Skype and Sunburn

Friday the 6th July saw us docked in Tallinn, the Capital of Estonia.  The sun was shining, perfect for our walking tour of the city and as we didn't have to be off ship until 9:15, we also got to have a relatively lazy start to our morning. The usual routine of arguing over who got to shower first - more a case of lazily passing over the chance to be first up for 5 more minutes in bed - past in it's normal fashion of one of finally rolling out of bed and getting the day starting with the usual round of clicking ankles and toes and crunching backs (yes, we're falling apart at the tender age of 26! have been for years to be honest).

Both showered and dressed, I opened the curtains to have a look out of our window onto the dock, only to spot an ambulance parked at the end of the ramp and Rob disappearing into it. Clearly they were wasting no time in getting him to the hospital for an x-ray on his foot. Fingers crossed it wasn't anything serious. Having taken in the view - by which I mean the dock buildings and clear blue sky - we headed off for breakfast.

Fully fuelled, we grabbed our bags, tickets and headed out to the waiting coaches. It was a short 15 minute drive to our starting point at the top of the medieval city where we split into two groups. Tallinn is the second UNESCO world heritage site we visited - Yay! it is truly one of Europe's most outstanding architectural havens, and a heaven to me and my architectural bug. I love northern europe!!!

Our guide was a lovely guy who was a student of history. He gave us just enough information to keep us interested and informed without melting our brains with information overload. We started the tour at the Alexandra Nevsky Russian Orthodox Cathedral, which survived being demolished in 1924 but instead was left to go into decline whilst Estonia was under the USSR. However, since Estonia gained independence in 1991 it has been meticulously restored and is truly breathtaking.

We left the cathedral and took a very short work to the famous Dome Church, which has over 100 Medieval coats of arms on display! Nothing like embracing your noble heritage and showing it off in style if you ask me. The church in itself was very simple and not at all what I had expected but the coats of arms where something else - the carving and attention to detail was astounding. Something we don't see too often, even in the major historic houses and castles here in the UK.

From the Church we went to the two panoramic viewing platforms, looking back out over Tallinn and the harbour. Breathtaking views, it was fun trying to spot the ship between the buildings. Look closely and you can just make out the blue funnel of our ship......

We headed down the steps from the second viewing platform to take a walk through the public gardens which were hosting a flower/garden festival. The gardens happen are apparently the legendary birthplace of the Danish flag. According to the story, Valdemar's forces were losing their battle with the Estonians when suddenly the skies opened and a red flag with a white cross floated down from the heavens. Taking this as a holy sign, the Danes were spurred on to victory. Today the garden remains a place where locals honour the role Denmark played in Estonia's history. However, after our guide imparted this little gem of history he then went on to talk about the socio-economic stability of the country and the tax relief foreign buisness' were receiving if they could prove a long term investment in becoming 'green'.... at this point I own to switching out of the conversation whilst enjoying some of the more unusual aspects of the garden designs.

Our guide was just leading us out of the gardens when I tuned in again at the word skype, it turned out that one of the biggest additions to Internet communication in recent years came from this tiny place that I had never even heard of prior to booking the cruise! who knew?! crazy really. Crazier still was that Tallinn is rapidly becoming a major technical centre of the world. It was just too much for me to get my head around, there is something bizarre in standing in the middle of an immaculately preserved medieval town and hearing that they were probably more technologically advanced than the UK and possibly even many parts of the USA. My brain would probably have gone into serious meltdown trying to work out how this was possible if it wasn't re-engaged with the fantastic architecture that bombarded my eyes. Aaahh, simple architectural wonders - much easier to deal with!

As we continued around the outside fortifications we were taken to the walls only surviving tower and gate the Great Coastal Gate (Suur Rannavärav) and Fat Margaret tower (Paks Margareeta). They were built not only to defend the city from the seaward side of town, but also to impress any visitors arriving via the harbour, and impressive they truly are! The origins of Fat Margaret's name are apparently a mystery, some local historians claim it was named for one of its larger cannons, while others tell of a cook called Margaret who once worked here. Whatever the reason, Fat Margaret is an impressive lady and a fantastic welcome into the walled city.

From the outer wall we began the slow walk up the main street, Pikk Street, which leads from the Coastal Gate to the medieval market square which houses the worlds oldest apothecary and Europe's only remaining medieval town hall. By this time we were getting more than a little warm and the sun was hot! ooops, we forgot the suncream! Dodging in and out of the shade when we could, to avoid getting too red, we realised that we were attempting an exercise in futility as we left to shop in the market square which had no shade, before heading out to the far side of the town, past a monastery, round a couple more towers and through the flower market which stays open until 10pm every night, (apparently so that the men of the city could always be sure of getting something when needing to make an apology - I like their thinking, but it worries me that they must get enough trade to warrant staying open, so how often do the men need to grovel?!)

