Tallinn, the capital of Estonia and only a short ferry ride from Finland's capital, Helsinki. We pre-booked our ferry tickets, and during September we ferried back & forth for a special price of just 18Euros. Here are the points:
1 point goes to the ferry ride. Yes, it was a bargain, but whether it was due to the unclement weather or if it was just normal, but the sea was very rough. Poor Caesar puked 2 bags full in the short 1.5-hour ride. The ferry itself wasn't bad though. It resembled the catamarans between HK & Macau (although it was actually a trimaran), only the rough seas.
2 points go to Kiek-in-de-kök. Literally it means Peep into the kitchen, it is meant to be a tower where you can walk up a flight of stairs and look down into the Lower Town, but the Tower was closed and the view from the bottom itself wasn't really that great.
3 points go to the Toompea castle gates. They are meant to be pretty spectacular but they were quite hard to find. Even with the instructions from many guide books, they're not easy to find, especially the tower of Lühike Jalg (Short leg).
4 points go to the Tallinn Town Walls. They were actually relatively easy to find, but the view from ground level was not that great. From above, however, the 4 towers of Pikk Jalg (Long Leg) are quite spectacular.
5 points go to Paks Magareeta (Fat Magaret). It is a pretty rotund harbour-side bastion, so it is a pretty accurate description. The exterior was pretty battered and you can't actually go inside. Aside from the photo-ops there isn't really anything spectacular.
6 points go to Raekoja Plats (Town Hall Square). The surrondings pastel buildings are pretty, well, 'pretty'. The Town Hall itself is pretty strange looking, with 2 gargoyles of green snakes sticking out the front of the building. One of its main attractions, the weathervane Old Thomas, sits all the way up in the sky (I guess that's where weathervanes should sit) but it's so tiny that you can hardly photograph it.
7 points go to the 11th century Dominican Monastery. Its main attractions are the stone carvings and they are actually very accessible. They're giant tablets that are fastened to the one side of building. Most of the are quite weathered and some broken into quite a few pieces. They are also down a side street so if you're not a very observant traveller it's pretty much blink & you'll miss it.
8 points go to Pühavaimu Kirik (the Holy Spirit Church). It is one of the oldest church in Tallinn, with its tower bell dating back to 1433. its wooden altarpiece was also from 1483. Its clock is also the oldest clock in Tallinn, although it's just a clock face painted to the front of the church. No spectacular mechanics like those in Venice or elsewhere.
9 points go to Pikk Hermann (Tall Hermann Tower). It's a tall tower that sits next to the pink Baroque Parliament House. Although you can't go in por climb up, the view from its base (in the castle courtyard) towards the suburbs is excellent.
10 points go to Oliveste Kirik. Don't be fooled by the exterior of this church. Outwardly it looks rather shabby, but if you pay the 10EEK (2Euros) entry fee for its observation deck, I guarantee you the view of Tallinn Old Town is well worth it. The climb up to the 60m deck is a bit of a chore but you can make games out if it by stopping to pose at every/every other turn or the fold down seats. The stone carvings of the adjoining Chapel of Our Lady was also meant to be an attraction but it was quite well-worn so they resembled more like cut stabs more than anything these days.
And finally, 12 points go to the Alexander Nevsky Cathedral. It is situated to the east of Toompea Plats. The exterior is quite spectacular but the real gem is its Lutheran interiors. No photos or videos allowed, however, so you'd have it see it for yourself.
If you take the time to wonder around the side-streets of Old Town, there are actually quite a few surprises like the boot-shaped gutter downpipe.
See you in Rovaniemi, back in Finland.
