Tallinn Walking Tour

Started by taking a trolley bus down to Kadriorg Park, a short distance from the Old City. Looked at the sea, the huge ferries at the port, and the beach, until it started to snow and we decided that a swim was out of the question. Now that we have come north again and are on the Gulf of Finland, things have got cold, and we've broken out the down jackets for the first time since Siberia. It was 0 deg when we got up this morning, but warmed up as the day went on. Kadriorg Park is the home of Tallinn Palace, presumably used by the Tsar's when they came to town, but now used as the offices of the president, and we wandered around the gardens and adjoining buildings for a while before returning to the Old City to warm up and have morning tea.

Joined the Tallinn walking tour at noon, run along the same lines as the Riga one we did a couple of days ago. It was just us and a French girl stranded by the air crisis, but she only lasted half the tour as she had thought she was on her way home and had given away her warm shoes and clothes, and was freezing. Saw all the usual sights in the Old City including several remnants of the wall and moat, some of which is now excavated around for an underground carpark. Interestingly, they pave the street above with different pavers over the top of the wall ruins so you can trace the old wall below as you walk along the footpath.

Saw Nevsky Cathedral (Orthodox), St Mary's Cathedral (Lutheran), St Olav's, the guild halls and the town hall - the oldest in Europe built in 1322. A bit of luck. Today was one of the two days in the year that the parliament buildings housed in Toompea Castle are open to the public, so we were allowed to go in through the courtyard, into the parliament itself, and up Tall Hermann's Tower to look out over the old and new cities. Turned out to be a much longer tour than normal, and as its a free tour we certainly got our money's worth.

A huge pancake - probably the largest one I've ever had - for lunch about 4pm, a bit of a snooze to recover, another walk to a mall, and then back for a snacky tea.

Tallinn is a lovely city. The ruins and Old Town are more extensive and better preserved than Riga. However, Riga being less reconstructed and renovated has a more authentic feel, you sense that you are seeing an authentic town, not one painted for tourists, and of course its much cheaper. I suppose I'd prefer to tour Tallinn and live in Riga.