After a much appreciated relaxing day at sea, we arrived at Tallinn, Estonia. We had heard that Tallinn was a very nice port of call with it's medieval old town, and we were not disappointed. We did our own thing, heading into the old town and hoping to get in on a Walking Tour. We were lucky to have one just about to start, and it turned out the tour guide was delightful - informative, entertaining and more than able to wrangle the 40+ people in the group. We headed up the hill for some history, some interesting sites and some great views. The tour then headed back down to the lower old town where some kind of race was about to start. People in crazy costumes, and it seemed to be an office group kind of thing. We lacked for the Estonian language to understand. After the tour we headed out of the old town area over to a large market, had something to eat, did a little shopping, then headed back to the ship. This was another beautiful day - the weather was perfect, the tour guide was great and we felt Tallinn really is one of the jewels of the Baltic.
As we approached the old town from the cruise port, we could see a spire of the old town, and the entrance to the walled city.
The entrance into the lower old town, through the gate in the wall.
Our first taste of the lovely streets of old Tallinn with their colourful buildings.
These buildings are old - but not exactly medieval. A very nice old town to walk around.
The ornate facades and colourful buildings add to the atmosphere of the town.
As we got closer to the town square, we came across these kids who were performing as part of the festivities involved with the race.
After our minor "climb" up the hill to the upper old town, we came across this old tower named "Kiek in de Kök" - Peep into the Kitchen because if offered views into people's houses from it's vantage point. Originally an artillery tower, the walls are 4 metres thick in some places.
More of the old wall that surrounds the upper old town.
The Maiden Tower, originally from 1373, has been reconstructed several times. A passage runs from the Maiden Tower to the cannon tower of Kiek in de Kök. In the course of its history, the building has been a defence tower, a residential building and a café – some say it is still haunted!
Outside the walls, we passed by some medieval types offering spear throwing, bow and arrows and other dangerous medieval pastimes.
"The Alexander Nevsky Cathedral is a typical Russian Revival style church built between 1894 and 1900, during the period when the country was part of the Russian Empire. It is Tallinn's largest and grandest orthodox cupola cathedral."
The front entrance to the cathedral. Pictures were not allowed inside the church.
Where the old town wall meets the newer buildings.
A view of the lower old town from our vantage point in the upper town. On the right are some of the newer, more modern areas of Tallinn. Our cruise ship is far in the distance, just to the left of the tall steeple.
The story behind the sign refers to the alleyway, which was so narrow that women with their large dresses coming from both directions could not pass easily and would often fight about who should back up. So it was ordained that the oldest woman should pass through first. After that, every woman would politely offer to let the other one pass first.
Another shot looking down into the lower old town.
Found this cute ornament among the beautiful planters along side a restaurant patio.
Looking back up the street with the cathedral and a unique downspout "boot" on the right.
The tight (and very clean) streets of old town Tallinn.
Then we came across this guy. Just wandering up the street. Wha...???
Ah...this maybe explains the Duracell Easter Bunny dude - turns out he wasn't alone, he was part of this zany run with people in all sorts of costumes and get-ups.
The main town plaza where our walking tour started and ended.
Another side of the town plaza. It was busy (and noisy) with the run happening this day.
A cute pig planter in a street-level window. The homes and buildings of Tallinn featured many nice touches like this.
Outside NUKU Puppet Theatre & Museum. The plaque on the right commemorates founder Ferdinand Veike, who steered its artistic course for nearly three decades. The poster is for their current production. The title translates to "Night in fear of the wonderful and darting"...according to Google. Our guide told us that it is very hard to learn Estonian. Would have loved to see one of their productions though, but no such luck with our limited time.
We left the old town through this break in the wall on our way to the old Fish Market, now a trendy open air market with shops and eateries.
We came back through the town to make our return to the ship, passing through the same entrance as when we came in. This is the interior side of the main gateway as we left old town Tallinn.
Back to our ship, Norwegian Cruise Line's Breakaway, with it's distinctive hull art.
As we sailed past, we could see the old town, upper and lower, in the distance.
NEXT: (Day 8) St. Petersburg, Russian - Day 1
PREV: (Day 5) Warnemünde/Rostock, Germany
Baltic Cruise - May-June 2018