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| It never really gets dark this time of year. |
The sun traced its way diagonally across the sky, we had a lovely run of good winds pushing us towards Tallinn. Even though it was well past 11 pm local time, there was still enough ambient light to read a book.
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| Our first views of the port of Tallinn |
We dropped our sails as we approached the port, fully aware that we would need to be maneuverable around the large ferries and cruise ships that were coming and going past us. We radioed ahead to be granted permission to enter the harbour, then watched for the swinging pedestrian bridge that we would again have to call on the radio to ask that it be opened. By 01:00 we were tied up in our berth. None of us knew exactly what to expect from this former Soviet-Bloc country.
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| A bit bleary from a night passage, but happy to be here. |
Prior to us arriving, Pat had found a walking tour and signed all three of us up. Having that scheduled gave us a reason to put our feet on the floor the next day. We love a walking tour as a solid introduction to a bigger city.
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| Making our way from the marina to the Old City |
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| The fortifications around the Old Town have been battered over the past 200 years |
The Old Town is a World Heritage Site and it is stunning. It is
in remarkably good shape, considering the comings and goings of the various conquering forces through the years. During the Soviet years, many of the facades were covered or plastered over to 'erase their bourgeois character and enforce a uniform socialist aesthetic'. Ironically, in some cases this has protected the original and, as buildings are restored, their former glory is revealed.
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The three houses with the peaked roofs and beams poking out are from the 14th century - known as The Three Sisters, they grace many a Tallinn souvenir. |
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| Some grafitti ... and some good street art, too. |
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| Cool, church-like doorway, which makes me wonder about the history and uses this building has had. The façade also seems to have suffered some abuse in the past, revealing some of the construction materials and techniques. |
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Some of the footpath in front of the Russian embassy has been cordoned off, giving activists some space to hang protest signs against some of Russia's latest political endeavours.
We are closer here to Russian territory than I have ever been. It is palpable. |
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| The steeple is usually at the town square in European cities. It makes navigation easy. |
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| Kate LOVES a good 3D town map |
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| Just a statue - not a live dude pretending to be a statue. Very refreshing. |
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| It was here that we met Gleb, our guide for the walking tour. |
Tallinn was a Hanseatic City. The Hanseatic League was a network of merchants guilds and market towns in medieval times that were an alternative power (and therefore, threat) to the church and nobility. It could be concluded that the League was the start of organized international commerce.
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| Creepy statues that represented Hanseatic merchants. |
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| Looking up from inside the city walls. |
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| Even some of the building signs are funky. This is a performing arts school. |
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| The view from atop one of the city walls. |
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| One of the viewpoint's resident seagulls, all named Stephen. |
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| Proof. |
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This is Alex Skald and his crazy-looking instrument is a Nickelharpa, a traditional Baltic/Scandinavian folk instrument. He is a street musician from Russia and is on Bandcamp if you want to listen to his music.
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| There are two sections of Tallinn, divided by the city wall but connected by a street with stairs (the Short Leg) and a cart/vehicle-friendly street (the Long Leg). Look at the sign above the pub on the right, then guess which street this is. |
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This is the city hall in the market square. Gleb tells us about the steeple with a wind vane atop it. The wind vane is named Old Thomas and represents a Tallinn warrior that is (supposedly) the origin of the Tooth Fairy legend.
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All the little stories and anecdotes are why we love the walking tours. Gleb did a great job and we were able to note some of his recommendations on what to see after the tour, including the Balti Jaama Turg. It is housed in the old train station building and is a huge indoor marketplace with hundreds of stalls, big and small, the likes of which we have rarely seen.
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| Just an example of ONE of the shops, jammed with thrift shop quality goods. |
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| Pat considers a motorcycle-related purchase. |
They also had a shop that sold Soviet-era used goods, including military uniforms, equipment and old Soviet flags. It really brought home the fact that this used to be a Soviet Bloc country and that the Estonians have only been autonomous for thirty-five short years.
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| Not sure exactly what it says, but I don't think it is encouraging free speech or sharing opinions. |
We also had an accidental authentic cultural experience ... thanks to Sean. He was put in charge of searching out an authentic Baltic meal for one of our few on-shore nights out (we usually eat aboard to keep costs reasonable). Sean searched and found a highly-rated restaurant and made a reservation for the three of us. It was only when we got there we realised that the restaurant was a Balkan, rather than Baltic, restaurant. He had one job!
Whoops.
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| A lovely and inviting shelter from the rain. |
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| Hmmm, do you think its vegan?? |
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| Part of the menu |
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| More delicious selections |
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| Balkan, not Baltic. |
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| Belolučna Paprika and Lepinja. Sharing starters was the way to go. Yum. |
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| Burek sa Mesem and Suve Šjlive u Slanini. We all left full. |
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| Hotell Viru in the far background |
We also visited the Hotell Viru, a notorious Soviet-era hotel that was for Western guests visiting Tallinn. Tallinn was the sailing venue for the ill-fated 1980 Moscow Olympics. The hotel had a (very poorly kept) secret top floor that housed a KGB office that allowed for secret monitoring of the Western guests. The joke is the hotel was built from 60% concrete and 40% microphone! The KGB office is accessible via a tour.
Of course we went.
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| Kathy, our guide, tells us about the hotel, what it was like for the workers of the hotel, the residents of Tallinn during the Soviet occupation and the KGB office. |
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| Sorry, as per Soviet design, the lighting was terrible. Pat is listening to a recording of Leonid Brezhnev. |
We were surprised by the the number of cruise ships and ferries that visited Tallinn - we would see 2 - 4 cruise ships each day and 12+ ferries each day. On reflection, it is a convenient port to Helsinki and Stockholm. It also is an alternative to the western-sanctioned St. Petersburg. We would have loved to sail up to St. Petersburg but that is certainly not possible at this time. As we approached Tallinn, the VHF was alive with NATO naval forces querying ships about their ports of call and cargo. We have no desire to have Chinook impounded.
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