Finally, our guide led us the shuttle bus stop, making sure we all knew where it was if we didn't want to walk back to the ship. Left to our own devices and not tempted to sit on a hot bus, Claire and I doubled back on ourselves and went shopping; not that we got much, but it was nice to potter in some of the shops and have a heart attack at the price of Amber. We really wouldn't be purchasing any new jewellery it seemed. Unfortunately we were getting redder by the minute and with neither of us inclined to get seriously burnt, we stopped to pick up ice creams and headed back to the ship. We were just crossing over the car park at the docks when we spotted Alistair making a bid for freedom! as we crossed paths, we stopped for a quick chat, asking if he'd had any news on Rob and making a pointed comment that he was wearing far too many clothes - seriously, we were melting and he was in jeans and a hoodie!

We left him in peace to find some food and Internet access and we headed back on board. Although we'd had ice-cream on the way back to the ship, it hardly filled us up and after a quick wash back in the cabin, we went in search of lunch. Hunger abated we settled to sunbath the afternoon away - this time, smothered in cream, we had no intention of getting any pinker! As we listened to the band perform their afternoon set and dozed, we wasted the afternoon as only you can without any guilt on holiday. At half three, in dire need of liquid I offered to go and top up our water glasses, when I spotted people walking out with cream teas! ooooh.

Never one to pass up a scone and cream, Claire asked me to grab her one too. However, I was just finishing dropping some cream on the plate when one of the chefs asked me if that was all I was taking..... umm, yes?! oh no, apparently I was going to upset them if I didn't at least try one of the cookies and a sandwich! there went the waistline (oh wait, mine was already non existent). Fully loaded up, I was finally able to escape back to Claire, who looked at me like I'd gone mad when I presented her with more than just a scone. Not that it stopped either of us eating the whole lot and still going for three courses later that night.

Fed and red(ish), we headed back to the cabin to try and tame the glow and get ready for dinner. We both took longer than usual in the shower, trying to cool down and reduce the pink. Whilst it wasn't as bad as it could have been, it was still noticeable, especially against some of our darker dresses. There was only one thing to do - chose a dress that hide or at the very least reduced the brightness. Thank goodness for extensive wardrobe choices.

The usual ritual completed we went to dinner and handed over the next voucher in our wine package - assuming it was a red wine from the name. We were wrong. The other 6 at the table looked at us like we were mad when the wine waiter arrived with a bottle of Champagne. Oh dear..... not that we actually minded but we were quickly developing a taste for it and that could only end in one way if we didn't behave- an expensive bill at the end of the cruise!

Three courses later and starting to feel the effects of having afternoon tea as well, we made a move to the show lounge, for that night's performance; Fosse. A tribute to Bob Fosse, including songs from Cabaret, Sweet Charity and Chicago. Once the show was over (it was spectacular as usual) Richard did his bit and answered the question on everyone's mind - how was Rob?! as it turned out he was ok, he'd twisted the ankle badly and had apparently damaged the tendons but with rest he'd be back sooner rather than later. However, it did mean that the cabaret that night would have to be cancelled - as the Boy's are Back In Town, couldn't go ahead without him. Instead, Richard insisted, it would be our turn to take to the stage and show off our vocal talents with Karaoke - oh no!

It took no discussion to know that Claire and I would be avoided High Spirits whilst the Karaoke was on, we'd been traumatised on the last cruise by individuals who did a fantastic impression of sounding like cats being traumatised! Thanks, but no thanks! Making our way up to the deck, we decided to enjoy the evening with half and hour on deck before that night's quiz. Whilst we sat and savoured the last of the champagne I noticed a strange sight on the horizon; half a dozen or so cruise ships taking exactly the same route - oh! of course, there are many companies who do a similar itinerary to the one we were on but we hadn't really seen them at night as we sailed. Now it seemed that it was going to be a race to port in St Petersburg for the best berth.

Having amused ourselves with numerous bad jokes about playing follow the leader, we made our way back to High Spirits in time for the game show; Big Heads - the ultimate battle of men vs. women, hosted by Richard the teams were headed up by Lauren and Alistair. Of course, the whole thing was fixed, it's half the fun of the shows and so the men, with a whole lot of cheating, won. Booo! lol! With the winners presented and the stage being set for people to serenade the rest of the bar, Claire and I made a quick exit, stage right and headed back to the cabin to touch up the make-up, move the clocks forward by another hour (so we couldn't forget when we got back later) and went to peruse the broad street shops for a little while.

Not tempted to part with any more money (a first!) we wandered back out to the deck outside High Spirits for a drink and to enjoy the view - better known as spot the cruise ships! We hadn't long finished our drinks when we joined on deck by Alistair, Lauren and the Band. It would seem that there were few people inclined to make fools of themselves and they had finished early, clocking off for the first, and only time, before midnight!

We ordered another round in, discussed Robs condition, talked about Tallinn and what we had planned for St Petersburg - the crowning jewel in the cruise! I couldn't wait. So much history, I was going to be like a kid in a candy shop and I had no problem owning to it. A pleasant hour or so passed in its usual way before we all parted company; us to bed, Alistair to the crew bar. St Petersburg was calling and nothing, not even a lack of sleep could stop my excitement!

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