I Am A Celebrity!: Tallin, Estonia

Alexsander Nevski Cathedral - Tallin, Estonia
Copyright Andy Richards 2022 - All Rights Reserved

AFTER ST. Petersburg was taken off the agenda, I really though Tallin was probably going to be the highlight of this cruise - especially photographically. At the time I was entertaining those thoughts, I was unfamiliar with Visby, Sweden. I knew Old Tallin was a very well-preserved Medieval city in the Baltic, replete with walls, Cathedrals, cobblestone streets, and old buildings.

Town Square - Tallin, Estonia
Copyright Andy Richards 2022 - All Rights Reserved

MY RESEARCH suggested that once you got to the old city from the cruise port, the rest was a pretty walkable site. It is always difficult to get a real "feel" for distances in these places just based on maps and on anecdotal information. The distance on Google Maps from the cruise port to the entrance of the old city is just about 3/4 of a mile. My Rick Steves book suggested it was easily walkable. Maybe we are just getting old. 😅 But we took the cruise shuttle, which dropped us off at the old city entrance. On the way, we did see quite a few people walking. It is - by the way - uphill all the way. It was another 1/2 mile to our meeting point for our walking tour near the Town Hall. Again, mostly uphill. The only solace was that the return would be all downhill.

Town Hall - Tallin, Estonia
Copyright Andy Richards 2022 - All Rights Reserved

I WAS looking forward to this day. I had read about several spots that I not only wanted to see but was certain would make excellent picture-taking opportunities. We arrived at the meeting point just 5 minutes early. Surprisingly, we didn't see anyone else waiting. This struck us as a bit strange, as it has been our experience that the guides are usually a few minutes early, in order to make sure people find her/him. And it seems like there are usually people who have arrived early, waiting. We waited for almost 1/2 hour and nobody ever showed up. When we reached out to the guide, he indicated that he had sent us a change of meeting location. We had somehow missed it. Our bad. It was too late for us to try to catch up with them. But we were already in the city, so using a map we had picked up, we did our best to hit the high spots.

Tallin, Estonia
Copyright Andy Richards 2022 - All Rights Reserved

I THINK we actually did pretty well on our own. There were two vista-type overlooks I had read about. We found one, but it wasn't really the best one. Unfortunately, it was the only spot we never really found (our friends, Mike and Elaine had seen it on their tour, so I am pretty sure we would have - if we had met up with our group).

Aleksander Nevski Cathedral - Tallin, Estonia
Copyright Andy Richards 2022 - All Rights Reserved

MY MOST sought-after shot was probably the Russian Orthodox Cathedral (Aleksander Nevski Cathedral). Given its rather massive size and our vantage point down on the ground, it is a challenging photograph. But I got several that I liked. I have since commented that it is probably the coolest building I have ever photographed.

Walls between the two old cities - Tallin, Estonia
Copyright Andy Richards 2022 - All Rights Reserved

I HAD read that there were actually two old cities in Tallin, separated by (separate) walls. At some point years ago in history, the inhabitants of these two cities were rival factions that neither particularly liked, nor trusted each other. But during the daylight hours, they co-existed, and even traded. At night, each city closed their own gates. We successfully found, and identified the two side-by-side walls.

St. Olaf's Church - Tallin, Estonia
Copyright Andy Richards 2022 - All Rights Reserved

ONE OF Tallin's more famous landmarks is the old St. Olaf's Church. Built in the 12th century, and probably named after Norway's King Olaf II, the church was originally Catholic. Following the Reformation, the church became Lutheran. In 1950, the church became a Baptist Church (and remains Baptist today). But religion is not really what St. Olaf's is best known for. Rather, primary fame comes from fact that from 1944 - 1991, the Soviet KGB used the tower to as a radio tower, signal jamming site and surveillance point. Certainly the tallest building in Tallin, it may be one of the tallest buildings in the Baltic.

Soviet KGB Prison Cells - Tallin, Estonia
Copyright Andy Richards 2022 - All Right Reserved

IN 1940, The Soviet Union invaded Lithuania. Within a short period of years, the Soviets occupied the 3 "Baltic" states: Latvia, Lithuania and Estonia. This occupation lasted from 1944 - 1991. During that occupancy, in addition to using the spire of St. Olaf's Church, the KGB maintain its headquarters, including a prison right around the corner from the church.

ANOTHER REALLY photogenic church in Tallin is The Orthodox Church of St. Nicholas. Like many taller buildings in close quarters, it is also very challenging to photograph. I thought the best vantage point was from down the street.

Although closed as we passed by, just the name of this "establishment" may give some explanation
for the locals' resentment of visiting weekend partiers from nearby countries
Tallin, Estonia
Copyright Andy Richards - All Rights Reserved

THERE WERE a lot of nice little restaurants and shops along the streets. Tallin is also known for its lively nightlife, which has in more recent years attracted young people from Helsinki and Stockholm for long weekends. I have also read that many of the locals resent their loud, partying ways. But I suppose the dollars that are brought in by these vacationers goes a long way toward assuaging their "wounds."

WE FOUND Tallin's old, Medieval city to be predictably charming - and photogenic. We enjoyed the day. After our walk around the old city, we returned by shuttle once again to the ship. The next day we would dock in Stockolm, after along and scenic waterway passage into the port.

I Am A Celebrity!

Sunday, September 10, 2023

Tallin, Estonia

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