Tallinn, Estonia

Saturday, September 1/12

The ferry docked in Helsinki at 8am. First order of business was breakfast..  which by the time me and my friend from Japan put our bags in lockers and found a place that was open, I was eating smoked reindeer meatballs.





My ferry to Tallinn, Estonia left Helsinki at 1pm.
A 2 hour, uneventful journey.

My host, Harry, was waiting for me in the harbour when I arrived. Just a short walk to his apartment.

We went to this medieval restaurant in the heart of the old town for supper. It was very unique, all the workers were dressed up and in character. And the food was good.

Harry took me around to see the old town after. Harry is born and raised in Estonia and was able to share a lot of Estonian history with me.

After taking me around to see various old buildings and sites, we went to a local pub for a beer.

We stopped at 2 more pubs, then went back to the apartment to enjoy the wonderful sauna.






Sunday September 2/12

We had brunch then Harry took me to see the TV tower.

Officially opened in 1980 just before the Moscow Olympic Games.

The end of the 1980's brought about an independence movement in Estonia. In order to silence the movement, the Soviet Union attempted to take control of the TV tower. They did not succeed and Estonia again declared independence in 1991.

The tower stands 314 meters high.

The observation deck, located on the 21st floor, is 170 meters high. It gives a 360 degree view of Tallinn, which you can see is mostly forest.

There were various interactive exhibitions, a restaurant and the viewing platform.

After playing around there for a bit we headed back into the town.

We took a walk through a couple beautiful parks.

 We walked past the Presidential Palace - it's pink.

In the evening, there was an important basketball game between Estonia and Israel.
Harry and I went and met up with a few of his friends there.
The venue was much like a Saskatoon Blades game. The fans were great. They have this chant with drums. 2 drum beats and then they yell "Eesti" and it's repeated over and over again. It was an exciting game, but unfortunately Estonia lost.