Pupletts in Sweden: Helsinki, Tallinn and Stockholm

Our next stop was the city of Tallinn - Capital of Estonia. We took the Viking XPRS ferry from Helsinki to Tallinn. While it is a short trip (only 2 hours) we decided to do it overnight so we could use it as our hotel for the night. This time our room was on the 6th floor and much more comfortable.

Looking out the back of the ferry

Sunset and another ferry

After watching the sunset we headed into the bar, the kids had raspberry and Lemonade mocktails and danced. After watching Tomas' attempt at doing the worm I wonder if there was something else in the cocktail..

We arrived at ferry at about 6:30am. We took a taxi to our apartment as it offered luggage storage, but it didn't open until midday, so we walked back to the ferry terminal and stored our bags.

We ended up taking the Hop-On-Hop off tourist bus and exploring a few places in Tallinn including the castle.

On the first day most of the museums were closed so we explored the castle and the TV tower. The second day we split up and we visited several museums. The final day we had a quiet morning then caught the ferry back to Stockholm.

Location of Tallinn - 80km south of Helsinki

Tallinn still has a strong medieval feel with towers and city walls as well as winding cobblestone streets and small passageways.

********************
History
Tallinn is the capital of Estonia and was formerly part of the Soviet Union. It was founded in 1248 but settlements in the area have been found dating back to 3000 BC. It holds an important location blocking Russian access to the Baltic Sea.

In 1050 the Toompea fortress was built and Tallinn became a target for the Teutonic knights and Denmark as it was an important harbour between Russia and Scandinavia. At that time the city was known as Reval.

The Danes ruled Tallinn from 1219 and was sold to the Teutonic Knights in 1346. In 1561 there was a strong German influence due to the Protestant Reformation and Reval became part of Sweden.

In 1918 Tallinn proclaimed independence and was occupied by the German army and fought a war with Russia. In 1920 the Tartu Peace Treaty was signed and Russia acknowledged Estonia as a republic. In WWII Estonia yielded to the Soviets in 1940 and was occupied by Germany again in 1941-1944. When the Nazis retreated, the Soviets occupied Tallinn and it became part of the Estonian Soviet Socialist Republic.

In 1991 the Estonians gained independence and the communist Russian leadership was expelled.

Tallinn actually means "Dane Town"

********************
Some of our initial views of Tallinn:

Pikk Street (and Kris catching Pokemon on Pokemon Go)

Pikk Street leading to the city gates.

Artwork facades on the Draakoni Gallery

Ornate Doorway to the Tallinna Philharmoonia

Tallinn is famous for Baltic Amber and Matryoshka Dolls (often incorrectly called Babushka Dolls) which are stacking nested dolls. The colours of Estonia are blue, black and white so the Estonian dolls are usually blue in colour while the standard Russian dolls are red. The name matryoshka comes from the diminutive form of the Russian name Matryona and also means
"little matron".

Baltic Amber Chess Set

Passage way through the walls

Cultural Centre

Russalka Monument - Angel pointing to the location of the Rusalka (A Russian Warship sunk in 1893 en route to Finland)

As with Romania, Tallinn is a weird mix of modern and old, however it is much more pronounced in Tallinn. The old town section of Tallinn is all old buildings and streets, cobblestone roads, city walls and towers. Just on the borders of old town are the large glass sky scrapers of the new business district:

Glass skyscraper

A small wooden church nestled between the skyscrapers

An oddly textured building

Old Town again

Driving through Old Town

Suit of armour outside a souvenir shop

Old town

Another of Tallinn's small passages

Ornate door of the Italian Ambassadors Building

Walkway through the city walls

Fat Margaret and the City Gate
Walking from the harbour to old town we walked through the city walls and past the Fat Margaret Tower. This was originally much closer to the shoreline in medieval times, however the Baltic has receded revealing more land that is now used for the business areas and new harbour.

Fat Margaret was originally one of the main defensive structures of Tallinn and got its name from the fact it is a large, round tower and from Margaret Sambiria the Queen and consort of Christopher I of Denmark. The tower is 25m in diameter, 20m heigh and had walls 5m thick. It served as a defensive tower and deterrent before later becoming a gunpowder store and then a prison. It is now a Maritime Museum.