Saturday April 26th, 2008
We leave from Milan at 6.00pm and arrive as planned in Tallinn at 10.00pm (there is one hour of difference compared to Italy). By taxi we go to the hotel and then a very short ride downtown to the square of the town hall.
Sunday April 27th, 2008
In the morning, we leave the hotel and we see the gate Viru väravad and now we decide to start the climb that leads to the upper part of the city (not as hard as we expected). We stop at Niguliste Kirik which is closed (we will revise it later). We continue the climb until we reach a small garden backs onto the walls and begin to admire the panorama of the city, then with one last effort we reach the top of the hill where the church Aleksander Nevski katedraal, the Orthodox Church, is.
It’s just over a mass (or is about to start) and there are many people both inside and outside. Inside, I don’t know why there is a banquet with the colored eggs that are sold/blessed. Opposite the church we admire the facade of the castle. Not far away there is another church, the Toomkirik. Then we reach the opposite point of the hill where there are two terraces. We descend along a nearby ladder (fortunately we go down, up it seems quite hard) and walk down the street along the walls, dotted with many towers (each tower has a name that obviously I cannot remember). Nearby there is the Ukrainian church in whose yard there is a festival with dances and songs. At the end of the city, we can admire the church Oleviste Kirik, the mill, the tower Rannavarav ja Suur Paks Margareeta and the hotel “Three Sisters”.
We can climb the bell tower of Oleviste Kirik, but even here, we will come back later. So we walk both streets Pikk and Lai overlooked by many palaces. We reache the puha Kirik Vaimu which is located a short distance from the square of the town hall where we stop for lunch. In the afternoon we go back to the Niguliste Kirik that is open and we visit it.
At this point we decide to rent a car (the rental is located right in front of our hotel) and go to Pirita, on the seafront where there are the remains of a church, Pirita klooster and then on the pier to admire the sea and the city surrounded by a slight haze. Then we continue on the motorway, without a precise goal and we stop, following the signs to a tower marked as a tourist attraction, we visit the building (it’s 4 floors).
The lady is very nice but doesn’t speak English, however we can understand (it says to turn it on and then turn off the lights and keep doors closed). We return then to Tallinn, a little walk through the streets and dinner in the central square of the town hall. Then again around for some pictures of the monuments.
Monday April 28th, 2008
As the day is long, we get up early enough to make the most of the day. We go from Tallinn to Haapsalu (only we stop to photograph one of the many storks). Here we visit only the castle and walk along the main street (where we stop to take a slice of cake).
Now we head towards the ferry to go to Hiiumaa, but with great regret and we discover the next ferry is at 2.30pm … too late. Therefore we are forced to give up and go by ferry to Saaremaa (we have to wait about half an hour, we will use this time to have lunch … we don’t waste time …) and we go immediately to Kuressaare. We are more or less the only tourists.
So we see 2 churches (both sadly closed), the City Hall and the various buildings we encounter on the road as we head to the castle. It is closed too (opening in May), but we can enter the courtyard and turn around, admiring the many lakes/ponds that surround it. While we return to the ferry we decide to make two stops: the crater kaal and the Church of Karja. The crater kaal is a lake formed by a meteorite, it is not very big, but it is a pleasant stop.
At a short distance there is also the church Karja Katariina Kirik, White, which is beautifully reflected in the pond environment. The church is closed (the door but you can see inside), according to our guide, you can call the caretaker who lives nearby to come and visit it, but we seem to disturb him and then we are happy to see it through the window. Back to the ferry to return to the mainland. Saaremaa is probably the place I enjoyed more in the Baltic countries during this trip.
Now the idea would be to return to Tallinn, but being 7pm now, it seems a little too far away (more than 100 km), so we decide to go to Parnu for dinner. We are the only ones around the streets of the city, we walk around randomly, taking advantage of the light of the sunset for the last pictures, before going to dinner in the only open restaurant. After having a great dinner, we take the car and back to Tallinn around 11pm. It has been a pretty long day, so we decide to go back to hotel.
Tuesday April 29th, 2008
In the morning, taking advantage of the last hours of renting of the car, we go to Kadriorg to see the palace, and like most places, the building is closed until May. We can view it outside, while the gardeners are placing all the flower beds. From there we go to the port, turn it quickly and then we give back the car.
We go back to the center, visit the town hall pharmacy (it’s open), the inside of puha Kirik Vaimu, and go up the bell tower of Oleviste Kirik to see the town from above. We go back to the Niguliste Kirik, up the hill to the Aleksander Nevski katedraal, along the walls and come back for the last time in town hall square. In the evening we have a flight that takes us to Vilnius to continue our Baltic trip, where we arrive while it’s raining. We wait the next day for visiting the city.
Wednesday April 30th, 2008
We start visiting the city from Gedimino prospekt, a street full of shops up to Arkikatedra Bazilika with its characteristic bell tower.
We take the funicular and go up to the castle where we can admire the city from above. Unfortunately the weather is cloudy, but you can see the city. Then we descend and go towards the center with its many churches including Sv. Onos baznycia and the nearby Sv. Ir Pranciakaus Bernardino baznycia and Sv. Kazimiero baznycia. We arrive to the Ausros Vartai, now a pilgrimage site (in fact beyond the door, many buses are parked).
Walk through the streets until we reach the university, of which we visit the many courtyards crowded of students. Then the town hall, the district Uzupis, the hill of three crosses (the climb is very hard), then back to Prezidento rumai, the cathedral, taking advantage of few moments in which shines a ray of sunshine. We go to the Franciscan church and come back late in hotel.
Then we go back downtown for dinner and walk a little to see the city in the night.
Thursday May 1st, 2008
It’s still cloudy, we will not see Vilnius with the sun. Today, again in streets we have already passed the previous day and we see many churches inside. At lunch we meet with our friend and spend some time with her.
There remains a few time, but we are happy with what we have seen so far. We walk a little and then again to the airport with another Baltic country as destination: Latvia (Riga).
Friday May 2nd, 2008
We start visiting the city from the castle and also accidentally seeing the change of the guard. At a short distance there is also lielais Kristaps, a wooden statue dedicated to the founder of the city. From there, the home of three brothers with the nearby St. Jekaba, to arrive at the cathedral square, of which we visit the interior and cloister.
We go back outside, through the gate of Swedes and along the old barracks to the dust tower. From here the route takes us to the main Livu laukums, the square on which there are several buildings, including the small guild, the great guild and the house of the cat. Visiting the church of St. Petera, we can climb the bell tower (with elevator), from which we can see the city from above. Unfortunately, even today the time is not very good.
In City Hall Square, there is also the home of black heads, a very beautiful building, especially in the evening. Later the sun shines and we finally can take pictures with the blue sky. We pause at Skyline bar, bar that is on the 26th floor of Reval Hotel. Then we go to Alberta Iela, with its characteristic buildings and crossing the Kronvalda parks and we go back to the cathedral.
We take a rest at the hotel, before leaving again for dinner. The days are quite long and we have to wait for seeing the city lit up.
Saturday May 3rd, 2008
Last day of our journey, the plane is at 11.00, so there is little time, but the sun shines.
We go to downtown, before resuming the taxi that takes us to the airport. It’s a pity to leave the Baltic. The flight will land at Orio al Serio 40 minutes early.
