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Published: June 26th 2017
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!!)
We have been setting our alarm at 8am. On this occasion shortly before, we heard the slither as mail was pushed under the cabin door. It's always nice to get post. Three pieces to be exact. One was a future cruise voucher. These cost €10 and are valid for 18 months. In this time you can redeem it for any cruise
and, depending on the type of cabin booked will receive anything between €/$100-400 to be spent on board. The second envelope contained an invitation to the MSC Voyagers Club
Black Party in The Pasha Disco on deck 12 at 7:45pm. The final ‘piece addressed only to me was a birthday card…Aah! They remembered!!!
Whilst opening the mail, another envelope was pushed under the door. Blimey this is more that I usually receive at home. This was a card reminding me that I have a ‘special treat' waiting for me at the restaurant this evening and to contact the Maitre D'hôtel. I would if I could find him!! Normally one can see him roaming the floor, chatting to guests.
The passage from Stockholm to Tallinn overnight should have been a little choppy. Last night the ship's movement was nothing more than a gentle rolling motion. It had a soothing and relaxing effect and nowhere near the ‘
the Perfect Storm' scenario we were all expecting!! Out on deck the weather looked grey and overcast. It wasn't raining at the moment but rain was definitely in the air. Our plan today was to walk to the central bus station in
Old Tallinn and take the bus to the open air museum. As it is ‘open air' it could easily turn in to a damp squib. A chance we were not prepared to take. So, once again, for the second day running, we reverted to plan B (but without the ABBA references!!) Seaplane harbour.
The walk took us just under ½ hour as (why did we ever doubt it) it started raining. We followed the pedestrian walkway along the quay, passing though the parade of souvenir stalls. Last time we were here in 2009, the stalls were make shift huts, the ones you see at a Christmas market. These stalls are now a permanent fixture and selling everything from the usual tat through to leather, fur and ceramic goods where it would be easy to part with a few hundred euro (all major credit cards accepted) Estonia is now in the Eurozone so changing money is no longer required.
All passengers who had left the ship around the same time as us continued in the direction of Fat Margaret, the nickname give to one to the turrets that are interspersed along the wall that surrounds the old city of
Tallinn. We took another footpath that veered off and followed the coast line. This route seemed to have recently had a facelift as the tarmac seemed new, the adjacent road had markings that had not yet become faded due to years of weather and countless thousands of vehicles passing over. We passed a few building sites with, what looked like waterside apartments in various stages of construction. However, there was still evidence of a bygone communist regime as some of the concrete buildings lay derelict and crumbling. Still a stark reminder of Estonia's Soviet-occupied past.
Apart from the odd van and a few workmen, the path was deserted. So much so, we weren't sure we were heading in the right direction. At every junction, we were reminded to ‘
Keep on Going' and
‘Not far now''. These instructions and words of encouragement were sprayed onto of the
derelict walls together with black and yellow concentric circles, the emblem of the Lennusadam Seaplane Harbour. I expect the council thought they could keep the cost down rather than shell out for one of those brown tourist signs!!!
On the approach to the museum we spotted a rather run down aircraft hangar
with the Seaplane Harbour logo painted on the side. Not one window had remained intact. On the surrounding land, vehicles seen to have been abandoned to rust. Carcases of cars such as Trabants and Ladas, once the pride of the Eastern bloc shared the overgrown wasteland with smaller commercial vehicles. I could quite clearly identify and an old Red Cross van, painted army olive green with the red cross on a white background emblazoned on the side. The site resembled more of a breakers yard than the forecourt of a museum.
As we rounded the bend our disappointment was short lived for peeping out from behind the dereliction was a second hangar that had obviously recently been restored to its former glory. A modern facia had been added and the words:
Lennusadam Seaplane Harbour could quite clearly be seen. Two coaches and a few cars were parked in the modest sized car park.
The historical seaplane hangar in which the museum is located was built in 1916-17 as a defence structure for the Russian Empire. The hangars were the world's first thin-shell concrete domes of such volume. Of the two hangars still remaining, one is still very much
work in progress.
The hangar is deceptively big and despite the two coaches, the museum did not give the impression of being overcrowded. In fact as we made our way to the top level and looked down over one of the connecting walk ways, the place seemed relatively deserted. There is no upper floor in the hanger but walkways have been strategically placed to maximise the space in this vast building.
There are a number of tanks and heavy artillery weapons lining the ledges around the hangar. Most have at some time been used by the Estonian armed forces under the watchful eye of their powerful Soviet neighbours.
The centre piece of the Seaplane Harbour museum is the submarine Lembit. Built in the 1930s, this submarine was originally commissioned by the Imperial Estonian navy but, when the country became occupied by the Nazis in 1941, the Russians took charge having it as a useful addition to their own fleet. The sub is open to the public so I managed to climb down in to what looked like the torpedo room. Behind the staircase lay a small circular entrance that led deeper in to the sub showing the
visitor a sample of cramped life on board where sub mariners could stay for anything up to a few months cooped up always wondering if they would ever set foot on dry land again. To progress down the submarine through the different chambers either involved ‘cocking' a leg, stooping down or in most cases both at the same time so I was happy to use my imagination as to how cramped conditions must have been. On speaking to the museum assistant she confirmed that the average height of a sub mariner was between 5'0" – 5'2”. So being an Umpa-Lumpa or Sleepy, Dozey, Bashful, Happy, Sneezy, Grumpy or Doc would have its advantage!!
