Treasures of Tallinn

Tallinn, the capital of Estonia, is a city of about 400 000 people. It's a modern city surrounding a working and well preserved medieval town. It is more westernised than Russia and is a major tourist destination for cruise ships. It's also popular with people from Finland who catch the ferry 80km to shop here more cheaply.

Estonia has been invaded many times in its turbulent history, and this castle, Narva Castle is just across from the Russian border.

We stopped for afternoon tea and some of the group couldn't help themselves and had to have a go on this traditional swing cum see saw.



Estonia has had singing festivals since 1869 and a "Singing Revolution " helped to achieve independence in the 1990s. They hold this festivals in this outdoor venue. There is a statue to Gustav Ernesaks, and Estonian composer and conductor.

Outdoor singing festival venue

Gustav Ernesaks

In 1980 the sailing events for the Moscow Olympics were held in Tallin, as it was then part of the Soviet Union. It is now a marina and the residences have been converted into a hotel.

Former Olympic Village

 As in Russia many people live in apartments, a large percentage of which are now privately owned. There are a few other Soviet period buildings in Tallin, like the one below.

Tallin's medieval town consists of Toompea Hill, which is inside the remains of the medieval walls and fortifications, and the Lower town below.





A few of the features are shown below.

Fat Margaret's Tower built in 1519 has walls 5 metres thick

Tall Hermann's tower is part of the city wall





Towers of the old city wall





Beware of pickpockets sign





Laneway leading to the Lower Town



The Town Hall, first built in 1322 and renovated in the 1500s



We also visited the Outdoor Etnographic Museum with old buildings representing rural lifestyles in the past. Roofs were made of thatched reeds. They had no chimney and were very smoky inside.





Tomorrow Riga, capital of Latvia.

St Petersburg to Tallinn, Estonia

Impressions from a week in Russia

Well, I have to say that the Russian government has done a fantastic job restoring many of its properties after Soviet occupation. At least, the facades. Our Russian guides did an excellent job of presenting the country's treasures, some with much more enthusiasm than others.

However the Soviet period is glossed over in all the commentary. The attitude of our guides seems to be that under Soviet rule there were good and bad points, and under the current regime there are also good and bad points. They don't seem to be willing to make a judgment, and take the attitude "This is how it was. We learnt to live with the limitations, even joke about them in private. We knew what not to do and say"

The other notable aspect of Russia is that people hardly ever smile, especially those in the service and hospitality industries.

Here are some unexpected pictures from Russia

Tiffany's,  Moscow

Macdonalds, Moscow



John, David and Tony, the Three Wise Monkeys, Renaissance Hotel Moscow



Tony and Struan with the Bronze Lady, Novgorod

The bride in the ice cream queue, Peterhof Palace

Workmen sheltering from the sun under the statues, 2 storeys up

Why is there a James Cook Cafe and bar in St. Petersburg? 



Inexperienced drivers must display an ! sign in their window.




Cartier, St. Petersburg

   Our drive from St Petersburg was uneventful and unremarkable except for the major delays going through customs - exiting Russia, then entering Estonia. Still, it could have been worse - trucks wait hours and hours.

And a discovery - Estonians smile!

St. Petersburg - 2 days of pictures, palaces and performances

St Petersburg is a relatively new city in Russia being founded by Peter the Great in 1703. It contains many statues and monuments to Peter (the bronze horseman), Catherine the Great,  Pushkin the writer and many others. Its main cathedral is Saint Isaac's, which is an ornately decorated museum today. There is no high rise in St Petersburg as no building can be higher than St. Isaac's.



The dome of St Isaac's


Many of the buildings are designed by an Italian architect Rastrelli, so there is a fairly uniform appearance. There was obviously significant wealth in pre-revolution St Petersburg, as many of the surviving buildings were originally owned by the nobility.

Classical streetscape designed by Rastrelli

The pink mansion was owned by the Stroganoff family

The Hermitage is a collection of galleries - once a series of royal palaces and decorated accordingly - which contains a massive collection of works by major artists. It is also a prime place for pickpockets, and one of our group had an unsuccessful attempt on a wallet in his pocket. The thief  disappeared fairly quickly when he was discovered by the others in our group.

Part of the Hermitage Palace and Museum



One of many decorative ceilings in the Hermitage



One of several works by Monet

On our 2nd day we had 12 hours of touring. We started with a tour of the magnificent  Catherine Palace. Some of the palace has been restored after it was used, abused and then booby trapped and burnt by the Nazis in WWII. Its most amazing feature was the Amber Room whose panels were stolen and have been recreated at a cost of $10 million. No photos are allowed in that room, and once again we had to wear the protective booties to reduce damage to the floors.

The central part (about a quarter) of the main facade of the Catherine Palace



The gold encrustd throne room. Notice the blue booties



A small dining room with specially commissioned dinner service

A specially commissioned secretaire with coded opening sequence

After the tour we had an adventure ordering lunch in a restaurant with Russian speaking staff, followed by a canal tour of the city and its waterways: St Petersburg is built on a number of islands.

The Peter and Paul fortress where the Romanov Tsars are buried, including those assassinated in 1917

The evening was spent at a cultural performance of traditional a capella singing and dancing. It was an excellent performance, with some of the dancing too fast to capture adequately.



One of the very expressive and talented male dancers



The female dance group in national costume

This was our last full day in  Russia. Next Tallin, the capital of Estonia. 
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