sure we could do it all. We asked about where we could go to get the bus, but Eva wanted us to stay with her because it was not likely we would be able to find the buses. So we stayed. We were quite cold by this time, and it was getting dark, so photos would be hard to take.

Church at the Market

We did have about 15-20 minutes to look around the Christmas market that was still running. Apparently they keep the market running until January 7, which is when the Russians celebrate their Christmas, and often come here to celebrate. Dawn had seen a small store that interested here, so we went and found that store, made a couple purchases, and then went and quickly looked at some of the wares in the market. Again, some more purchases, and then we were ready to join the group for the tour.

Quilted Christmas Tree

We went to the oldest continually working pharmacy in the world, and had an opportunity to go inside to look around. Back outside again, and we then went to a store that held a number of artisans, and had a walk through. There wer quilters, knitters, leather works, bookmakers, along with other types of artisan work. Some was quite beautiful.

Outside again, we were in a narrow walkway with a number of decorations on the wall from the time when the churches were closed by the Russians. Eva talked about this for a bit, and then we continues down the walkway where we met the city wall here. The wall was built 16 metres tall and 8 metres thick, with guard towers all around the city. Apparently some are still there, but we didn't see any of them.

After that, we continued and ended back at the market. From there, we went uphill a ways to visit a shop that is the oldest continuously operating restaurant. Dawn had spotted a place to purchase some post cards, and we had some time to go and purchase a few to send home. Then we caught up to the group as we walked through the restaurant to a famous chocolate/marzipan store, again the oldest continuously operating marzipan shop.  I finally made a purchase here, buying a couple of the chocolates. I fear they may not make it home, but at least I have tried them.

Then it was uphill to upper Old Town. We had a choice of steps or inclined walkway, but we didn't really understand how steep the walkway would be. It was very narrow, and very dark and the cobblestones were very hard to walk on, especially when you can't see where you are going. We finally moved over to the steps that were at least even. It was a narrow, dark, and scary place for old people with poor knees and bad balance to walk. We made it to the top, but we're basically out of gas. Unfortunately, by this time, it was too dark to take many photos.

Cathedral in Upper Town

Eva Marie showed and spoke about a number of the things there. This was where the parliament sat, and again, it was quite spectacular. The building was similar to the castle we had looked at earlier in the day, just on top of a hill, inside the city walls. The lights shining on the cathedrals and the large buildings made for a very pretty sight.

A few of us had enough at that time, and Eva took our small group to the bus, which was just around the corner. Then she took the rest of the crowd further on to a viewpoint where they could look over the town. We got back on the bus to warm up. Dawn spent that time, writing on the post cards which we then asked Eva if she could mail for us. We didn't have an idea of how much the postage would be, so just gave her the change that was in my pocket, about 6.5 Euros. That should be more than enough.

When everyone got back to the bus, we were off, and heading back to the ferry. The same process for getting back on the ferry was followed, and we again found seats in the same restaurant area. Again, they aren't comfortable, but at least it is a place to sit. The 2 hour ride back to Helsinki seemed to be longer, but we arrived back safe and sound. We found our bus, got on, and then went back to the hotel. It was a long, tiring day, and we were soon in bed.

Back of the crowd waiting to exit the ferry. The crowd is to the right.