Tallinn, Estonia

Today we're in Tallinn, Estonia from 8 a.m. until All Aboard at 11:30 tonight. We sail at midnight, so we’re in port a few hours longer than usual. However, we only spent a few hours off the ship because 1) we were tired and 2) we’ve been here before. Not that it hurts to visit a place more than once, however! We took Henry on a Disney cruise to the Baltic maybe 5 or so years ago. At that time we rented bicycles and actually got to see a good bit of the city.

 

Talliin, Estonia from the deck of our ship

focusing in on the Old Town

Ship maintenance seems to go on 24/7. It seems like painting goes on at every stop. Below painters are using a rope ladder to touch up ship exterior. Notice the lifebuoy in the water in case he should lose balance and take a dip.

 

a fresh coat of paint

one has to be careful before using bathroom in the ship terminal

 

So we were quite happy just to walk into the Old Town and mill around for a bit with me doing my usual - a postcard for Josie, our house sitter who collects them and Christmas ornaments for our girls. We actually came back a bit sooner than planned because it started sprinkling rain and I hadn’t carried an umbrella despite a forecast of rain. However, it never actually rained – only sprinkled enough to wilt my hair. 

street signs in Old Town

really old cobblestones

 

Old Town Tallinn

 

 

Tallinn is the capital city of Estonia and an important Baltic harbor. It sits on the southern shore of the Gulf of Finland and is only 53 miles by sea from Helsinki. It has a population of around 400,000 and is considered one of the prettiest cities in the Baltic. Though currently a modern city, its Old Town is well preserved with buildings that date back to the Middle Ages. Its main industries include oil drilling machinery, textile and paper manufacturing. 

 

 

 

Oceania’s complimentary shuttle runs every 30 minutes except for a mandatory break between 2:30 to 4 pm. Of course it was after 2:30 when we left the ship so we had quite a little hike into the Old Town. On a long day like this, ship workers often get some time off in the afternoon. We often see them out and about, dressed in normal street clothes (vs ship uniforms). They are always courteous and greet us, being well trained and mannerly, both on and off the ship. Most of them are just getting a break from work but they often are loading up on candy and chips since they don’t get these things on the ship. 

We came upon a hair salon and since Ronnie is needing a haircut, we ducked in and asked for a cut. We couldn’t understand them (nor they us) but they did understand what we were there for. There was no one ahead of us and it appeared that she was almost through with the man in her chair. However, we waited…and waited…and waited. His hair wasn’t more than ¼ long when we got there, so how she could keep finding hair to cut is beyond me. She would spray it with water, dry it, cut some more, shave a bit, cut some more, spray it again, cut some more and it seemed like it was never going to end. We finally decided that it was going to be the never ending haircut, so we got up and left. Maybe in another port. I seriously need a haircut too, but I’m trying to tough it out until we return. Hopefully my photos will at least give one a glimpse of what Old Town in Tallinn, Estonia is like.