Day 5 - Tallinn, Estonia

We had a leisurely morning and ate at the main dining room (gasp) for breakfast - we figured we had to go in there once. Margo has decided she likes Cagney's more. We met our tour guide Sirly at the port and boarded a bus to head up to "Old Town." Sirly is part of SPB tours - who we toured with in Berlin. She is finishing university - studying psychology.

Old Town is the medieval part of Tallinn which is a UNESCO site. We first saw the Alexander Nevsky cathedral which is a Russian Orthodox Church. There was a church service going on when we entered which is exactly what I pictured a Russian Orthodox Church service to be. Sirly said Estonians are not very religious - most go to church on Easter and Christmas. She said the Russian faction of the Estonian population is much more religious.

Next, we saw many government buildings, including embassies and the Parliament - which has a whopping 101 members for such a small country.

We headed to 2 viewing platforms - both of which had a gorgeous view of the lower town. Sirly said Estonia has been under so many rulers - they don't have one type of ancestry/identity. Most recently, they were occupied by the Soviet Union before getting their independence. In the late 1980s to protest the Soviet rule, a group of students gathered in one of the squares and sung forbidden nationalist songs and the anthem - they call this the "Singing Revolution."

We also walked along the town wall of the Old Town, which is 2km thick and 50-60m tall - it used to have 60 guard towers, now reduced to 26.

For lunch, we went to a place recommended by Sirly called Sinilind where we had a delicious, very reasonable lunch. The furniture was Soviet era from the 1960s - great ambience, and there was free wifi - woohoo!

We had a great day in Estonia and a nice dinner at Aqua, and then decided to head over to the reception desk to make a dinner reservation at one of the speciality restaurants. While we were there, one of the concierge gentlemen asked if we were Miss Nicholson and Miss Keeler, to which we apprehensively responded, "yes." He responded, "Good - I have been looking for your." Panic sets in. Who has died, or is sick or what have we done illegally. Margo is plotting on how to blame Fiona, and Fiona is planning on how to survive Estonian prison. After waiting several moments, and Roberto calling the same number repeatedly and not getting an answer. We are asked, "Do you know the captain?" Margo points to Fiona and says - she does. We are then instructed that we are "moving" and to go and pack our things.

So we waited with baited breath until we got a knock on the door to move our luggage. Fiona was thinking we were being transferred to a Russian gulag. Instead, we moved on up in the world to the 11th floor from the 5th floor to a bigger room with a balcony. Life is good :)

We unpacked and settled in and our enjoying our new balcony - which conveniently allows us to check the weather so we can figure out how many layers to put on to survive this weather. We are also befuddled at what happened to the people who used to occupy this cabin... we assume that it might be haunted :). Thank you to el capitan for the upgrade!

Tomorrow we venture into Russia. Good night all!

Pics:
1. Estonian Parliament building
2. View of Upper Town
3. Cobblestones
4. Alexander Nevsky Cathedral