July 21, 2015
Sightseeing in Tallinn
I spent the day in Old Tallinn, with a late afternoon excursion into the newer part of town. First I visited a bike shop to solicit advice on the best route through Estonia. The coastal route is scenic, but also about 5 times the distance as the direct route. With some advice from the shop, I've mapped out a route that includes portions of the coast, but also some inland short cuts. It feels like the bike trip is really starting tomorrow, and I've been traveling and just sort of dragging the bike with me, since I've been taking ferries and exploring the cities on foot.
After that, I went on a walking tour of Old Tallinn. It was a free tour, with a tip to the guide, who is a college student. The guide was enthusiastic and very knowledgeable about Estonian history. Between the Danes, Germans and Russians, Estonia has been taken over a number of times, and the people are now quite proud of their independence. They are also proud of their technical prowess. Who knew that Skype was started here? And of their extremes. I'm not sure how it's measured, but Estonia is the least religious country in the world. There are a lot of churches in the medieval city, but not too many of them function as churches. Indeed, the one next door to my hostel was damaged during the bombing in 1944, and restored during the Soviet occupation as a museum of Atheism. Now it is an art gallery.
After the tour I went back to the hostel and used the computer to load my planned route onto my GPS. Then I went out and bought a few groceries, and also a SIM card for my phone, since I will be out of Wi-Fi range and hope to be camping for the next few days. The SIM, with unlimited data for a week as well as some phone time was 10 euros.
| Heart | 0 | Comment | 0 | Link |
| Rate this entry's writing | Heart | 2 |
| Comment on this entry | Comment | 0 |