Tallinn, Estonia

Our train arrived in Tallin in the early afternoon, and station is close enough to the old town that we could wheel our bags there with no need for a taxi. The hotel is inside the walls of the old town, but right against the wall in the northern corner.  We leave for Helsinki tomorrow afternoon, so have about one full day here.  We had been told that Tallinn is interesting, but one day would be sufficient.

The old town walls and towers.

We found the oldest cafe in Estonie, the Maiasmokk (1864), and were pleased to see the range of delicious patisserie on offer.  This quickly became our favourite cafe in Tallinn.

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Our favourite coffee shop, Maiasmokk

One of the reasons why it is our favourite!

The distinctive steep pitched roofs of Tallinn.

Kevin with some shopping loot.

The main square, seen from high up in the town hall.

Alexander Nevsky Cathedral - Russian-style domes.

The Alexander Nevsky Cathedral has those distinctive Russian onion-domes because it was built about one hundred years ago, when Estonia was part of the Russian Empire.

Goodbye to Tallinn.

We boarded the ferry in Tallinn late in the afternoon for the two hour crossing to Helsinki.  It's quite close - quicker than crossing Cook Strait.  The ship was a large car ferry, bigger than our ferries, and we saw that it had a "supermarket" on board.  When I investigated I realised it is a big duty-free shop selling mostly booze and cigarettes - because even this short sailing is an international trip.  The locals were flooding into this shop and leaving with trolley loads of alcohol!

On the top deck of the Tallink Silja ship "Star", crossing the Baltic Sea.