A Baltic boating adventure TRIP REPORT COMPLETED 11/19 - Page 51 - PassPorter - A Community of Walt Disney World, Disneyland, Disney Cruise Line, and General Travel Forums
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You were either docked somewhere different from where we docked, or they've made a lot of changes - which, to be fair, is entirely possible since we were there in 2010! The balloon ride, and Segway tours were definitely not an option. Too bad, as I'd have loved to do a Segway tour there. They were also still on their own currency.
But the area where you are beginning your tour looks exactly the same as I remember!
Hope the rain holds off.
Wow. I'm quite impressed already and you've yet to really start this tour! Hope the rain holds off, but something tells me this town is worth it - rain or shine!
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Nice photos of Tallinn! The tour is off to a nice start and hope most of the rain holds off. Glad you have a good guide!
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You were either docked somewhere different from where we docked, or they've made a lot of changes - which, to be fair, is entirely possible since we were there in 2010!
After a lot of confusion (the Celebrity website really was not clear about this at all ) it turned out they were docked literally about 20 minutes walk from the Old Town, which made me wonder why I'd booked the tour. It would turn out to be a good thing however... I don't know if that's where Disney docked?
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The balloon ride, and Segway tours were definitely not an option. Too bad, as I'd have loved to do a Segway tour there. They were also still on their own currency.
Yes, I remember you saying about that. From memory, they changed over to the Euro in either 2011 or 2012.
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But the area where you are beginning your tour looks exactly the same as I remember!
Hope the rain holds off.
Wow. I'm quite impressed already and you've yet to really start this tour! Hope the rain holds off, but something tells me this town is worth it - rain or shine!
After a lot of confusion (the Celebrity website really was not clear about this at all ) it turned out they were docked literally about 20 minutes walk from the Old Town, which made me wonder why I'd booked the tour. It would turn out to be a good thing however... I don't know if that's where Disney docked?
No, we didn't dock that close - it was about a 15-20 minute shuttle ride from the Old Town area.
Agree that a day does feel like enough to have a good sense of the city - at least the historic part.
No, we didn't dock that close - it was about a 15-20 minute shuttle ride from the Old Town area.
Agree that a day does feel like enough to have a good sense of the city - at least the historic part.
That was definitely a different port then. That's the one I thought we were docking at, as I'm sure they said Muuga on one itinerary I saw and that one is 15-20 minutes away on a bus. However, I was stunned to discover we were arriving within walking distance. Had I known that, I wouldn't have booked the tour, but it was fine, as it worked out to be a great tour and worth the money.
Friday 10 June – part three: learning more about Estonia and seeing its old town
Our guide, Miina spent a lot of time in the park talking about the history of the country, and how it was first occupied by the Danes, then the Germans, followed by the Swedish. Out of all of the occupations, it seems from the way Miina talked that the Swedish rule is remembered the most fondly. If I remember right, then they came under Russian rule, followed by a very short period of independence, then it was Soviet rule for a year during the Second World War, before they gave Estonia over to the Nazis for the majority of the war. At the end of the war, the Soviets got it back and that’s how it remained under Estonia gained independence in 1991.
I found it very emotional listening to Miina talk about the country gain independence in 1991, as I was a first year politics student then. In my second year, I studied Soviet and Post Soviet politics, and things were changing so fast with countries being created, as they left the Soviet Union. There were no books written on the subject, as it was so quick paced, the Internet was limited back then (I had an email address, but basically only those in universities did) and you had to rely on articles coming out in specialist magazines. Wow, that sounds like a whole lifetime ago, doesn’t it?
Anyway, now seeing this place 25 years on, and the fact it’s blossomed into its own country was quite moving to see.
We also learnt that the politicians in this country are pretty young. The Prime Minister, who runs the country, is only 38 years old, while the President is more of a father figure, although without much authority. He was someone who left the country during the Second World War and headed to America, and returned back home to Estonia after it gained independence.
Miina also explained that everything here is done online, with taxes literally taking 15 minutes to pay online and you can vote online, so they have a huge turnout of young voters. Listening to her, I couldn’t help but think that other countries could learn a lot from Estonia.
She also told us that Estonia really wasn’t a religious country at all, and there’s obviously still dislike for the Russians, so when she spoke about the Alexander Nevsky Cathedral, you could just tell she wasn’t impressed. She later told us Estonians went to church twice a year on average – once for Christmas and once “when your cousin was singing in the church choir”. Somehow, that just wasn’t what I expected, and I’ve never come across such a non-religious country.
Anyway, the cathedral was built between 1894 and 1900, and is very impressive from the outside…
We went inside, but you weren’t allowed to take any photos inside it. It had some very high domes in it, but the scent in there of incense was overpowering, so I didn’t last long in there. I liked that this tour offered various bits of free time, usually only five or 10 minutes, to explore major attractions. It may not have been long, but it allowed you to ensure you saw what you wanted to.
There were lots of other classical buildings around here. Miina explained that there had been a fire here in 1684, if memory serves me right, and the buildings were then rebuilt in this classical style.
We carried on walking through the upper old town, called Toompea, which is just beautiful…
Miina explained this was one of the few buildings that survived the fire, so you could picture how it might have looked had the fire not happened…
Our next port of call was Cathedral of St. Mary the Virgin, which is at least an Estonian church. It’s believed to be the country’s oldest, dating back to 1240 when it was originally built by the Danes. However, it’s been added on over the years, and of course it was severely damaged in that fire which led to rebuilding. Most of the exterior dates from the 14th century.
We were given 10 minutes to go inside, and this time you could take photos, so I made the best of my time.
We were later to learn that these box areas were paid for by the rich, as a) they were warm, and b) they were believed to be closer to God.
I loved that church - partly as my mother's maiden name is St. Mary, and I was very close the those grandparents.
I'm trying to now recall if Tallinn was the place we saw some interesting wall art....that's all I'm saying for now. (I'm on the road, moving my son back to school, so can't easily refer back to my vacation pictures)
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The tour is off to a nice start and hope most of the rain holds off. Glad you have a good guide! 
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) it turned out they were docked literally about 20 minutes walk from the Old Town, which made me wonder why I'd booked the tour. It would turn out to be a good thing however... 
I don't know if that's where Disney docked? 
and you can vote online, so they have a huge turnout of young voters. Listening to her, I couldn’t help but think that other countries could learn a lot from Estonia. 
Somehow, that just wasn’t what I expected, and I’ve never come across such a non-religious country. 
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