In June, we took a weekend trip to Tallinn, Estonia. To get there, we decided to travel by ferry (although it was more like a mini-cruise ship than a typical ferry). The boat left Stockholm Friday evening around 5, arrived in Tallinn around 9:30 in the morning and left that evening around 6 to arrive back in Stockholm around 10 in the morning on Sunday.
It was a perfect way to travel for a short weekend get-away.
Belle loved the kid's room. She was especially thrilled that they had a baby as mommy forgot to bring hers.
For dinner, we chose to go to the sit-down steak house restaurant. Belle enjoyed coloring while waiting for her dinner.
Saturday morning we disembarked and walked the short distance from the ferry's port to the medieval city gates of Tallinn. The Tallinn of today still looks much like it did in the 11th century when the Hanseatic Trading League established a trading port. Most of the medieval city wall is still intact as well as many of the buildings. Yet, as you begin to explore further, Tallinn's Russian history begins to emerge as well.
After arriving, we met up with Mike and Allison and Allison's parents for the day. They had been in Helsinki and took the ferry from Helsinki that morning.
We had printed the Rick Steve's walking tour guide, which was a perfect way to see and learn about the sights of the city.
Cyle started calling me "Rick" since I acted as the tour guide.
The city once consisted of two feuding medieval towns separated by a wall. The upper town—on the hill, called Toompea—was the seat of government ruling Estonia. The lower town was an autonomous Hanseatic trading center filled with German, Danish, and Swedish merchants who hired Estonians to do their menial labor. Two steep, narrow streets—the “Long Leg” and the “Short Leg”—connect Toompea and the lower town.
A marketplace through the centuries, Town Hall Square is the starting point for exploring Tallinn's Old Town.
The 15th-century Town Hall dominates the square.
We began our tour walking up Pikk street, which was the street used by medieval Hanseatic merchants as it led from the harbour into town.
The pharmacy dates from 1422 and claims to be the oldest pharmacy in Europe.
Hall of the Black Heads Society (founded in 1440) was a business fraternity open to only single German men. Once a man married, he was believed to have a vested interest in the town's economy and community and was then permitted to join the more prestigious Great Guild. Its namesake “black head” is the head of St. Mauritius, an early Christian martyr beheaded in Switzerland (A.D. 200). Reliefs decorating the building recall Tallinn’s Hanseatic glory days.
Maiasmokk (“Sweet Tooth”) coffee shop, which was the sweetest place in town during Soviet days, is still a great place for coffee and sweets.
Church of the Holy Ghost
(Pühavaimu kirik)
The clock dates from 1633
Pictures from inside the church
St. Nicholas’ (Niguliste) Church, a traditional Gothic church from the 13th century, which served German merchants and knights who lived in the area.
We stopped here to do a little shopping
From there, we climbed the steep, cobbled Lühike jalg (“Short Leg Lane”), which connected the two divided cities of Toompea, which controlled Estonia, and the Hanseatic trade filled lower city.
After climbing Short Leg Lane and passing through the gate separating the two cities, we arrived in the Danish King's Garden, which gave a great view of the city wall. The city wall once had 46 towers.
The round tower is nicknamed “Kiek in de Kök, which means “Peek in the Kitchen.” It was situated so that “peek” is exactly what guards could do.
At this point in the tour, we were all hungry and decided to stop for lunch. We found an Greek cafe that had great outdoor seating space.
Alexander Nevsky Cathedral
The cathedral was built in 1900 over the supposed grave of a legendary Estonian hero—Kalevipoeg. While it’s a beautiful building, most Estonians don’t like this church. Built to face the national parliament, it was an attempt to flex Russian cultural muscles during a period of Estonian national revival.
Viewpoints from the upper city of Tallinn.
St. Olav's is the white church in the background
When Tallinn was under Soviet rule during the Cold War Era, the KGB would use the tower to block TV signals from Finland.
We ended our tour by old walking down Pikk jalg (“Long Leg Street”) into the lower town.
Belle had too much fun and just couldn't take it any more!
Our tour and day had come to an end....and there wasn't a better way to end it with some cotton candy!
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