Right now we are sitting in the hotel bar and having drinks (I like this Estonian vodka, goes great with tonic and lime!) and giving our tired feet a rest before heading out for dinner later this evening. It's a good time to try and catch up.
Yesterday was a day of luck, we caught the bus at 6:44 am with only minutes to spare, caught the train with only moments to spare, caught the 9 trolley right on time, and after boarding the Estonian ferry (really, it's a cruise ship) Finlandia we scored seats by a window. It's only 82 km (51 miles) from Helsinki to Tallinn by sea but the trip by cruise/ferry is 2 1/2 hours! I fully believe it's so the passengers have time to spend money at the bars, shops, and casinos.
Our luck continued with us as our hotel is only a 10 minute walk from the port and only one block away from the Old Town. We couldn't check in yet so we walked along the Baltic Sea.
That's me out there. The most photographed woman in the world, courtesy of Don.
I really liked this octagonal building and the other octagonal building in the background.
Since we had time to kill before we could get in our room and we were starving we went to the Moon Restaurant (moon means poppy in Estonian). We highly recommend it, amazing Russian cuisine and lovely service. They also have great posters in the restroom:
Why I drink so much wine:
I'm a very happy person.
So, here is what you've all been waiting for, pictures of Tallinn Old Town! This is Fat Margaret's Tower. This is next to the closest entrance to our hotel. I'm very fond of this tower. It's easy to spot from almost anywhere on our street.
The entrance we used the most, connected to Fat Margaret's Tower.
Door carving.
We're just wandering around at this point, looking for the town square and taking pictures of the buildings. Most of the buildings in Old Town were built between the 1300's and 1500's. Besides all the museums, shops, cafes, bars, etc. are residences, people live here.
Really old wall.
Our luck was with us again. We found the tourist information building and were looking at a map when a young woman asked us if we would like to join the tour! Of course! We started by these flowers.
Which are next to this church.
A third of Old Town was destroyed by Soviet bombing in WWII, there used to be 48 towers in the town, now there are only 26. Here is one of them.
These balloons are part of a remembrance of all the Estonians who were taken from their homes and deported to Siberia and the gulags. Many people never came back, at least not alive.
These children were deported. Only one of them survived.
This is the "War of Independence Victory Column" in Freedom Square (across from the blue balloons) and is 43 meters high. That is a representation of the medal "The Cross of Liberty" on top. It was built in 2009 and is 23 meters high. Estonians are very conflicted about it. It cost 7 billion euros! to build, is made of glass and steel, and, most importantly, came with a three year warranty! There have been problems with it from the beginning, the glass turned pink overnight one time with no explanation, glass blocks have fallen out, it is supposed to light up at night, but sometimes doesn't, and the medal, The Cross of Liberty, invented in 1919, has never been awarded to anyone. Suspecting corruption because the monument cost so much the Estonian people demanded an explanation. They were told is was so costly because the steel and the glass are super-steel and super-glass. Not satisfied with that answer they demanded more of an explanation. They were told that the monument was designed to withstand a nuclear blast! Whether that's true or not we can't fault the guide when she said "But why? The world has been destroyed and all that is left is this monument and the cockroaches?"
And now, more towers:
Ha! Not a tower at all. A Russian Orthodox church. With towers.
In the background is a tower minus the red roof.
Climb a few stairs and you get a wonderful view.
Irate bird.
Irate bird is still irate and wants Don to feed him or go away.
Lots of towers.
Just a bunch of pictures of Old Town.
Part of Market Square. Everything on this square is going to cost you at least 30% more than elsewhere in Old Town. Even just one street away makes the difference between a $5 beer and a $3 beer.
It was getting cool so we went back to the hotel to change into warmer clothes. Here is Fat Margaret's tower. Good bye!
And we're back.
I saw on our tourist map of Old Town that there was a small road that ran along the outer wall and there were many towers marked on it. So, we found that road.
Gardens
Street art, otherwise known as graffiti.
Market Square
The Town Hall.
A selection of beers in this one bar.
We had a tasty, and inexpensive, meal of pancakes stuffed with ham and brie (a tip from the guide earlier in the day) and wandered around taking all of these pictures (of which I've only posted a fraction) and very tired and footsore, we went back to our hotel. This is just the stuff we did yesterday, I haven't even got to today yet. Later!
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