It was a late start to our day in Tallinn, the ship
docked at 11:00am and we started our day by walking to the Fat Margaret Tower and
back to the port gate to meet our tour guide Julia of Alla Tours. She turned
out to be a fantastic guide!!!! The tour
started with an introduction to the new town area of the Tallinn with such
sites as the Russian Theatre, Viru Square, Viru Hotel for international
tourists only during the Soviet occupation. Next, we drove to the Kumu National
Art Museum where we started a walk through the beautiful Kadriorg Park...the
park is home to; Kadriorg Palace the residence and office of the President of
Estonia, Peter the Great House Museum...from there we drove to the Tallinn Song
Festival grounds established in 1859 followed by the St. Bridget’s Convent
ruins, the only Catholic convent in Estonia. Next, we drove along the Bay of
Tallinn past the Mermaid Monument. Methodist church with its unusual roof design
and past Tallinn University. The driver left us at Tall Herman Tower and we
started our walking tour up to the Toompea Hill. It is considered to be the
birthplace of Tallinn and is the highest point in Old Town...from here we
enjoyed a picturesque panorama of the Lower Town with its tall gothic spires
and the red tiled roofs...next we walked through the Palace Square and a view
the Baroque Toompea Castle, the seat for the Estonian Parliament...Next, we
visited the magnificent Russian Orthodox Alexander Nevsky Cathedral, filled
with golden icons and mosaics. Our walking tour continued through Tallinn's
medieval cobblestone streets to visit the Gothic Dome Church, also known as St.
Mary's Cathedral...Then we made our way towards St Nicholas...May 9th was Europe
Day and passing by the Embassy of Finland our guide noticed they had Open
House....we were able to tour the Ambassador’s Residence the including the
private balcony overlooking Old Town Tallinn. On to the Danish square we could
see the Kiek in de kok/passage before our decent into lower town. We descended
along the Pikk Jalg (Long Leg) street. We have a short stop the Holy Spirit
Church, a landmark in Estonian history. On our way down we enjoyed the view of
the Great Guild House, past the Russian Embassy, the house of the Brotherhood
of the Blackheads, Town Hall square, a taste test at the Marzipan Room,
Vanaturu kael (old market place), Katarina’s Gateway/Passage – our last stop
was the Town Gates adjacent to the handicraft street holding medieval guild
traditions and local crafts....we made it back to the ship with a few minutes
to spare before all aboard. We did not leave many stones unturned in the site
seeing department...It was a great day of touring...Tallinn is a beautiful
city.
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