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Saturday 19 to Monday 21 August
We returned to Tallinn on the same boat, with all the glitz of casinos, magicians and bands – how much can you fit into a two and a half hour ferry journey?
We appreciated the lower living cost in Estonia, everything appeared less expensive than Finland.
We had booked two nights in Tallinn, to rest up and plan our next adventure. As it turned out, Bruce had an off day – probably the long drives in Finland, and there were more to come. So we made an easy day of it.
It was a Sunday, but it was also the ‘Day of Restoration of Independence’. On 20 August 1991, Estonia declared formal independence during the Soviet military coup attempt in Moscow, reconstituting the pre-1940 state. Every year, 20 August is celebrated as the day of Restoration of Independence.
We walked away from the old town of Tallinn to Kadrioru Park and enjoyed the sun and the flowers there.
We stopped at the Kumu Art Museum of Estonia where I enjoyed a rather sumptuous ice cream. We found some interesting art installations around the back of the building including the ‘Square of Dolls’ which rather reminded me of the cupid dolls I loved to play with as a child.
Peter the Great Museum or Old Palace was also in the park, but it was closed due to the public holiday. This 17th century manor house is where Peter and his wife Catherine stayed on their visits to Tallinn, prior to his more permanent and rather larger Kadriorg Palace was built. This magnificent building is now the Foreign Art Museum.
A nice easy day before heading south on the western side of the Baltics, finished with sausages in a brew pub – a couple of Bruce’s favourites!
