Tallinn

I'm Tallinn ya, this place is super cool. :D Applause is unnecessary, but appreciated.

Diva vs. Cara

My first day in Tallinn, my aim was to just walk around and get a feel for the Old City. In the cruise ship terminal, we were docked next to AIDADiva, which is huge compared to Cara. It's funny, I always think that Cara is massive, but then we dock next to literally any other cruise ship in the world and it becomes quickly obvious how tiny she is. The Old City was visible from the cruise terminal. It was a gorgeous day, and I could not wait to see all of the medieval architecture!

Quinten, George, Kirsty, Luisa, Dean, and I wandered through the Old Town, taking it all in. I could sense the history of this place, though I had no clue what it was (This would be remedied shortly...). My favorite moment of the morning was finding ourselves at a vista point, complete with dementor-statues and a usable water pump. There was also the Chapel of the Lutheran Church, a beautiful structure that reminded me strongly of the church next to my "Riga spot." Oooh, I just linked one of my own posts. Feelin' like a blogger!

My mother has recommended the free, historical walking tour of Tallinn, which we happened to stumble upon. The group was about to sit down to an early lunch when I saw a man dressed in medieval garb up ahead. I convinced the group to do this walking tour with me, which turned out to be a great time.

This guy was hilarious! Due to the amount of history that Tallinn held, he, along with some of his friends, felt compelled to provide the Old Town with an interactive walking tour, complete with group participation.

Quinten was very early on given the task of carrying the banner and played many roles along the way, including a king, a deer, and a tightrope walker. I will give you the quick rundown of Tallinn:

Tallinn, then known as Reval ("Deer fall," a king chased a deer off of a cliff and named his city after the incident.), was on track to becoming a metropolis for trade, perfectly positioned between Europe and the Silk Road. The merchant class quickly rose to power, testing the will and regulations set by the aristocracy. They flaunted their wealth by using spices in their cooking, building the biggest houses, and wearing the longest shoe strings. These actions brought the merchants additional business. All was going well until Columbus discovered America. All eyes turned east, and Reval/Tallinn was forgotten.

My favorite part of the tour was going into a merchant's house. Back in medieval times, everyone was my height! How crazy is that??

The end of the tour was celebrated with a free shot of pepper schnapps for everyone. That stuff will clear our your sinuses, good god.

The group was now able to sit down for lunch. I tried kvass, a traditional, fermented Estonian drink made from rye bread. It was comparable to kombucha and I enjoyed it.

Finally, we had some gelato from the Gelato Ladies. I had buckthorn gelato, which I chose honestly because it was orange. No regrets!

My second opportunity to explore, Kirsty, Dean, Agnes, and I walked into town and found the oldest café in Reval. Kohvik Café has been around since 1864, and it is a d a t e s p o t if I have ever seen one.

We all sat in the Marzipan Room, featuring dark wood and mirrors, fresh pastries, painted marzipan, free wifi, and a teacup ferris wheel. We had such a lovely hour sitting there, discussing Ru Paul and the last two cruises of our contract! And, of course, we had to return to the Gelato Ladies. This time around, I had pistachio and chocolate chip. The pistachio was a hit amongst all of us.

I know that I have much more to explore in Tallinn, which I am hoping to do with my mom on the final cruise next week! Look for a post on our joint cruise experience towards the end of June. I will undoubtably have lots more to say on the joys of Tallinn!