a baltic journey
/Best of St. Petersburg, Tallinn & Helsinki in 9 Days, a Rick Steves Tour
/tallinn
day 0 - arrival to tallinn
I arrived in Tallinn after throughly enjoying my 14 Day Scandinavia tour. I suffered in the heat and fought a sinus infection the whole time, but it was still a great tour.
So with sore feet, plugged sinuses and a suitcase full of dirty clothes, I was looking forward to the relaxed atmosphere of Tallinn. I arrived the night before the tour started and had time to organize all my laundry for someone else to clean. Yep that cost a small fortune, but the added TLC to my clothes was so worth it. To think I am worried about having them clean and some people never received their luggage upon arrival. Note to self: things can always be worse.
The restaurant I wanted to go to for dinner happened to be just outside our hotel. I had a great four course meal of modern Estonia cuisine with wine pairing at Mekk. I love sitting outside, people watching and just relaxing. Ok, I love the food and wine.
day 1 - tour starts today
I had the whole day to enjoy before meeting the tour guides and fellow tour members. I wanted to walk the entire old town taking photos at a relaxed pace and in different lightling. I have learned on past tours that there is no time on walking tours to get all the 'shots'; plus its hard to listen to the guide and focus on photography...I still tend to wander off though.
My first impressions of Tallinn...cute, charming and maybe a little touristy. I really enjoyed the walled old town with its turrets, winding streets, artisan shopping and colorful buildings.
After taking photos all around the old town I decided to people watch while enjoying a cappacunio and creme brulee (its the small things that make me happy). Then a fighter jet roared past and looped back, everyone was looking up. I was more concerned when I noticed that some of the shop keepers seemed to look unsettled. So I ventured inside a amber shop and after a bit casually asked if the jets were normal. They replied no.
I then grabbed a taxi out to Kadriorg (Catherine) Park. It was very hot to walk around, but the gardens and views of the palace were well worth the visit. I then walked to the art museum planning to have a break from the heat...but it was closed. I opt to carry camera equipment and not the guide book. Tip: plan your day with the guide book over breakfast then leave it behind if you don't like the weight! Oh well, I enjoyed walking through the city park and 'finding' the tram to ride back. In taking the taxi I never saw where the tram stop actually was. Remember no guide book with me; just my memory.
time to meet the group...
We had the usual meet and greet at the hotel with drinks and snacks. I like the brief intro to give us a little heads up on what to expect from the tour and get introduced to all the tour members. It is a nice casual enviroment for everyone to learn a little something about each other. We had the privilage on this tour to have Eltecka as our guide and George as the assistant. I have yet to be dissappointed by any guide on a Rick Steves tour. Eltecka was full of joy and really made us feel like family and George was very amusing; a great addition to the group.
Later we took a short walking tour to our first group dinner. On the tours you get half your dinners included; sometimes its a lunch. And if you think they will be mediocre you are wrong, These meals are always some of my favorites. Great local fare and usually a family run restaurant. Plus you get to interact with your tour mates and make new friends!
This restaurant was unique in that the washroom was inside an old chimney.
day 2 - city walking tour, museum of occupation, free afternoon and evening
We got an early start to the morning for our guided walking tour (early is better to beat the crowds and stay out of the heat). I liked walking around learning about Tallinn and the Estonian people. Even though I ventured all around Tallinn the day before I still enjoyed seeing everything from a new perspective. Plus I missed some hidden alleys and streets. Tallinn is beyond charming!
We ended our walking tour at the Museum of Occupation which covers the time period of the Nazi and Communist occupation of Estonia and the cultures they imposed. I felt the museum was well done and worth the stop. I think to understand Estonias you first have to learn of the struggles they experienced during the 50 years they were occupied by either the Germans or Soviets.
KGB Tour....how intriguing
After a fish & chips lunch at an Irish pub (I was reliving my trip to Ireland) I was off to experience the KGB. I was super excited for this tour...I had no idea what I was going to learn but I thought it was going to be really interesting. Huge disappointment! I would not reccommend this tour to anyone. Tallinn has so much more to offer that you do not need to fill your day with this. Basically in the end it was an informative session on the hotel itself during the time that the KGB bugged the place. And it was so very hot. At one point there were people sitting on the floor outside the little rooms so they wouldn't faint. The bonus was the views of Tallinn from the top of the hotel.
time for a drink, i mean rest...
After the enlighting KGB tour I was off to go window shopping. But then saw a sign for sangria and got side tracked. The cute little coffee shop I found was just after the sweater wall. The chocolate cheescake was reccommended and I didn't want to be rude. This was a great place to rest my feet, enjoy the a/c and relax before going shopping.
While shopping I found many things I wanted, like pottery and glassware. But with an already full suitcase I only purchased clary sage soap.
After shopping and resting at the hotel I joined some new friends for dinner at Restaurant Cru, This was a wonderful choice in the old town. There is nothing better than trying new things (wild boar) and getting to know your travel mates. This is what I love about travelling.
The menu was small but had excellant choices, my salad and wild boar were perfectly executed and presented. After our meal we were in search of ice cream to round off the evening, but unfortunately we were unsuccessful. Oh well, in our search we found many amber jewelry shops and had fun. We finally ended the evening at a coffee shop for our dessert. Yes that was my second cheesecake of the day.
an evening with new friends
day 3 - ferry to finland
Time to say goodbye to Estonia and ferry over to Finland. On the way to the ferry terminal we stopped at the city park, Catherine's Palace (I had better lighting the day before), Russalka Monument, a beach and The Tallinn Song Festival Grounds.
Estonia's Singing Revolution was the movement that spurred it's freedom from Soviet rule. It is quite moving when you imagine 300,000 Estonias filling the festival grounds where they sang patriotic and national songs forbidden by the Soviet regime and waving Estonia's flags that were hidden for years and demanding their independence.
The ferry ride was short, just enough time for some duty free shopping and lunch. A few of us were the only ones to dine in the fancy restaurant. Literally we were the only table. The others missed out on the excellant service, good wine, perfect risotto, and great views. So relaxing.
