Day 11: Arriving in Tallinn

Today we are travelling via minibus to Tallin, the capital of Estonia. We had a short ferry crossing back to the mainland. Then just a couple of hours by road to our next stop in Tallin, the capital of Estonia.

Once we had checked in at the hotel we went off to explore this medieval town. The town was full of tourists from the cruise ships so we decided to have some lunch and then join Vad and the rest of the group later in the afternoon. By 4pm the town was much quieter and Vad took us on a tour showing us the main places of interest.

These stone pigeons seem to be everywhere in Tallinn. They are part of a parking restriction scheme but a number of businesses are  not happy as it has made it very difficult for delivery vans to get through the narrow streets.

There are lots of narrow, cobbled streets in Tallinn.

Vadim took us to a viewpoint for a panoramic view of the red roofed old town. It had escaped damage during the war and much of the town left intact much as it was during the 16th century including the city walls and towers.

Town Hall Square

 In one corner of the Main Square is the town pharmacy of Tallin is one of the oldest continually working apothecary's in the world (first mentioned in 1422). The building developed from three gothic gabled buildings that were joined together. One was the weighing house, the middle one was the apothecary and the one on the right wasthe priest's house from the Church of the Holy Spirit. In 1727 the buildings were brought together under one roof.

In 1402-04 the existing Town Hall was rebuilt into this two storied building.

As well as the medieval buildings there are also some  interesting Art Noveau buildings.

St Alexander Nevsky Cathedral is a Russian Orthodox church that was completed in 1900.

This square has had various names such as Straw Market, Peter's Square and Victory Square. It was first named Freedom Square in 1939 and remained that way until 1948. It was renamed Freedom Square  in 1989.

After our evening meal we went to what used to be a 'speakeasy'. It was in a converted apartment which overlooked the street. It was known for its cocktails so it was a good way to end the day.