Tallinn, Estonia

Because I knew very little about Estonia, I had no preconceptions. This trip was a great chance to visit a 'totally new' country. We arrived the night before our tour began, found our hotel, located on a small, lovely, lighted plaza, and unpacked our Rick Steves' guide to plan for the next day.

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Our first morning in Tallinn started out on a whimsical note with a chance to pose with a local resident - the Friendly Chimney Sweep. We stayed at My City Hotel, which is perfectly situated for walking in the medieval part of town. Dawn and I had the whole day to explore before meeting our tour guide and group in the late afternoon. We headed out with a few ideas of where we wanted to go....

Our hotel sits on the corner of its own small plaza. It was an excellent, central location!

We'd read in Rick's guide book that Tallinn's medieval old town is one of the best preserved in Europe.

A narrow, winding road, almost an alley, evoked a feeling of centuries' past and took us to our first stop.

Here we are at the 'Sweater Wall.' As we emerged into the intersection, we could see the wall ahead with its red awnings, backed up against the medieval stone wall that once surrounded the city.

The stalls were full of colorful woolen knits, including 5-feet-long stocking caps! I am amazed that these women are here every day in all weather--it can get VERY cold!!

Here's Dawn minus shopping bags (that would soon change).

There was a 'shortcut' through Katariina Käik, a small alley with inviting shops and restaurants.

On our way through, we visited a glass shop where the glass blower was demonstrating his craft.

One of the friendly artists creating edible 'Great Guild Hall' marzipan pieces.

The Great Guild Hall was a merchants' club and is now an Old Town landmark.

   There are claims that marzipan first originated in Tallinn. We'll probably never know the truth, but they certainly are experts at making it!
   Our marzipan souvenirs for friends at home never made it past the end of the day --but they were delicious.

Shopping certainly didn't prove to be a problem. We found more than enough things to buy! I waited on the nesting dolls because something told me I'd see them again in another country during our tour.....

After all this, we needed a break!! This little restaurant serves only fresh, organic food and was the perfect resting place.

It was finally time to meet our tour leader and the rest of our group. Will we like our leader? Will we get along with the others in the group? I was nervous.
As it turned out, I shouldn't have worried! It became clear very early that we had a super group of people to share our travels. And we immediately loved our leader - Etelka. Etelka told us that she lives in Budapest and is fluent in Russian, Hungarian, and English. She was enthusiastic and passionate about her work with Rick, and SO friendly and helpful! We knew it was going to be an amazing trip!! We all celebrated the first night with a group dinner and some authentic Estonian cuisine.

First day of our tour - a walk through the city of Tallinn

We all gathered early and met our guide for the day. Taimi is a native Estonian and was very knowledgeable about the country's history and culture. Rick finds the best guides! There was a light drizzle, but I barely noticed while I was listening to Taimi's fascinating stories about Tallinn and Estonia. One of the first things we learned is that there are actually two towns in Tallinn - the lower Old Town and upper Toompea. We began our walk in Old Town, passing buildings dating back to the 16th century.

The Church of the Holy Ghost's clock was built in 1633, almost 400 years ago. The two buildings in right-hand photos are even older, dating to the 1500s.

The Town Hall dates to the 1400s and proudly flies the Estonian flag since the country's independence from the Soviets in 1991.

This is Town Hall Square. With its colorful buildings and sidewalk cafes, it was one of my favorite spots in Tallinn.

During the day it was crowded with people and rather surreal at night when the many tourists from the cruise ships had left.

Time for a coffee and dessert break before heading up the hill to Toompea.

What a lovely view looking back from Toompea hill into Old Town, even with a little rain!

Tallinn's onion-domed Russian Cathedral is beautiful, even with scaffolding.

The Dome Church sits on top of Toompea Hill. It dates back to the 1300s.

   In Toompea, there's several great viewpoints.
   At this particular lookout, the sun was just beginning to emerge and we were able to see out over the red tile rooftops to St. Olaf's church and all the way to the ferry port.

Our last stop with Taimi was a serious one, the Museum of Occupation, dedicated to Estonians living in the country during 1940-1991. The museum has exhibits and films showing Tallinn during the time of German and Soviet rule. Having enjoyed freedom all my life, it was very emotional to think of how different life was for Estonians in that time. 1991 isn't so long ago and I knew that many local residents I saw on the street had been in Tallinn during its occupation. It appeared to me that it required tremendous strength and courage to survive and I began 'people-watching' with new admiration!

Dawn and I stopped on our way back to the hotel to climb up to the old city wall. The views of old Tallinn were amazing, and looking down, I could really see its medieval character. These are all views from the wall.

Farewell, Tallinn! Brief visits to Kadriorg and the Song Festival Grounds

On our bus drive to the ferry, we stopped at Kadriorg, a 'small' residence built by Peter the Great. Although closed, we were able to wander through the extremely well-manicured gardens, colorful even on this overcast day.

The Song Festival Grounds was a meaningful place to visit, where Estonians gathered and sang their national songs in defiance of Soviet rules prior to becoming a free country in 1991.

Tour friends Sue and Janet hanging out with Gustav Ernesaks, who was a celebrated long-time choir director of the song festival.

Since we didn't know any Estonian songs, our group sang 'Edelweiss' as our own tribute.

It was finally time to head to the ferry port and set out for Helsinki! Although it may not seem like it from the photo, these ferries are huge!