My 1 day Tallinn trip in 2009 - On the way to and around the old town area - The 2nd of November 2009

Being so close to Estonia we didn't hesitate venturing to its capital city, which was just a few hours away from where we were and if we were to leave on a fairly early ferry we would have the whole day to visit Tallin and some of its major attractions.

 

The ferry boat trip was quite uneventful though I realised that many approached the bar as the ferry set sail and started either drinking or buying alchool in all sorts of sized and shaped bottles, which we were told was quite normal taking into account the price of alcooholic drinks in Helsinki and Tallinn.

 

 

 

 

We left the ferry terminal by nine  and soon made our way towards the fat Margaret Tower, whose evocative name is said to be associated to the fact that it was the largest part of the city's fortifications with walls said to be 4 metres thick. Originally built to defend the harbour it was later turned into a prison and recently housing the Estonian Maritime Museum. Behind it we could see the spire of Sitn Olav's church which Tallinners are said to have wanted the be the tallest in the world to attract merchant ships.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Metal ship replica on the entrance wall of the Estonian Maritime Museum (left). The Great Coast Gate (right).

 

 

We then passed by  three adjoining medieval merchants' houses known as the Three Sisters said to have been built in 1362. 

 

 

 

 I couldn't help photographing some of the houses' façades along Pikk street, which I felt to be exquisitely beautiful.

 

 

         


One of them (to be seen underneath on the right) is a 15th century Renaissance building which used to be a meeting place of the Bortherhood of Blackheads, an association of unmarried merchants and ship owners who would then join the powerful Great Guild upon marriage. What is interesting is that the association is said to have survived until the Soviet invasion in 1940.


 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

We managed to get into the 13th century Holy Spirit church (whose spire I couldn't photograph because of its height) said to have served as the Town Hall chapel before having been converted into church. It houses a sublime altar tryptic I tried to photograph but which didn't come out well due to the lack of light and the impossibility of using flash inside the church. I did photograph some other religious artefacts though. The church holds  a special place in the Estonian history, once the first Estonian sermons were held there in 1535 following the Reformation.


 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 We finally reached the Town Hall Square surrounded by a number of ellegantly designed Medieval buildings. We ended up visiting the Town Hall pharmacy believed to have existed since 1422, with a rather impressive interior filled with unique old curiosities, from medical instruments to spiced wine

Old Medieval carts were unexpectedly placed in the cobblestoned square and it was as if for a moment we had "gone back in time" ... such was the surrounding atmosphere.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Dating back to 1404 the Town Hall with its imposing Gothic building with the octagonal tower could be seen just a few metres away.


 

We continued walking towards the Viru Gate on the western section of the city wall with its pair of stone towers said to have been built in the 14th century as part of the larger gate system.

We soon came across the magnifient Tamsaare park, located beyond the walls, which had quite a few suggestive statues.

 

 

 

 

 

 

(To be continued)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

My 4 day Helsinki trip in 2009 - The city and the Korkeasaari island - The 1st of November 2009

(...)

Once we got back into the city and because we had bought an Helsinki card which gave us access to quite a few Museums, expositions and even transport we decided to dedicate our afternoon to the "animal" side of Finland by visiting the Natural History Museum of Helsink (to be seen on the left hand side photo underneath) and then the Korkeasaari island where the zoo is located.

The moose statue standing right in fron of the Natural History Museum set the scene for what we were to see inside, though I must confess I wasn't expecting to come across skeletons of taxidermed and pre-historic animals, which were quite impressive, particularly because being accustomed to "seeing" them in pictures or sketches one hasn't got any idea of their real size.  

 

We were fortunate enough to have had access to a temporary exhibition of animal photography, which we quite liked.

 

 

 

Once we left and still influenced by the animal "touch" we "climbed" onto the backs of some stone turtle statues, despite being on a specially designed and colourful zoo bus we got to on our way to Korkeasaari island where we spent the rest of the afternoon.
 

 

The zoo premises were very well organised and among a huge number of well known species to us we came across some we had never seen before such as gnu goats,  takins and some rather exquisite sheep  or which we weren't expect to see like the flamingos. I ended up having a great time "talking" with some snowy owls which insisted on miming my face as I spoke to them, which was really weird.

1882 Buck statue by Constantino Pandiani (left).

By the time we got off the bus and headed back to the hotel it was getting colder but the light was such that I was stunned. The more I walked those city paths covered with leaves and watched the bay water reflexes the more I felt the beauty I would miss when I got back home finally. This was winter at its best ... and despite the cold I was going to miss it.