Finland Russia Baltic Day 14
Finland Russia Baltic
Trafalgar Tours - Day 14 - October 16, 2008 - Thursday - Parnu-Tallinn, Estonia
Once again we have a travel day. We woke up at 6:15 and finished packing up the bags to be put outside the door at 7:00.
It was raining this morning and 53 degrees with 87% humidity. What luck to have a bus day in this weather!
We left Riga for Tallinn at 8:00 on a drive that took us along the Gulf of Riga and into Estonia. Then we traveled via Parnu, a popular vacation resort of sandy beaches. It is too bad we could not see very much as the rain was falling heavily and the windows on the bus were fogged over.
When we crossed the border into Estonia at 9:30, there were no border guards at all. Now the station buildings house a new cafeteria with very fresh clean restrooms.
According to information from Xavier, Estonia is the smallest of the Baltic States. Over 50% of the country is covered with forests. Like the other two of its neighbors, Estonia has a small population of 1.5 million people.
The birth rate is low but they do not have many immigrants to help the labor force. There are still 300,000 Russians living here.
Xavier gave us even more historical information as well as economic and social facts. We arrived at our hotel at 11:45 and found a totally modern room at the Reval Hotel Olympia. We waited for our luggage and checked the mail.
Lunch was on our own and then we met the group for a tour of the city. Our guide for the afternoon was Hedi. She also gave us more information about the rich history of the area.
A very prosperous port traditionally, Estonia has enjoyed independence for about 20 years. Excavations are going on now in the main square where a 6000 year old fishing village once stood.
The city was occupied by the Germans in WWII and then was taken over by the Soviets. The majority of the city was bombed and leveled during the war and then rebuilt in the stark, gray Stalin-Soviet style.
The culture of Estonia is very similar to the Scandinavian countries because of the proximity of these Nordic countries and the Baltic Sea. During the city tour we stopped periodically to get out and walk around many of the well-known sites.
We drove along the shoreline to the Olympic Village, the site of the 1980 sailing events. Now a spa hotel, the buildings are popular as a yacht center because sailing is still a very popular pastime.
Nearby we saw the sea palace of Peter the Great of Russia. There were many swans, ducks, geese, cormorants, and sea gulls.
Heli told us when the birds leave soon; the citizens of Tallinn will know they are in for another hard winter. The bay will freeze so there are large ice breakers to ensure continued transport and passage on the Baltic.
Our guide explained that the economy was very good with a growth rate of 12% and an unemployment rate of only 2%. However, Heli told us that the country had already felt the waves of economic unrest this fall.
We continued on our walking tour through the Upper Town of nobles and government. We then walked through the old city gates to the Lower Town to the square and Town Hall dating from 1404. The Lower Town is traditionally where the shops, markets, and peasants lived.
At 5:15 we found our way back to the main part of the city where Nikolai was cheerfully waiting for us. Back in our room, we took time to hang up our wet raincoats and umbrellas, and then worked on the journal and the photos from the day.
Dinner was included and served in our hotel at 7:00. Everyone seems very tired tonight so we are lucky to have a leisurely morning before we sail to Helsinki after lunch.
Accommodations: Reval Olümpia Hotel - - - Meal: B, D
Comments
Trafalgar Map of Our Tour
Estonian Flag in Tallinn
Standing in the Rain
View of Lower Town
City Tour Guide Heli
Featured Journal
Day 13: Azores & Madeira: Portugal's Unspoiled Archipelagos
Day 13 - Saturday, April 22, 2022 - Depart for U.S.
The hotel prepared a box breakfast for us as we had to be in the lobby way before the breakfast room was open.
Last night we found out that our departure flight back to...
