Walters tour of Tallinn

Today was to be an exciting day. We would be in Tallinn Estonia, not somewhere I would ever imagine visiting. Now if you know anything about the city You will be aware that it has an old walled town very close to the port. Perfect for cruisers because it means they don't have to walk far. These old Estonians knew how to plan for future tourists. We met the girls for a posh breakfast then donned our rucksack full of raincoats and headed for deck 2 midships. In no time at all we were on Estonian soul and having our photo taken by the ships photographer behind a ships wheel reading 'welcome to Tallinn'. 

Welcome to Estonia

As with most of our port days, I had a plan. Kathy had given me a very useful book about cruising the Baltic and it contained a walking tour of Tallinn. I took it upon myself to become tour guide and give the rest of them the 'Walters Tour of Tallinn'. It began at Fat Mary's Tower where we entered the old town for the first time via an archway. 

The streets beyond were really quaint and it took a lot of doing to imagine the torture that must have gone on in the cellars of the old KGB building that the Walters tour passed. The tour led us next to acsection of the walls that could be entered (fee required) so we handed over our euros and went in. Those ancient Tallonians must have been Giants cos those steps were nearly as big as me. Luckily there were ropes whereby us little ones could haul ourselves up. We looked in three towers and walked along a section of walls. The views were great and the sun was shining. 

Giant steps are what we take

Walking on the walls

After all the exercise some members of the group needed the loo, so we had to leave the tour route and venture beyond the walls to look for one. In a nearby park we found one that cost 20c and cleaned itself after every use. That passed a pleasant half hour. But eventually we were back inside the walls and back on track. I followed the tour through narrow streets to the bustling town square where we decided to take a break and buy a drink in one of the pleasant restaurants. 

The tour continued down some narrow streets and arrived at a gate in the wall, and an ice cream cart. Naturally we took advantage of this. 

Next we came to a pretty cathedral and a stunning viewpoint over the city, although it was chokka with pesky tourists. 

Time for another lengthy toilet stop at the self clean toilet. Another pleasant half hour was passed waiting around. 

We then viewed a couple of churches and the very pink town hall. 

The final part of the tour took us through a park, past a bridal party and an Estonia druggie fight, and back round to our lovely first toilet. We strolled back to the ship in plenty of time. I felt the Walters Tour of Tallinn had been a success. 

The evening was spent with a show, where the main singer had to go home due to a family death so one of the RC singers stepped in and did great, a hard rock music quiz in which we failed miserably, dinner, and a movie quiz in which we failed miserably. 

And so to bed. We have an early start as we roll into Russia tomorrow.