June 27 Day 14 Cruise: Tallin, Estonia

We both realized that Estonia had never really been on our radar or bucket list.  We arrived knowing that about a 15-minute walk from the cruise dock was the walled Old Town built 800 years ago.  The sky was dark and looked like we might get some serious rain, and there were several other large cruise ships at the dock. We thought we would head into town, try to avoid the crowds and see what we could before it began to rain.

Right away we could see it was a feast for photography.  The streets were cobblestone and filled with very wonderful old buildings.  We wandered and tried to work out our strategy, how to get the most from this town. We decided to take advantage of one of the “free” walking tours which started at 10:00, in about a half hour.  As it turns out, many others had the same idea and eventually over 60 tourists (from a dozen different countries) gathered for the tour in English lead by a very well-spoken young Etonian woman, Miriam.  For the next two hours she walked us through the town, the history, and the culture of Estonia.

We learned that Estonia had a long, long history being occupied by countries such as Denmark, Germany, and Russia/The Soviet Union.  They only have had their true independence since 1991. They had a short earlier periods of independence after World War I and then again after WWII.

The tour showed us so many places in the city.  Although the crowd was large and from many different places around the world, the talk was well crafted and very funny.  Well done!

The rain mostly held off, and we were able to find a spot under an archway of the old Town Hall to eat our sandwiches which we brought along from the ship.

We still had some time before we had to get back onboard, so we decided to visit the Museum of Occupation and Freedom.  This was a new museum that used very cutting-edge technology to tell the stories of Estonia’s occupations. The exhibits started before we even entered the museum.  In the entry area were suitcases to represent how people were forced to leave with just what they could carry in a suitcase. Especially powerful were first person video narratives from people who were now 100 years old and had lived through the time of the Nazi’s.  Many Estonians, especially Jews, were taken to death camps. One exhibit brought us into a cattle car of a train, which gave the feeling of moving.

There was also some very powerful segments on what life was like under Soviet rule.

And then they ended with some current day reflections on what freedom means. Very powerful and sobering in our current political climate. We were so glad that we had found this gem of a museum to learn more about what life is like for people living and surviving under totalitarian rule.

Back to the ship for dinner.  Patti was beginning to feel little sick, so she went straight to bed while Dick spend some time on deck, and then went to hear the Lincoln Center Quintet play more glorious music.

Another fine day in the Baltic.