Blogs from Tallinn, Estonia, Europe - page 6

Geo: 59.4392, 24.7586With the red skies of the previous day's sunset, I'd assumed "red skies at night, sailors' delight" would hold true, and we'd have nice weather this morning. Instead, we opened our curtains to heavy fog and a steady rain as we slowly approached the port of Tallinn in Estonia. K and I had been to Tallinn back in 1987, a whopping 29 years ago. Sigh. We were there, however, by accident. As part of our visit to the Soviet Union as part of a class back at American, we were flying from Tbilisi, Georgia to Leningrad (now St. Petersburg) in January 1987. Our Aeroflot plane was diverted to Tallinn, however, by ice fog in Leningrad. It was a very surreal experience, as our tour director shared very little information with us. I recall they ... read more

Geo: 59.4392, 24.7586After a cloudy start the sun finally came out and then went in again as a huge Celebrity ship came alongside- appropriately called Celebrity Eclipse!We missed the shuttle bus but it is only a 15 min walk to the centre of the old town through a medieval city gate. We have been to Talinn before but for the life of us could not remember it and no where we saw looked familiar. I love marzipan so we bought some at a little shop which also has a marzipan museum with lots of cartoon figures made of marzipan - very cute.The old town itself has cobbled streets lined with Germanic looking buildings, several churches and towers and lots of bars and restaurants and tourist shops. Do not bother getting the city tour bus as it ... read more

Geo: 59.4392, 24.7586This morning we get to sleep in a little later as our ship won't dock in Tallinn, Estonia until 10am. We have no planned tour other than to walk around the old town. Tallinn is the capital and largest city in Estonia. Tallinn's Old Town is one of the best preserved and intact medieval cities in Europe and is listed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site. This sounds good and after breakfast, we head out from the ship toward town. The ship is here for only 6 hours, a short time for such an interesting site. We ask about a shuttle to old town but the tour guide says it's unnecessary because it's only 15 minutes away. We've heard that 15 minute story before. In Karen footsteps, that's about an hour or more. There's ... read more

Distance from Stockholm to Tallinn = 168 nautical miles Total distance travelled = 638 nautical miles HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO ME!! Today's German comedy word: Kuntz. A popular German surname as remodelled by Baddiel and Skinner's remix of the Three Lions video. Comedy effect is normally added when the male of the family is given the name Ernst. In formal circles, the German race prefer to use only their first name initial so Mr Ernst Kuntz or to give him his correct Germanic title, Herr Ernst Kuntz…(Some people may think I am making this up as I'm running out of German Comedy words! The attached Photo taken whilst out and about in ‘der Vaterland' demonstrates the surname being used in a firm of solicitors/attorneys. I'll let you draw your own conclusions or formulate your own punch line!!) ... read more

Geo: 59.4392, 24.7586Tallinn es una ciudad pequña, y la parte antigua s todavía más pequeña. Visitamos un par de iglesias, St. Olaf y St. Mary, pero la más importante, la de Alexander Nevsky, estaba cerrada. Entramos al museo del bastión Kiek in de Kök y después de caminar un rato por la ciudad, regresamos al barco. En la noche el show fue un imitador de Lionel Richie, Michael Pitts... read more