First, I was told that today was a national holiday. I have been lucky enough to be able to visit both Latvia and now Estonia during their independence celebrations. I was told that today was Estonia's "second birthday" as Estonia first became a nation after the First World War, but then became independent again on this date (August 20th) in 1991 when they gained their independence from the USSR.
After yesterday's explorations, I was convinced that "Tallinn" was Estonian for "Let's see if your fat-ass can make it to the top of this hill", but found out today that it actually means "place of the Danes". Estonia's "modern" history began in the early 1200s and then later that century they were attacked by German crusaders and eventually occupied by Danish crusaders.
We visited the large castle, the national independence monument (that today was adorned with blue and white flowers -- the national flag of Estonia is blue, black, and white), a Russian orthodox church, a magnificent Lutheran church (originally a Catholic church before the Protestant Reformation in 1525), the city wall, guild halls, craftsman shops, and the rest of the city's highlights. There was a church service in progress at the Russian Orthodox church, which I found interesting due to the haunting a capella hymns. It was obvious very, very quickly that there was a very, very large cruise ship in town as bus loads of tourists kept pouring out of their oversized motor coaches. (Turns out it was a Celebrity ship.)
It began to rain, and did so most of the morning. Most of the time it was a tolerable mist, but at other times it was harder, which made me glad I brought my umbrella. As we made our way past the castle and into the town square, we were treated to three squads of military guys singing folk songs and anthems, matching through the square with military precision. It was a treat to see, and I was glad I had a guide as she was able to translate the several songs they sang. They have no permanent, professional military in Estonia, just a 9-month compulsory service period. At any rate, I enjoyed watching them and listening to their singing.
We continued on past the guild hall to a look-out point that had (what I imagine on a clear day would be) a great view of most of the city. You could see the cruise ship a mile away. My guide said that even as crowded as the streets were that it could have been worse. Some days during the summer they had three or sometimes even four ships that size. I could only image how claustrophobic the narrow streets would feel with a torrent of that many tourists arriving all at once...
After walking along the old city wall to the former main entrance to town, I said goodbye to my guide, did a little shopping, then made my way back to the old town square for lunch. After lunch, the sun had started to come out, and I immediately noticed a drastic reduction in the number of tourists on the streets. Like moths to a flame, I imagine the draw of a free meal on the ship was too strong a compulsion for most to resist.
I re-visited many of the lookout points to experience them with clear skies and the sun shining (and with far fewer tourists lurking about), which was a good call, because as predicted, the views were spectacular.
I continued walking around town when I came to an archery range set up along one of the old walls and watched some tourists pay to shoot a few arrows at the targets. As I was about to wander aimlessly, I heard music coming from a nearby park, and I decided to check it out. Turns out it was a free open-air concert for the independence celebration. Man, I have licked out with these events, and they are something a guy could get used to!
I stood with the crowds and listened until I couldn't anymore, and continued walking along to a section of town I hadn't explored before. It was their independence square, which has a gigantic cross made of glass displayed prominently on the side of the hill behind the square.
I continued walking for a long time until I was back at my hotel. I decided to take a break (I had been walking for about seven hours at this point), so I started getting things ready and in order for my flight tomorrow, and the beginning of my Danube River cruise which begins in Prague tomorrow. I purchased tickets online to an orchestra concert in Vienna which will be held in the main opera house, which I am super excited about! This next trip is going to be so much fun, I can already tell! As I was reviewing the itinerary, I noticed two musicians who I bonded with on my Atlantis cruise back in February are going to be our entertainment on this cruise, and I got very excited about getting to see them and hang out with them again (Mom- this is that girl whose CD I played for you!)!
After that and resting a bit (getting caught up with emails and Facebook and whatnot), I was getting hungry again, so I did some research on TripAdvisor (my new obsession) and found a restaurant that sounded delicious, but all the way on the other side of town. I figured this was the perfect trade off: I would have to walk at least 30 minutes to get there and 30 minutes back, but that just meant I could eat anything and everything I wanted! And I DID!
After dinner, I slowly made my way back to the hotel and got packed up and ready for my early morning flight tomorrow. I am not looking forward to the 5:45am transfer to the airport, but am looking forward to the 4 hours I'll have in Amsterdam before I continue in to Prague and the start of my Danube River cruise!!!
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