Saturday, August 1, 2015

Saturday June 27, 2015 - Tallinn, Estonia


I started taking a Medrol pack for my ear infection so I am not sleeping well as it keeps me awake. I woke up several times and then got up at 6 am for good.  We are going on a bike ride and walking tour in Tallinn today so I’m hoping the weather clears.   It rained during the night but the day was beautiful – warmer and sunny.

We got up at 7 am, showered and went for a light breakfast.  We went to the theatre at 9 and got our bus ticket for our bike ride and city walking tour.  We took a short bus ride to the Estonian Open Air Museum in Rocca al Mare at Vabaohumuuseumi.  We picked out a bike and went riding to the sea with the Tallinn skyline on the other side.  We then rode a short way back to a museum park where we had 90 minutes to ride around and look at the historical buildings that had been moved there.  There was a home, blacksmith shop, sauna, windmill, homes with gardens, old church, swing (that was fun), gardens, and a large group of people in costume dancing to various music.  Very enjoyable day.  The bike ride was lots of fun.

Tim on his bike . . .

and Larry on his bike for the ride through the Estonian park

Tim at the blacksmith's house

Windmills

A home

Moss on the roof and walls - used for insulation in the cold weather

View of Tallinn across the bay from the park

An old swing

We had to try to the swing - it was fun.

I got going pretty good - it was actually easier with one rather than two

A smaller windmill

Beautiful, peaceful paths in the park - we rode throughout

Lots of structures and gardens

Yet another windmill

Locals in native dress dancing

The ladies play a game by hiding a young girl under their dresses and the boy has to find her

They had lots of fun and were so happy

We enjoyed watching their various dances
 
We had a coffee and tea and a very dry piece of cake at the Museum.  We loaded on the bus and went back to the old city.  We saw the old city walls, beautiful buildings from the early 1800’s and several churches.  We found a store where I could use dollars to buy a post card for the girls.  We walked around for about an hour and then went to the bus and back to the port.

Town hall in Tallinn

Part of the old city wall in Tallinn

The city wall and turrets in Tallinn

Well preserved wall, arches, and towers

Beautiful unusual gardens in a Tallinn park


The longest part of the old city wall in Tallinn

Beautiful walls and towers in Tallinn

Tim intently listening to our guide during our city walk

An old home in Tallinn

Church in Tallinn

One of the oldest structures in Tallinn

Interesting wall adornments

"Man with Spectacles" - The owner put this up to deter the Peeping Tom from across the street looking at the owner's wife!

Old church and clock

The very old clock

Town hall in the central square of Tallinn



Well preserved city with cobblestone streets



Beautiful flower market in Tallinn
 
We relaxed on the ship during the afternoon.  About 5:30 we showered and dressed for the Captain’s Reception.  We were surprised that it was very sparsely attended.  We went to Observation and had a drink.   I started talking to Ray Solaire, the cruise director.  He’s been in the industry since 1969 and started as an entertainer, a puppeteer, and ventriloquist.  He has a 22-bedroom manor home in the UK. He invited us for dinner tomorrow night in one of the specialty restaurants.  After he left to attend to a function, we joined Sandy and Gavin from Palm Beach for chit-chat. 

We went to the Compass Rose for dinner but there was about a 15 minute wait, so we went to the bar for another glass of wine.  Our table was ready soon and we had a good dinner – Tim had lobster and I had dover sole. 

After dinner we went back to the Theatre for the “On Broadway” show by the entertainers.  They were excellent.  The male lead singer, Kevin Hack, was super.  Gemma did a great job in the new show and their costumes were very revealing – she told us it “shows my bum!”

We had one last drink in Observations and listened to piano music.  Pietre is very good, much better than Kathy on Voyager last year.  We headed off to bed about 11.

No comments:

Post a Comment