Tallinn, Estonia

When told I was going to Estonia, I said "Isn't that an imaginary place from a Disney movie?" Upon arriving, I realized that I was right. Tallinn, Estonia couldn't be a real place....it was too whimsical. As we strolled down the cobble-stone streets, music played as if coming from the clouds. The town folk were dressed in sheepskin, linen and flax clothing, spinning wool into thread as we looked on. We were completely enchanted with this little town and can't wait to go back and spend days and days exploring and taking in all that is Estonia.

On the southern coast of the Gulf of Finland lies Tallinn, the capital of Estonia. Though the city has been bombed and pillaged many times, much of the town as it was in medieval times remains.








We started our tour at the pier where even the sailboats seemed placed as a set to a movie. We passed through Old Town where every outdoor cafe looked as if from a scene from the latest romantic comedy. We walked along narrow cobblestone streets to the Town Hall Square. It was the most picturesque place I had ever seen. All of the buildings were painted green or yellow, with red gardinias and pink and orange gerber daisies growing from their window boxes. It was incredible that all of these were built in the 13th and 14th centuries.










As we walked, we came upon Vene Street and the Medieval Master's Courtyard....a little alley way tucked in between tall store fronts. We heard a cello, violin and piano playing at the end of the alley. Pure magic and romance.....





This is where we found the famous Chocolat de Pierre. This charming little cafe is where you will find the absolute best hot chocolate on this planet. It wasn't hot cocoa like we know it.......all that I can say is that it is from another world. We also were graced by the presence of one of the master confectioners who taught us how to make delicious fillings for truffles, and then cover them with chocolate. We made a few truffles with different flavors like almonds, coconut, hazelnuts, cherries, or whatever else sounds like it could possibly taste good when added to chocolate....all while being serenaded by the sounds of good music.






After we made our truffles, we headed back to Old Town square on Müürivahe Lane. Because the winters are so incredibly dark and cold, everyone in town stays outside during the summer in the square either selling homemade wool and linen or handmade bowls....or they sit at one of the outdoor cafes sipping something delicious, I'm sure.







At the curbside of one of these cafes, is a marker of half of a cross. This marks the sight of the only public beheading to ever take place in the square. The story goes like this......A priest asked one of his servants to bring him an omelet. When he was dissatified with it, he asked her to bring him another. He didn't like this one either. Then, after she brought him the third omelet, he was so angry that his omelet was bad, that he killed the servant with an ax. (Pleasant, I know.) Feeling remorse, he turned himself in and was then beheaded in the town square and it was witnessed by all of the towns people. This is the only unpleasant thing we heard about Estonia. Although, I think that we were only told the wonderful and good things by our tour guide Anna (Byron says she's easy on the eyes). Funny how there's not one picture of her--I was taking the pictures. But there is plenty of video--Byron had the video camera. We even had stray Estonian boys hanging out with our group just so they could watch and listen to Anna.....I did take a picture of them.



Oh how we loved this fairy tale place. Tallinn will forever be etched in our minds as one of the most beautiful and magical places that we've ever been. I can't wait for the day that we return and stay in a little cottage down one of the cobblestone alleyways....maybe across the way from Chocolat de Pierre....






Next....3 days in St. Petersburg, Russia.

Visby, Sweden

Visby is the largest city on the island of Gotland. The entire island is full of ruins, artifacts and memories from its periods of greatness during the Viking period and Middle Ages when Visby was a member of the Hanseatic League. The town is surrounded by the Visby Ringwall, a huge 13th century stone wall that encloses the city.








We drove along Visby's coast to Högklint. From this cliff-top you can see the entire wall that surrounds the city with fantastic views of Visby and the Baltic Sea. Unfortunately, the camera chip that holds the pictures from here is damaged and I haven't been able to rescue my photos as of yet....but trust me, it was an incredible view. We then headed back towards town and stopped to stroll through the Botanical Gardens (pictures on bad chip). We continuted to drive through the town and followed the remnants of the 13th-century city wall.



Dalmansporten is one of the gates through the wall surrounding Visby.

We then strolled down the towns narrow, winding streets trying our hardest to get lost.







Along the way, we stumbled on the ruins of one of the many Medieval churches. It's really quite something to behold to see these amazing architectual masterpieces still standing.






Before having to get back to the ship, we made our final stop at the Cathedral of St. Mary's. I'm not sure how a setting for a church could be more picturesque. It was beautiful.






Visby is an amazing town! We really would've liked more time to explore this cool medieval place. But, the boat doesn't wait. So, we went back to our room and got dressed up for a 5 course meal....concluded by creme brulee. So sad.....

Tomorrow.......The Fairy Tale Land of Estonia!

THE BALTIC SEA as we saw it

It doesn't get better than this! Lucky?? Blessed?? Yes--both I think!

We started our cruise in Copenhagen, Denmark. Unfortunately, we didn't get to see much of the city. We arrived at 7:00 a.m. Denmark time--which was 11:00 p.m. at home...the night before. So, we missed our night of sleep we so desperately needed. Too exhausted to function, we got a hotel room for 3 hours so we could nap a little before we could board our ship. ....Next time, Copenhagen....




Welcome to the Regent Seven Seas Voyager! I've always been apprehensive about getting on a boat and launching out into the open seas. Something about that just didn't seem safe to me. Then when you get on the ship, they require you to do a safety drill. It was very entertaining to see all of these very well dressed people waiting out on the deck with their life-vests on. But, really, that didn't help with the anxiety of floating away from land....miles and miles away from land.
Then, all of a sudden (even though you knew that eventually you would), you're leaving the shore....and all of your fears go away. We really couldn't even tell that we were on a boat--except for a couple of times when you could see people trying to keep their balance--so we just remained seated.
Our state room was very big compared to other ships (I think.....we hear people complain all the time about how cruise ship rooms are tiny). When you walked in, it had a bathroom to the left with a bathtub AND a shower. Then, there was a walk-in closet with lots of room for all our clothes. We slept in a KING size bed every night. Our room also had a little living room with a couch and a table with chairs where we would have room service delivered atleast twice a day. We spent a lot of time on the balcony where we watched the sun set over the Baltic Sea....somewhere around midnight each night.



For the next few days, I'll be posting pictures and stories from each of the cities that we docked in from Visby, Sweden to Stockholm, Sweden and I'll try my best to tell you about each of the incredible places we were lucky enough to see.
See you tomorrow.