The Nordic Explorer - Tallinn and Riga

After St Petersburg we were well and truly due for some relaxation and allow the brain to catch up with the activities of the past three days. But, the itinerary did not allow a day off. Instead, we just enjoyed 'happy hour' and enjoyed each other's company.

Tallinn in Estonia was next on our itinerary. It is another gorgeous medieval city that has happy memories. Having heard both from me and others how delightful a place it is, Jan was looking forward to seeing it for herself. Regrettably, the bug that plagued her in St Petersburg was still making its presence felt, but....... the show must go on!!

Our first view of Tallinn with the contrasting chimney stack dominant in front of the 'old city'!

 The grand entrance to a charming medieval city!

The above is just so different in contrast to the first picture above. 

Part of the city walls with in the background one of Tallinn's churches.

Following our arrival, the shuttle bus drove us near to the old city. Our intentions were to just walk around this old city and enjoy its entrancing atmosphere. Sadly, my map reading badly let me down and we found ourselves in the opposite direction where we wanted to be. Not an encouraging start! After some local help, we were finally back on track, especially when I spied St Alexander Nevsky cathedral. From there I was on familiar territory.

Some things have changed since we were in 2005, including no photography in the church. There were more tourists even though it was the same time of the year, but generally it just seemed different. The Russian Orthodox St Alexander Nevsky cathedral is beautiful as you can see below:

The domes of this church are quite outstanding!

While we were not permitted to take photos inside the church, I do have a photo of the beautiful dome that I took in 2005. Let me show you that. I hope it will convey, what I think is an ethereal impression that to me is worshipful.

 

 Wherever we walked there was charm and even a welcome from the 'local' below!

Having by now walked for quite a long time, we were ready for a cuppa and needed a toilet stop, which are rather hard to find. We found a little cafe on the old walls of Tallinn and spent an enjoyable  40 minutes recovering. It appeared to be run by the local theatre company. If you click on the photo it will enlarge and you will see that it is called 'Cafe in the Theatre', from which we deduce that it was both a cafe and a place to perform.

In greater comfort, we headed for a couple of look-outs that are stunning. On the way we briefly stopped and had a quick look inside the Lutheran Church. It has a lovely organ that I would love to have played!

Overlooking some of the old city towards the docks our ship was clearly visible, as can be seen in the next photograph. The most outstanding views of Tallinn can be observed from this vantage point:

 Love this scene, looking at the church spires, the walls along the city walls, and

...... our ship 'Marina'!

Looking down are the narrow streets that lead back to the docks. We have went down there and on the way, purchased a lovely water colour painting of the old city.

Through the Artist's eyes

Through our eyes

Through the eyes of another local!

 Vendors, making the best of the opportunities, especially because the tourist season is almost over. 

 This one above is certainly different and the folk were very chatty, but no transaction. Sorry!

 Finally, we headed for the market place and enjoyed a lovely lunch -

despite the rain that tried to spoil our enjoyment. 

Leaving Tallinn, we headed for the second of our Baltic cities - Riga, the capital of Latvia. Once leaving the Baltic Sea. we sailed up the Daugava River right to the centre of the old city. I was most surprised that we had to sail so far up river - some twenty kilometers.

A welcoming committee of goodness knows how many seagulls waited patiently on a warehouse roof as we edged closer to Riga. It is a busy cargo terminus and I guess that some of the freight goes on to Belarus and Russia.

Great to see the old city again. It is so different from Tallinn, which is so original. Not so Riga, which suffered badly during the war and much of it was rebuilt. Even so, still a very interesting city with delightful architecture and history. So, please share with us as we wander through the town:

As you can see, it is still early and not many people about. Lovely spire in a lovely setting. 

Let's get a little closer:

Jan is always on the lookout for beautiful flowers. She never got over the lack of abundant flowers in Hobart when we married. Well, this little town did not let her down. There were plenty of them!

Plus this delightful cart in a little corner of the street:

Unexpected cafes in every little corner provided the potential for good dining and excellent atmosphere:

And of course, more churches!

The next church has a wonderful story attached to it. The story was told about the builder of the first tower in this place who, when he installed the rooster on the completed tower drank a glass of champagne while sitting on the top of it. He then threw down the emptied glass with the words that the tower would remain standing for as many centuries as the number of shattered pieces. Alas for him, it fell on hay and only broke into three pieces. The story continued that after almost three centuries, the church tower was bombed! After the reconstruction took place they made sure there was no hay around and the glass was completely smashed.

The people of Riga recovered the 'rooster' that was on top of the tower and I believe, is now stored in the church. Great story!

We thoroughly enjoyed a luncheon on the canal's edge.
It rather reminded me of Christchurch in New Zealand.

It was also just across from the Riga War Memorial. An impressive monument!

Last time I was here, there were soldiers who guarded this monument.

Very nearby is the exquisite Opera House where in 2005 I had the joy of watching an excellent production of the Ballet Swan Lake. Riga people know how to turn it on!

But.....there were other monuments:

And the best of them all!

Go Jeanette! Great photo of a happy lady! Maybe a ballet dancer like her mum!

Time for a change of pace. The water is drawing like a magnet and the little boat below looked just the ticket:

 This lovely journey allowed us to see these panoramas of Riga

 Finally, we up-sized again to our 66,000 ton yacht! Sleek and beautiful!

Time to call it a day, as well as an end to this chapter of our journey. And now it is really time for a day at sea. See you in the next port! Where? Check out the next chapter!