Tallinn

8 Euros per person for a 2 day 1 night cruise to Tallinn.. Great value for money! =)

Tallinn, the capital city of nearby Estonia, is about 2 - 3 hrs away by cruise. Finns travel to Tallinn to buy alcohol.. coz its a few times cheaper there =).. people buy by the cartons!.. As for us.. (Rihao, Zu Yuan, Zhao Xin, Yuan and i) we left on Sunday evening.. arrived on Sunday night.. stayed on board till 8.30.. went to the Old Town in Tallinn.. then boarded the ship again at about 12.45. Just the morning in Tallinn.. but it was a rather enjoyable trip =)

We nearly couldn't get on board.. first by going to the wrong harbour.. failing to hail a cab.. then finally arriving a few mins before the ship leaving.. *Pants!*

Happy to be on board! =)

Deck of the Baltic Princess

Cutting through the waves

Walkway outside the cabin

Our nice little cabin!

4 comfy beds in a cabin.. 3 of us occupied 1 Cabin

The ship had several restaurants and performance places.. but it was a really small ship.. not like the Superstar Virgo i was on board a few years ago.. Still it was cool to see oldies dancing =)

We quickly realised that we're probably the only young people on board! I bet the average age of the people on board was about 50.. Maybe its coz we took a Sunday to Monday cruise (thats y its so cheap).. and people on board are all retirees! The ship quickly arrived at Tallinn, but we can't get off..so we spent the night eating.. talking and watching 2 movies! One of which was Con Air.. remember the Nicholas Cage movie? i love it!

A Viking Line's ship also docked..

Morning came.. we don't have much time on land.. so we quickly headed towards the Old Town! First objective.. look for a breakfast place! Disclaimer.. the names of the places i am stating below might not be accurate! Memory + map doesn't ensure 100% accuracy =)

We entered by the Great Coastal Gates and Fat Margaret's Tower

Zu Yuan and Yuan =)

St Olav's Church (we came back a while later trying to enter but it was still closed!)

Breakfast place.. voted best cafe in Tallinn 2007! Cute old aunties haha

She had Pie (Raspberry?) and Hot Chocolate

I had Apple Pie and Coffee.. Things in Tallinn are so much cheaper than in Helsinki.. Great considering we just came from Copenhagen!

Me, Ri Hao and Zhao Xin. Zhao Xin is Zu Yuan's friend, visiting from London =)

A 5 min walk away from the cafe.. we arrived at the Town Hall =)

Nice big open square around the town hall.. i can just imagine all the activity happening in the old days.. Must be a bustling marketplace!

We also saw the Town Hall Pharmacy, the oldest still functioning pharmacy in Europe.. operating in the same shop since the 15th Century!

But it was closed =( .. i would have wanted to say i bought Panadol from the oldest pharmacy in Europe

Continuing our walk in the old town.. we passed many narrow streets.. It was like being transported back in time.. if only there weren't cars around.. haha

Niguliste Museum - Concert Hall

Shops selling traditional clothes and handicrafts... Yuan trying on a cool hat!

Fillet of a fenny snake,
In the cauldrol boil and bake;
Eye of newt and toe of frog,
Wool of bat, and tongue of dog,
Adder's fork and blind-worm's sting,
Lizard's leg and howlet's wing.
For a charm of powerful trouble.
Like a hell-broth boil and bubble.

William Shakespeare
(1564 - 1616), Macbeth

"That way to the caramel peanuts? Thanks!"

The caramelised peanuts stand =)

Yuan loves this hand puppet Lion.. but she didn't buy it

Nice small shops like these.. dealing with traditional craftwork

One church we passed along the way (??)

Door leading out of the city walls?

People still live in these houses

Walking along the Town Wall defenses

We found this super cheap pastry place.. bought like 6 pieces for about 3 Euros.. =) Then we realised we lost Zu Yuan and Zhao Xin.. so Ri Hao, Yuan and i decided to carry on on our own.. we climbed up this long long flight of stairs.. and was rewarded with a view of the old town =)

View from the top

"We're at the top of the world!"

Lots of things to see at the top as well =)


We realised that time was running short.. but Yuan wanted to see the Opera House.. so we rushed and found it!

It wasn't as impressive as the picture we saw described.. haha

We still had time to buy 3 XXL Hesburger (Finnish Fastfood) meals on our way back though.. haha it was half the price compared to Hesburger in Helsinki.. so we couldn't resist..

Tallinn does make a nice short daytrip =) The fact that it was so cheap made it even better!