ESTONIA


(Estonia Flag)


(Map of Estonia)

All of the images below are thumbnails and can be clicked on for a larger image.

WEDNESDAY, AUGUST 3, 2011:

After a day at sea on Tuesday we docked in Tallinn, Estonia on Wednesday morning.
Tallinn is the capital and largest city in the small country of Estonia.
Tallinn has a population around 415,000 and is situated on the northern coast of the country,
on the banks of the Gulf of Finland, 50 miles south of Helsinki.
The spire on the right in the picture on the right is that of St. Olaf's Church and is believed to
have been built in the 12th century and was the tallest building in the world from 1549 to 1625.


My first stop in Tallinn was at the Song Festival Grounds. The Tallinn Song Stage was built in 1959 for the
Estonian Song Festival. The stage was bulit to hold over 15,000 singers. Today, Tallinn's Song Festival Grounds are also
used for hosting international acts, such as Michael Jackson, Tina Turner, The Rolling Stones, Elton John and Madonna.
A statue of Gustav Ernesaks, an Estonian composer, was erected in 2004 on the Song Festival Grounds.
Lower right picture is Tallinn's Olympic centre and yacht harbour, the regatta venue for the 1980 Moscow Olympics.


Next we had a nice walk through Tallinn's beautiful Old Town which is on the list of UNESCO World Heritage Sites.
Picture on the left is the old Estonian Royal Palace now the Parliament building.
The other two pictures are the Russian Orthodox Alexander Nevsky Cathedral.
The Alexander Nevsky Cathedral crowns the hill of Toompea where the Estonian folk hero Kalevipoeg is said to
have been buried according to a legend. As the USSR was officially non-religious, many churches including this
cathedral were left to decline. The church has been restored since Estonia regained its independence in 1991.


The church in the pictures below is St Mary's Cathedral (Estonian: Toomkirik) also known as the Dome Church.


You get a nice view of lower town from the Kohtuotsa viewing platform on Toompea Hill.
It was a short drive back to the ship after our walk through Old Town.
We were parked next to the MSC Posnia which made her maiden voyage in April of 2008.


We sailed away at 5:00.
There was a nice sunset in the Gulf of Finland later on as we made our way to Russia.

35 minute video of my visit to Tallinn, Estonia.

MY DAILY EMAIL SENT ON AUGUST 3, 2011

Greetings from Estonia! Yesterday was spent cruising east in the Baltic Sea. It was a nice sunny day. I got a little sun burnt watching a movie out on the deck on the "movies under the stars" screen. Spent the rest of the day in the casino, relaxing and nursing my cold. It was another beautiful day today. Not a cloud in the sky. We docked in Tallinn, Estonia at 8:00 this morning. Estonia, formerly part of the Soviet Union, gained it's independence in 1991. Below is a view of old town from the ship. Estonia is a very small country, only 1.4 million people in the entire country. About 400,000 live here in Tallinn, the capital city. There were two other cruise ships in port with us today. My ship is the one on the right in the picture below. First thing I did was take a short drive around the city. We stopped at a concert park. The amphitheater can hold up to 50,000 performers. I spent the rest of my time in Tallinn walking through the historical old town. Below is the Alexander Nevsky Cathedral. Across from Alexander Nevsky Church is the Parliament Building. Below is the oldest church in the city, the Dome Church. Below is a view of lower old town from upper old town. It was fun walking around the cobblestone streets of Tallinn. Not a very big place but very interesting. We sailed away at 5:00 this afternoon. We are now heading for the highlight of the cruise, our overnight stay in St. Petersburg, Russia. We arrive at 6:00 tomorrow morning and don't leave until Friday night. Tim

Click on email photos for the large full-size photograph.

I returned to Tallinn in 2013. Click HERE for the details.


Click on the arrow above to continue to the next adventure, St. Petersburg, Russia!

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