hello; my husband and I just returned from a trip to Tallinn/Riga/Vilnius. I will try to keep this one on Tallinn. Our ride from Tallinn airport to our hotel Mihkli.ee was 150 KR.You pass the old Sovi
hello; my husband and I just returned from a trip to Tallinn/Riga/Vilnius. I will try to keep this one on Tallinn. Our ride from Tallinn airport to our hotel Mihkli.ee was 150 KR.You pass the old Soviet style bldgs, and some road construction but not that bad.
We quickly unpacked and began a 3 day adventure in Tallinn. We purchased the 72 hr.Tallinn Card directly from our hotel and it included bus rides and museum and church entry fees.I believe it was worth it. We walked to the Toompea area from the bus stop right in "Freedom Square" where many busses stop.We visited Nevsky cathedral with the wonderful black domes. Go inside. Learn about Vladimir (he is above the door). Visit Kiek in de Kok.The walk along the tower walls including Kiek Kok was very colorful with lots of good pictures. The next morning we were rested,had a good breakfast, took a tram from our hotel to the Freedom Square and learned we had to switch trams and cross the street and stand in the middle section of the street to catch Tram 3. Well, a young college student decided to help us and decided to spend the day with us.She was from a small Estonian village and we just had a ball with her. She could read all the signs and of course we got to Kadriorg palace with her. The Palace was interesting. A walk behind it takes you to the house of Peter the Great...just keep walking beyond the palace garden. YOu can take pictures in the palace and house.
We got back to Tallinn on the wrong bus but it was fun and we went for lunch at Hansa. Don't miss it. Just watch out for the poisonus mushrooms in the mushroom soup. (haha) WE ordered from the appetizer menu and had a feast just from that. By all means use the bathroom and take your camera with you. You can sit outside at Hansa but you don't get the medieval feeling like sitting indoors gives you. The waiters and winches are all professional and very good. A walk back to Toompea to finish our walk. The next day we took one of those HOP ON-HOP OFF busses to Pirita to visit St. Bridgett Convent.A very picturesque ruin that Ivan the Terrible tore down. We knew when the bus would be stopping to go back to Tallinn so we decided to have lunch there too. WAlk out from the Convent and turn left and then left down toward the river where there is a small cafe.You can see the traffic bridge from here..No sign for the cafe but very nice,clean,good food and a bathroom. Got the bus back and it drove around the cruise ship port.You can get out nearby here near Fat Margaret Tower and walk back through Old Town this way. Our bus stopped for about 20 min.to change lines right in front of a flea mkt.where I was able to find a nice wool sweater. Then back on the bus and a ride out to the OUtdoor museum on the other end. Allow time here to walk around and be sure to get the bus times.We did not have that clear but it worked out. A large outdoor museum of the way life was in early days. Nice thatched roof house,women sewing in the houses, a nice windmill, just a nice walk. Don't go if it is raining as it is all outdoors. NIce gift show. Tallinn Card is good here too.
We did have dinner at the Troika. Try the Pelmini and cabbage soup. This place is nice too. We are glad we got to go to both Hansa and Troika. Nice Russian scenes painted on the walls. Walking through OLD TOWN TALLINN is impressive. TAke plenty of film or memory sticks. TAllinn is great. From here we rode a bus to Riga for about 4 hrs. The bus is EcoLines. Got ticket off the internet.Only 4 people on the bus and it was clean,quiet and just plain nice.Be careful at the bus station in Riga.Tallin station is dark and dreary at 6AM and be sure to have your tickets ahead of time. WE took a taxi from our hotel to the Tallinn Bus station . Our hotel had fixed us 2 nice box lunches filled with fruit,sandwiches and water. If you have questions about Tallinn I will try to answer.
I just read your post and wanted to ask you what we can do it Tallinn for 8 hours. We are cruising in May and have a stop there. Can you suggest the best things for us to do in that short amount of time? We love to get into the museums and history of the places we visit but with so little time , not sure what we can do.
Depending where you come in to Tallin....get a taxi or take a bus if you don't have your luggage. Just go to the main square in city center. From here you can take a walk around the city square where most of the churches are that are works of art inside. See my other post for recs on a place for lunch just off the main square. The airport,if I recall correctly, is a distance from the city....but there was road construction when we were there. Once again, head for the city square.....
I just re-read your post. You will come in at the cruise terminal. You could walk straight out from there. You will see the "Fat tower". You could walk from there to the main square. I don't trust my memory of those streets but we walked from the cruise port back to Tallin twice. If you see the Fat Tower you are in the right place..,If not, take a taxi directly from your ship to the "main square" Lunch at Hansa or Troika for the experience and good fun. At least go inside. Any further questions let me know.
We leave for our Northern Europe, Scandinavian, and St. Petrsburg and Tallin cruise in early June from Amsterdam. We are perplexed regarding buying souveniers - what should we do about currency or credit cards or debit cards. We have Visa (Chase) and American Express credit cards. We do not have a debit card. If you use an ATM do we get the currency of each individual country? We are so conflicted at what iss best to do. The credit card companies charge for exchanging the money. What did you do? Thanks for any help.
