We had
breakfast in the main dining room and chatted to Jeff from the USA who had left
his wife and grandson on their verandah, and a group of three from Sydney. Sport
dominated this conversation.
I went to find
out about some upcoming destinations and have a sort of plan for tomorrow in
Tallinn. Tallinn is the capital of Estonia, a country that was independent
until the 13th century. It was then taken over by a long list of
countries including Germany, Holland and the USSR/Russia. We were told they
have 2 independence days. One celebrates their independence from Russia after
WW1 and the 2nd their independence from the USSR in 1991. They had
what is known as the Singing Revolution. The people started singing the
traditional songs that had long been banned and that lead to an agreement from
the USSR to allow the country independence without any bloodshed. A nice
background I thought. We were told the distance from the port to the old centre
is about 1.5km, and that wifi is widely available. This linked in to the other
story we were told which is that SKYPE was created in Tallinn.
The old city is
walled with some parts 16m high. The final quirky story we heard is that the Chimney
Sweeps here wear their traditional 19th century uniform with brass
buttons and it is considered good luck to rub the buttons.
We also were
shown photos of the main sites in St Petersburg with a warning that we will be
in crowds at all of them, that we will be herded along usually by older Russian
women attendants and the immigration will be very slow with continual checking
of our face against our passport and something on the computer. We did know all this but the reminders were
made with humour.
I also heard
about Berlin as a boat trip destination at a later stop, but we deliberately
included it in our driving earlier in our trip, to avoid the 3 hour (each way) commute
to the city that is required from the boat on a specially chartered train.
I joined John
in the sun on the balcony after making a reservation for tonight’s Gala dinner.
We then had lunch. ‘At sea’ days do have this pattern to them.
We had a swim
in the afternoon and the pool was a very comfortable temperature. I had
intended to go to a couple of other talks but the pool was more appealing.
This was Gala
night for dinner. Philip would have been disappointed as lobster was not on the
menu but lamb was and that suited a few people. As we were being taken to our
table Alex Coombes King and Warwick King (from Nelson) spotted us. We had been
trying to see them as we walked around, but it is a big ship. We were escorted upstairs
which is unusual and enjoyed the company of a couple from Scotland and a couple
from Detroit. The conversation ranged from Donald Trump, meeting the Captain,
the delights of Florida, the corruption in Detroit and the general fun of travel.
After dinner I
went to the show which was good enough to sit through until the end while John
went back to the room to watch a movie on TV.
We had
intermittent phone reception and both of us woke about 2am, so we knew the cost
of the possible river cruise with Phillip and Anna Gully, and that we needed to
ring Glen in the morning. We then went back to sleep until 8am.
2025-05-22