On Friday of the first week of our cruise we arrived at Tallinn, the capital of Estonia, a wonderful mediaeval city built on a hill and enclosed by walls. We went ashore and had a look around on our own as it was only 15 minutes by foot from where the ship was moored. It was a fascinating place with narrow streets and a lovely central square where the craft market was in full swing.
We climbed gradually to the top for the fantastic views, stopping along the way to look in souvenir shops and some of the galleries selling textile art in particular. We finally got to the Alexander Nevsky cathedral at the highest point and found a quiet bistro for a delicious fish lunch. Because of the damp weather the outside tables were empty and the place seemed closed but we looked inside and found an old curved roof and rough wooden tables and just a few people eating so we stayed and avoided the crowds down in the square!
This map gives you an idea of the fortified design of the city and our route as we strolled about.
I couldn't resist spending some money here and when I met Natali on her stand at the market selling her beautiful scarves I just had to go for it! She sells under the name of iTALA and you can find her on Facebook if you want to see more of her products.
Soon it was time to leave Tallinn and head for St Petersburg to spend the weekend. This map shows you where we were able to go with our guided tours. In Russia it's essential to have a visa to visit the country and for us it was easier to take advantage of the group visa organised by the travel company. We were warned to keep up with the group and not to get lost as it would cause a lot of difficulties finding our way back in a country where few people speak our language.
I took hundreds of photos of the Hermitage and Winter Palace and made a few sketches in my journal after we came home. The pace of the visits didn't allow for any spare time and we were pretty exhausted by the end of each day!
Every souvenir shop is full, floor to ceiling with Russian dolls of all sizes and prices from 7euros to 700 euros. I decided to buy a fridge magnet instead as I know a doll would just gather dust on a shelf somewhere!
On the Saturday evening we were taken to a 'Cultural Faculty' to see a display of traditional music and dancing. A small troupe gave us a wonderfully vibrant, lively show with lovely costumes, beautiful singing and the men really did do those high leaps and crouching dances.
I had never heard of the Cathedral of the Spilled Blood so when I saw a preview on the ship I had to go and see for myself. Its just as you would imagine, an onion domed church with the most amazing interior covered in mosaics and golden highlights.
All too soon it was time to leave this fascinating city and set sail for Helsinki.
I amused myself sitting on the stern of the ship watching the wash as we sailed along.
No comments:
Post a Comment