Sep 11, 2006 - Tallinn, Estonia

Tallinn, Estonia is not to be missed. The Old Town (city centre) is a compact blend of modern and medieval times. From cobblestone alleyways and courtyards to the Toompea Castle and Toorvkirik (Dome Church), the whole area is full of history and beauty. Aside from being the perfect haven for relaxation (just walking around and admiring the Old Town), Estonia also has a forgiving exchange rate, which isn't bad either. Not sure what there was to do besides mild sightseeing, I met up with other travelers at Tallinn Backpacker's and explored...

Sep 6, 2006 - Tallinn, Estonia

You might be wondering where the heck is Estonia and why have I never heard of it? Estonia is a small country that is smack dab in between Latvia and mainland Russia and because of this it has been under Russian control for many years. However, the strange thing is that Estonia is very close to Finland (only 1.5 hours by boat) so they are actually more like the Finnish people than the Russians. There language is very similar to Finnish and they are really the only other people besides some Swedes that understand the Finnish language....

Aug 27, 2006 - Cruise: Tallinn [Estonia]

Arrived in Tallinn at 7:00. Bright and sunny. Rain promised but doesn't eventuate. We took a morning tour at 9:00 for a bit of history and sightseeing then went off on our own. Wandered around the Old Town and then to the New City. What a change. A lot of work has been done since we were here in 2000. Everywhere is nice, clean and colourful. The old buildings with bullet holes and shrapnel wounds have been patched up and new shopping centres constructed. It looks very smart on initial impressions. While in the Old Town, I also located my...

Aug 25, 2006 - Tallinn, ESTONIA

Estonia is separated from Finland in the north by the narrow Gulf of Finland and from Sweden in the west by the Baltic Sea. Its history and heritage is linked closely to that of Finland's. Apparently, there are few places in Europe where the aura of the 14th and 15th centuries survives intact the way it does in Tallinn's Old Town, a jumble of medieval walls and turrets, needling spires and winding, cobbled streets. We visited an amazing museum, the Kumu and saw a ton of amazing Estonian and other European Art.

Aug 7, 2006 - Chillin' in Tallinn

With a flight back to London from Helsinki already booked, we had a few days to play with on the way to the Finnish Capital, so decided to get a taste for all things Estonian in the quaint capital of Tallinn, a half-day bus ride from St Petersburg. Although heaving with European tourists, the old walled city of Tallinn oozes charm; cobble stoned streets lined with art shops, restaurants and cafes housed in crooked, pastel painted buildings. With nothing on the agenda but to relax and wander, we had a wonderful time meandering around the...

Aug 4, 2006 - ESTONIA.....first stop Tallinn (medieval capital city)

After 2 nights at hostel Alur, a terrible hostel,I met 15 other members of the EXPLORE group whom I will be traveling with for the nest two weeks through Estonia,Latvia, and Lithuania, ending in Helsinski. We had first two nights in a nice 3 starr hotel close to the old town in Tallinn with buffett breakfasts. We did a nice 3 hour walking tour of the old city one of the nicest restored medieval cities in the Baltics which sits on the Baltic Sea/ Very close in resemblance to Prague Ck repub. All of Estonia was occupied since 1500BC and has...

Apr 16, 2006 - estonia pictures, alex and kelly adventure pictures, and tsarskoe selo!

there are a multitude of pictures on here. i can't think quickly enough in english to type a quick update, because i don't have much time left. i want it duly noted that today was the first beautiful and warm day in russia; and that i actually realized i'm going to miss this place a lot in four weeks. and also that this is probably my favorite place for spring, if you ignore the drunken men covered in mud. still drinking. also, i am going to start running outside, which will be interesting to see how i bear the crumbling infrastructure....

Sep 21, 2005 - Tallinn

Start: Finland End: Tallinn Weather: Sun obscured by Cloud Ride: 35km (10km in Finland & 25km in Estonia) The first sign of Estonia were a couple of large, conifer covered island. Then church spires and towers came into view and it was possible to distinguish the walled Old Town raised above the rest of the city of Tallinn. Once off the ferry there was a passport check. Once again the Australian passport required some checking and when it was returned it had been stamped on the front page! This may seem insignificant, however when I left...

Aug 30, 2005 - Estonia: The Texas Honky Tonk

After we crossed the Russian border into Estonia around 4 a.m., Ben and I had a celebratory beer because we were finally out of Russia. Our train arrived into the capital city, Tallinn, around 8 in the morning. This city is quite small with a population around a million but what it lacks in people this place makes up for in old scandinavian style buildings. The 3 meter wide cobblestoned streets would give way to large city squares where everyone would gather to enjoy the beautiful weather (not to mention the physical beauty of estonian...

Aug 16, 2005 - Helsinki to Tallin

WE made Tallin on a very fast ferry in 1 1/2 hrs/ On the ferry was able to pick up a map of the city and then we were able to find our way to the tourist info desk to find out about camping. They have a great camping set up called city camping and it is at a basketball centre half the carpark has been turned into a camp site and the toilet showering facilities are shared with the basket ballers which does not matter as they only used them in the evening when none of the campers needed them. We spent a full day in Tallin which has a largish...

Jul 16, 2005 - 24 hours in Tallinn

Our last day in Tallinn was spent catching up with some of the friends we'd met earlier in Tallinn. Steve, my LP colleague and friend, was on his way out to Saaremaa that evening, so he had only time for lunch in Old Town. We chose an excellent new African restaurant there, and talked about all the fantastic places in Estonia, from the charming old towns in the south like Viljandi, to the enchanting islands in the Baltic, and the fascinating Russian regions of the northeast. It was a fine opportunity to relive the last six weeks in...

Jul 14, 2005 - Tallinn

We are ending the circle either here or in Helsinki depending upon which is deemed closer to St. Petersburg...The old town is one of the nicest, having toured about as many "old towns" as we have castles it says something...went into the oldest continuously working pharmacy in the world mostly run by 10 generations of the Burchart Family - first mentioned in city documents in 1422 as a chemist shop run by fellow named Johann Molner. We stayed in a hostel right next to the old town, the bus station, train station and only a short walk to...