On the ground floor of the museum were a number of interactive exhibits. I donned an Estonian army tunic and cap and stood in front of a screen whilst a museum camera took a photo. This could then be emailed home as a souvenir of one's visit. I felt quite proud of myself until Roisin brought me back down to earth with her comment that I looked like Corporal Jones from Dad's Army!!!
Moving on, I took to the cockpit of a Short 184 bi-plane
and took her up for a spin. If I flew over the Arctic would I be in a bi-polar plane??! At the same time, Roisin took charge of an anti-aircraft gun in a simulation to shoot down as many enemy aircraft as possible in a given time frame. What would have made it more interesting was if the bi-plane and the anti-aircraft gun simulations were connected and I had to dodge bullets from Roisin. I think my erratic flying would make for a difficult target. In fact, she could probably just stand there and wait patiently as sooner or later I'd end up taking myself out!!!
This was turning out to be a fun day. Nice indoor activities to keep kids from 5 to 55 (today!!) amused!! There were many other exhibits including the story of Scott of the Antarctic. The exhibit, unlike others I have seen on the same subject brought home the hostilities of the environment and dreadful conditions they all faced. There is a copy of Scott's last entry in his journal. He knew he was not going to get out of this one alive. His poignant last words were:
Every day we have been ready to start for our depot 11 miles away, but outside the door of our tent it remains a scene of whirling drift. I do not think we can hope for any better things now. We shall stick it out to the end, but we are getting weaker, of course, and the end cannot be far. It seems a pity, but I do not think I can write anymore.' As a P.S he added:
For God's sake look after our people. Outside berthed in the dock behind the hangar was a century-old steam-powered icebreaker and a number of other small vessels you could board and explore.
Despite the weather following us around, this had been a pleasant day, away from the crowds and the attractions that the old city had to offer.
This evening I took the card that we received this morning to the restaurant for my birthday ‘special treat'. Having to notify the Maitre D', the treat had to be something to eat (or drink?) I gave the card to our waiter who looked at it blankly. ‘
One moment, please', he said as he took it away. Several moments later he returned with the Head
Waiter.
‘You need to speak to reception. Your name and cabin number not on list'. We tried to explain that we had already spoken to the reception who advised us to speak to the restaurant. ‘
Name not on list', he kept repeating. It was fruitless to argue so we decided to give the reception one more try.
Within seconds of the head waiter leaving, our dinner neighbours strolled up. The time was 6:45pm. Alexandriu, our Romanian assistant waiter approached their table and tried to explain that service for the first sitting starts at 6pm. He seems to be having difficulty in getting them to understand or maybe it was just the general concept of time they were struggling with!! Having listened to them talk, neither Roisin nor I have decided on what nationality they are. They don't seem to be speaking one of the mainstream languages.
At reception: ‘Y
es. You need to speak to the restaurant!!' Having explained the situation, the receptionist made a phone call and finally said:
‘Go to restaurant and ask for Carlito. He will sort you out!' and apologised for the confusion.
Carlito explained that as the cakes are made to order,
it would not be possible to make one tonight. He showed be the list of cakes available of which I chose a Chocolato Blanco. He then gave me the choice of delivery to our dinner table tomorrow night or to the cabin. At this stage I wasn't really in the mood for cake but as it was on offer and free I thought,
Hey! Why not. As I didn't want singing waiters surrounding me tomorrow when it wouldn't even be my birthday, I opted for the cabin delivery.
Our next stop on what was becoming a very busy evening was the Black card holders' private party although ‘party' was not the word I would have used!! This was held in a cordoned section of the Pasha Club disco. We were greeted by Elena, the cruise consultant. Several waitresses were on hand to keep us topped up with Red Wine and Prosecco. There were only 21 present of which we were the only English speaking guests. The Cruise director made a short speech (or it would have been if she didn't have to repeat it in six languages!!) and then asked everyone to join her in a toast. We were
then presented with a chocolate ship each before the official photographer took our complementary photograph. Claudia, the Cruise Director was then joined by two Senior Officers who took turns to chat to all the guests present. Next we had to decide on staying put or rushing down to the Theatre to watch the MSC adaptation of Romeo and Juliet. Hmm! Free wine versus a Shakespearean tragedy? We decided to stay. ‘
Don't mind if I do', I said to the passing drinks waitress. Unlike the events unfolding in the Teatro San Carlo seven decks below, our evening had a happy ending!!! (HIC!!)
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Carla
non-member comment
Photos are fab :-) Disappointed you didn't opt for the singing waiters though!