Our day in Tallinn started out rainy. We’ve really lucked out with weather so far and we feel pretty grateful for that. We got ready and were headed to the breakfast table by 9:00. We sat with an interesting couple – a German guy who grew up in Fussen right by the Neuschwanstein Castle who met his Italian wife when he was a tour guide at the Castle for her tour. She said she REALLY enjoyed the tour. Always fun to sit with different people and hear their stories.
At 10:00 we were heading off the boat in the pouring rain. We were ready with our umbrellas but decided to take a shuttle into town instead of walking. It ended up being a short walk into town but it saved us from getting soaked at the beginning. Pretty much by the time we were in the Old Town, the rain had stopped.
Tallinn’s Old City reminded us a lot of our favorite German city – Rothenburg ob ter Tauber… Cobblestone windy streets, neat big squares, colorful buildings and high walls and towers making a stone border around the city. We found ‘kissing Hill’, the old city gate and then started wandering through the streets until Chris finally got us back on track with the Rick Steves ‘must-see’s.
From the town center we decided to climb the Town Hall tower. The rain had stopped and we were even blessed with some bluish sky for our climb up. Beautiful views from the top…
We continued wandering through the town. It was fun just to peek into the stores, see the Russian Cathedral, check out the views from the top area and wander back down…
We were excited to try the little ‘hole in the wall’ in part of the Town Hall right by it’s tower. Outside was this sign luring us there… ‘Worthy Elk Soup Full of Taste’. For 1 Euro even – who can pass that up, especially when our friends had given us the recommendation.
We ordered two bowls of elk soup to share and sat down on a table under the archways and within seconds it was pouring. Crowds of people ran for the overhead protection of the town hall and luckily we already had seats. Perfect timing. It was a fun lunch. The soup was good. We ordered two and it seemed like Ryan had either one or the other in his hands the whole time. We eventually ordered a third and sat longer talking about where we might move next year and other life altering decisions. Fun to be just with the big kids. Crazy that it seems we have to spend too much money on a cruise just to have some time alone to really talk to your teens. It really was a great conversation and so much fun to hear their insight and laugh about things. After elk soup we ordered some wild boar pies and went inside to eat them. The restaurant was right out of medieval times with costumed ladies serving carrot pies and soup with no spoons to a line full of people. Loved it.
After eating we just walked through some more streets and back to our ship. It was a great day.
The Windjammer was open for ‘afternoon snacks’ so we met up there for some more food and then played a game of Carcassonne in the Pool Table Room, had a delicious dinner and watched a movie up in our room.
The next day, Thursday was another sea day. More sleeping in, working out, playing games and another formal night. We got dressed up and went had another delicious dinner. Katie went to the 9:00 show by herself. Ryan headed to the Optix Teen center to see what was going on and Chris read his book while I feel asleep on the bed. When Katie and Ryan got back we watched REAL STEEL on TV. So nice to have a great little apartment to go back and hang out in.
1 comment:
I didn't know anything about Estonia...so interesting to see how cool it is. Of course, it wouldn't have been a stop on the cruise if it weren't really awesome. What a special time with your older kids.
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