Tallinn, the capital of Estonia, was our first port destination, and we were up bright and early for breakfast, to be ready for disembarkation and exploration.  There was a chance of bumping into Jim (didn’t happen), and catching up with Margi and Ted (saw their ferry but there were several wharves and a huge construction fence in the way so couldn’t get there).  We also tried the free port wifi but we only got to read a few emails before it threw us off – so apologies to anyone waiting on an email reply; not to mention blog posts.

We’d been warned there was a 90% chance of rain so we packed accordingly.  Just as well, as dark clouds soon gathered, thunder clapped, and rain tumbled down at regular intervals.  In between, the sun came out and skies cleared to blue.  Not unlike Melbourne really.   It was about 1 km to the Old Town, which is divided into the Upper and Lower Town.  Tallinn is another walled city but unlike Neubrandenburg or Stralsund, it has a Hill.  We meandered fairly aimlessly, following the wall until we reached the castle at the top, which is now the Parliament building.  Opposite is the Russian Orthodox church.  I stepped inside for a peek.  There was a service of some sort underway, possibly a funeral.  A choir sang from above, then the priest addressed the congregation.  The women were dressed traditionally and all wore simple headscarves.

We followed the wall some more, to a lookout.  Shortly afterwards came the first downpour and we scrambled for raincoats.  People were scurrying everywhere looking for cover, which was scant – doorways and archways were the only options.  Before long it was sunny again, and we walked down the hill.  We were following Jim’s 1:4000 sprint map, which had us a little confused in places.  The WMOC sprint final is going to be quite challenging (not to mention cobbled); I hope that there are no cruise ships in town.  We’d been battling for space with tour groups, and the souvenir shops were doing a good trade.

The next lot of rain hit us as we reached the town square so we sheltered under the portico of the town hall.  This took quite a while to clear.  We parted ways as Ian decided to head back to the ship, while I wanted to spend a bit more time in the town.  I followed my nose for a while, trying to get into a less busy section away from the tour groups.  Then I found a discarded tourist map, so I could plan a little more easily, and know what I was seeing.  The sprint map was good on detail but not very informative otherwise.  I had a look at St Catherines Passageway, site of a very ancient church.  There were tombstones dating from the 1300s hung on the outer wall.  Finally I climbed one of the round towers to a viewing platform and a walk along part of the wall.

I enjoyed Tallinn but it was a bit like being in Disneyland – castles, towers, turrets and spires as backdrops, but too many tourists and too many souvenir shops. I guess that is the problem with being part of the cruise crowd.  It’s a pretty small area so people are concentrated rather than dispersed.

Fun fact: it is 310 steps from our cabin to the laundry, which is at the aft (other end) of our deck.  Which means that by the time I walk there and back twice, I will have covered well over 1 kilometre and not left our deck, let alone the ship.

Trivia update: 17/20, an improvement by 1 point.  Good enough to be equal second, and one point off a win!  Let down by two questions on fabrics.  Once again, where is Ilze when I need her???