FRIDAY, MAY 9, 2008 - TALLINN ESTONIA - Our day in Tallinn, Estonia started much like the previous days of this cruise. We had no tour booked and planned to walk around the town and sight see. We were docked in a very industrial area, quite a walk from the main part of the city.
We stopped to look at the map. All we could remember about it was it was "very confusing".
We continued to walk in the same direction that everyone else seem to be going.
And finally, we reached the wall of the old city of Tallinn, Estonia. Tallin, Estonia's capital located in the northern part of the country on the shore of the Gulf of Finland of the Baltic Sea, is the country's cultural hub. It retains its walled, cobblestoned Old Town, home to cafes and shops, as well as Keik in de Kok, a 15th-century defensive tower. Its Gothic town Hall, build in the 13th century and with a 210 ft. high tower, sits in historic Tallinn's main square.
The Three sisters Hotel (in English over the door)
Notice the age of this building.
The streets were very uneven and winding, sometimes eventually leading to a dead end. It happened to us more than once, when we would turn around and attempt to retrace our steps but not always sure we were able to do that. On more than one occasion we simply chose another route, perhaps or not the one we had traveled to get there and continued on until we came upon another blind dead end.
We could see this church from a few streets away because of its height. Scroll on down 3 more photos.
This looked like a nice building of apartments with bay windows.
Then, it was a pass under.
The streets looked lonely and deserted.
Suddenly we emerged into an opening with cars and flowers. Perhaps a newer area.
Back inside the Old walled city we could see a church ahead.
And, finally, there it was. St. Nicholas Church a medieval former church dedicated to St. Nicholas, the patron of the fishermen and sailors. Originally built in the 13th century, it was partially destroyed in the Soviet bombing of Tallinn in World War II. It has since been restored and today houses the Niguliste Museum, a branch of the Art Museum of Estonia focusing mainly on ecclesiastical art from the Middle Ages onward. The former church is also used as a concert hall.
Nearby, we spotted an onion dome church, the Alexander Nevsky Cathedral which is an orthodox cathedral in the Tallinn Old Town. It was build to a design in a typical Russian Revival style between 1894 and 1900. That was the period when the country was part of the Russian Empire. As the USSR was officially non-religious, many churches including this cathedral were left to decline. The church as been meticulously restored since Estonia regained independence from the Soviet Union in 1991.
We quietly slipped inside to observe the service which was in session. It seemed much like the Roman church services we had observed.
Leaving the Old Town we were suddenly in a busy well-planned city of parking lots, parks, and high rise buildings.
But, for us the charm was in the old places and we returned to the walled area.
And finally, to the Kiek in de Kok, an artillery tower built in 1475. It gained the name from the ability of tower occupants to see into kitchens of nearby houses. The tower is 125 ft high and has walls 13 ft thick. Cannon balls dating back to 1577 are still embedded in its outer walls.
Throughout its working life, the tower was extensively remodeled. Work in the 16th and 17th centuries saw the two lowest floors become hidden by earth works and the upper floors receive new gun openings and the uppermost floor a new outer wall and ceiling. By 1760, the tower had become obsolete. At this time it became a repository for archives and some floors were converted to apartments. Twentieth-century restoration work saw the tower and surrounding area returned to a more historical look. The tower now serves as a museum and photographic gallery.
Walking back toward the ship, my eye was drawn to this lonesome railway track and my mind brought thoughts of the hundreds of people who were shipped on such a line to the Nazi death camps in Poland and other locations. It was a sobering thought.
And, we returned to the safety of the Constellation
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