Saturday, August 24, 2024
This morning at 9 am, we were transported from the Radisson Blu hotel to Old Town Tallinn. Zane narrated as she led us past many landmarks including: the Eastern Orthodox Alexander Nevskey Cathedral, Toompea Castle, and the Commandant’s Garden with beautiful views overlooking the city and Tallinn Bay.
Alexander Nevskey Cathedral (Eastern Orthodox)
Toompea Castle
—— Commandant’s Garden & City View ——
Zane then led us around Town Hall Square describing some of the surrounding buildings. At the Apothecary, she gave us five minutes to walk through it. Apparently, I was the only one of our group to take up her offer. Unfortunately, the queue to enter took more than five minutes. Once inside, I quickly surveyed the two small rooms and after exiting the building, discovered that Zane and the group were no where in sight.
—— Town Hall & Square ——
—— Apothecary ——
After exiting the Apothecary, I hurriedly began a systematic search for the group, first heading downhill from the square and then looping back uphill. After a frenetic 10 minutes or so of searching, I spotted Zane and the group in front of Tallinn’s Great Guild Hall with its 15th century medieval facade. With relief, I joined the group as they entered the building that now houses the Estonian History Museum. We were provided time to peruse the two floors of the museum’s interesting exhibits.
—— Estonian History Museum in the Great Guild Hall ——
We had free time for lunch following our tour of the History Museum. Jeff and I decided to eat at an outdoor cafe on Town Hall Square. We were less than a block from the Russian embassy and our lunch was interrupted by a group that marched past the embassy and through the square while protesting Russia’s war on Ukraine.
Throughout our tour of the Baltic States, I have been impressed by the Ukrainian support; Ukrainian flags are ubiquitous. After the fall of the Soviet Union, Ukraine gained its independence in 1991 along with the Baltic States. But unlike the Baltic States, Ukraine has not yet become a member of the EU or NATO and so has been vulnerable to Putin’s emperialistic ambitions. In the Baltic States, a century under tsarist rule and later decades of Soviet oppression, have created a justifiable repulsion to Putin’s actions and a kindred spirit with the Ukrainian people.
—— Lunch on Town Hall Square ——
At 2 pm, those of us signed up for the afternoon excursion met Zane in front of the Town Hall building. From there, we followed her to a van that drove us to the 250-acre Kadriorg Park in northeastern Tallinn. There, we walked to the baroque-style Kadriorg Palace and around the grounds including a tree-lined path to a beach. From the sandy beach we could see the major docks of Tallinn replete with large cruise ships.
—— Kadriorg Park ——
We then walked to an art museum on the park grounds, KUMU (kunsti muuseum) which houses Estonian art from the 18th century onwards. We were provided a museum hostess who only had enough time to spend an hour with us. She hurriedly took us through three rooms of different periods, portraits of German Baltic aristocrats, early modern art, and war art. We were then on our own to peruse the galleries before catching the van back to the hotel.
—— KUMU ——
At 7:30 pm, we were transported to Old Town for a medievel dinner at Restaurant Maikrahv. After dinner, we were expected to find our way back to the hotel. A group of three women from our group joined Jeff and I for safety and because they were not sure of the return route. Back at the hotel, Jeff and I had a beer at the bar to commemorate our final night in Estonia.
—— Restaurant Maikrahv ——
