We had booked a walking tour of the Old City of Tallinn which dates back to the 12th century. Our guide shared the sad stories of frequent wars, invasions and conquests over Estonia's long history. Swedes, Danes, Russians, Nazis and Soviets controlled them for long periods with only brief interludes of independence. The worst was Stalin. In 1940 and 1949 the people of Estonia were subjected to arrests, murders and deportations to Siberia. The men were sent to labor camps while the women and children were settled into Siberian towns along with many exiles of many other nationalities. Thousands perished and most who survived never were able to return to their homeland. The anniversary of their independence from the Soviet Union is a day for rejoicing!
View of the city of Tallinn
This young man acted as the city's ambassador. In the center of the old city, he answered questions, entertained and distributed free bottles of water to thousands of visitors.
A collection of bells in one of the old churches
A unique rain gutter
The ship's security forces waiting for two missing passengers. Over the PA system, security called repeatedly for them to contact someone if they happened to be onboard. Everyone had an ID card that we had to swipe each time we left and returned to the ship. They kept the gangway down until the very last minute and then the ship departed. We never did find out what happened to them.
At least four cruise ships spilled thousands of tourists into Tallinn on Friday. It's a city of 435,000 with only 1.3 million in the whole country, but they get over 2 million visitors each year.
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