What a difference sunshine makes!
It was a gorgeous day for sightseeing, sunny, mid teens in temperature.
Some travel books call Tallin "The Jewel of the Baltics". After today I have to agree. The history is similar to the history of Gdansk and Riga. They are all seaports that were very rich and important during medieval times. They were all ruled by German knights, Sweden, and Russia, and didn't become the countries they are now, until the 20th century. (Except for Poland)
Tallin has some of the best preserved medieval fortifications and buildings in Europe. Half of the original 4 km wall is still there, with, over twenty towers. I have noticed that in most of theses medieval towns there was a moat. Those moats have been filled in, and become parks. So each of these towns has a lovely bit of green space surrounding it.
The Old Town has been beautifully restored.
Tallin also has a hill, where the nobility lived, so you can get lovely views.
I started my walking tour early in the morning. By ten the town is a zoo. Tallin is a port for many cruise ships, similar to Dubrovnik, so between 10 and 4, you encounter dozens of, mostly elderly, tourists, gawking skyward.
A couple of points of interest, for me, were churches. The first was the "Mary, Mother of God" cathedral. I have never seen a church like it. There wasn't one picture, or statue, of a saint. The only religious figure was Christ on the cross. The walls are covered with beautifully carved wooden coats of arms, belonging to wealthy citizens, who are buried in the cathedral. The are several dozen of these, and the church looks more like a military memorial, than a religious building.
A block away is the Greek Orthodox Alexander Nevsky Cathedral, another impressive structure.
The other church is visited was Saint Olav's. It's claim to fame was that it was the tallest building in Europe when it was built. For 2 Euros you can climb the 285 steps to the top. It was quite the climb, very narrow, and spiralling. It isn't really wide enough for two people, so it was fun squeezing by the ones coming down. The view was worth it though.
It reminded me of the temple I climbed in Orchha, in India. That one was a lot scarier, because there were no railings, and I was following a guide, who had a flash light. There was no-one else there, and you just have to have faith, that you werent going to be mugged, or worse. The neat thing about the Indian temple was that at the top were birds nests, parrots, bats, even a vulture, with a baby.
Back to Estonia.
Tallin is full of souvenir shops and restaurants. The souvenirs are high quality, but expensive.
My apartment is at the edge of the Old Town, so I went home and
had a bit of a rest.
Afterwards I decided to head in the opposite direction from yesterday. Yesterday I hit the slums, today I hit the rich part. A world of difference. Lovely parks, beautiful shops. I spent almost
an hour in a great book store. As big as Chapters, but much nicer. There was also a fantastic supermarket. I drooled all the way home.
I did see a cute sight. I passed the Opera and the parking lot had bars that go up and down for cars. The bars were in the shape of a big pink hand holding a conductor's baton. Very ingenious.
As I travel further north the length of the day is really changing. It is still fairly light at 11, and it gets light by 3. I could be walking Logan at 3 am.
Ralf
It was a gorgeous day for sightseeing, sunny, mid teens in temperature.
Some travel books call Tallin "The Jewel of the Baltics". After today I have to agree. The history is similar to the history of Gdansk and Riga. They are all seaports that were very rich and important during medieval times. They were all ruled by German knights, Sweden, and Russia, and didn't become the countries they are now, until the 20th century. (Except for Poland)
Tallin has some of the best preserved medieval fortifications and buildings in Europe. Half of the original 4 km wall is still there, with, over twenty towers. I have noticed that in most of theses medieval towns there was a moat. Those moats have been filled in, and become parks. So each of these towns has a lovely bit of green space surrounding it.
The Old Town has been beautifully restored.
Tallin also has a hill, where the nobility lived, so you can get lovely views.
I started my walking tour early in the morning. By ten the town is a zoo. Tallin is a port for many cruise ships, similar to Dubrovnik, so between 10 and 4, you encounter dozens of, mostly elderly, tourists, gawking skyward.
A couple of points of interest, for me, were churches. The first was the "Mary, Mother of God" cathedral. I have never seen a church like it. There wasn't one picture, or statue, of a saint. The only religious figure was Christ on the cross. The walls are covered with beautifully carved wooden coats of arms, belonging to wealthy citizens, who are buried in the cathedral. The are several dozen of these, and the church looks more like a military memorial, than a religious building.
A block away is the Greek Orthodox Alexander Nevsky Cathedral, another impressive structure.
The other church is visited was Saint Olav's. It's claim to fame was that it was the tallest building in Europe when it was built. For 2 Euros you can climb the 285 steps to the top. It was quite the climb, very narrow, and spiralling. It isn't really wide enough for two people, so it was fun squeezing by the ones coming down. The view was worth it though.
It reminded me of the temple I climbed in Orchha, in India. That one was a lot scarier, because there were no railings, and I was following a guide, who had a flash light. There was no-one else there, and you just have to have faith, that you werent going to be mugged, or worse. The neat thing about the Indian temple was that at the top were birds nests, parrots, bats, even a vulture, with a baby.
Back to Estonia.
Tallin is full of souvenir shops and restaurants. The souvenirs are high quality, but expensive.
My apartment is at the edge of the Old Town, so I went home and
had a bit of a rest.
Afterwards I decided to head in the opposite direction from yesterday. Yesterday I hit the slums, today I hit the rich part. A world of difference. Lovely parks, beautiful shops. I spent almost
an hour in a great book store. As big as Chapters, but much nicer. There was also a fantastic supermarket. I drooled all the way home.
I did see a cute sight. I passed the Opera and the parking lot had bars that go up and down for cars. The bars were in the shape of a big pink hand holding a conductor's baton. Very ingenious.
As I travel further north the length of the day is really changing. It is still fairly light at 11, and it gets light by 3. I could be walking Logan at 3 am.
Ralf
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