Tallinn, Estonia

Saturday, May 17

Today was Day 2 of our SPB guided tour package. We met up with those who had been with us in Warnemunde and headed off the ship. As this is the inaugural Baltic voyage for the Royal Princess, it is obviously the first time she has berthed at Tallinn and it was another first for Tallinn because she was the first cruise ship to berth at their new dock. As a result, we were greeted on the wharf with a local brass band playing well-known marching numbers along with some Estonian music. We were made welcome wherever we went throughout the day and, on our return, were treated to a "Waterboard Show" that was fantastic. It is best described as a guy standing on a high jet of water whilst being towed behind a jet ski and attached with a huge hose. (The photo will help). He did snowboarding type moves, loops and turns and was amazingly agile so the whole show was quite spectacular.

The "Waterboard Show"

After leaving the ship we had quite a walk out of the port area to the point where we met our guide, Rita who, along with the other SPB guides, got everyone organised into groups of about 12. We were then taken by bus to the town to start our walking tours. Rita at first appeared very cold and officious but we warmed to her once we heard her passion about Estonia, her pride in what they have achieved, the terrible times they endured under Russian occupation and her appreciation of liberty now. She was very knowledgeable about Tallinn's history, architecture, culture and customs and willingly answered any of our questions.

Rita telling us about the Alexander Nevsky Cathedral

We started our walking tour in the "upper town" (Toompea Hill) and progressed to the "lower" town with Rita pointing many things out to us and really helping us understand about Tallin's past and present. We all felt there was uneasiness in her voice when she spoke of the current situation between Russia and the Ukraine - understandable, given her own past and the close proximity of Ukraine.

A view over the Old Town

Rita told us that Tallin's Old Town has remained virtually unchanged for over 600 years and is now a living museum of spired churches and medieval architecture but it also has a booming computer industry, lively cafés and sophisticated boutiques. Over the years it has been influenced by Polish, Russian and Soviet rulers but it has retained many western traditions like the Latin alphabet, although they were all forced to speak in Russian under occupation.

St. Catherine's Passage

The old City Wall

The medieval Old Town is a maze of cobblestone streets and historic buildings and is one of UNESCO's World Heritage Sites. There are lots of artisan workshops and we saw glassworks, ceramics, leather goods, quilts and other items being created using traditional techniques. We saw Palace Square, Toompea Castle - a 13th century stone fortress, the Russian Orthodox Alexander Nevsky Cathedral with its towering onion domes, the city wall - 38 metres high and 4 metres thick, and the oldest pharmacy in Europe to still be operating. It dates back to 1422. This pharmacy had a wonderful museum displaying items used over the centuries alongside cabinets of Alka Seltzer, Panadol, etc. - quite amazing!

Beer and Pizza at Al Bastion, Tallinn

The weather was warm and sunny making it a beautiful day to be strolling around such a magnificent town. At the end of the tour, we stopped for a local beer and pizza together before all going in different directions to shop, etc

On board (with our flags) ready for departure and the Tallinn photo shoot

Royal Princess sailed out of Tallinn around 5.00 pm with local dignitaries waving us off and all of us on board waving Estonian flags for a local photo shoot. Rita explained that their national flag - three horizontal bands in blue, black and white, represented the blue sky over the black earth all standing on liberty and freedom.

 

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