Despite the jetlag, we awoke at about 6:30 am on Monday to board the cruise ship Vana Tallinn from Länsi terminaali (West Terminal) at 08.00. We were immediately escorted into the ship's fine breakfast buffet where we ate a hearty breakfast. Then Tyrone, Durrell, and Vinny set out to explore the ship.
The weather on the water was suddenly colder
than we expected, and the students soon suggested finding a warm table
inside the ship's lounge where we spent most of the 3-hour voyage sipping
cokes and rehearsing our presentation for the next day.
Our tour guide for the old city of Tallinn
was a 24 year old woman who had been active in the 1992 movement for Estonian
independence. She spoke movingly of the impact of the country's struggles
on her own life, which added a particular importance to the telling of
the history of this eastern European country. Here we look out from
the old town of Tallinn, where the upper class had lived, with a view out
over the merchant's part of town on the lower level. The two areas
of the town had a history of strife and mistrust.
We experienced a Medieval restaurant, where
candles provided the only lighting, and the menu listed such items as Boar
stew. Clockwise from left are Vinny, Mary, Jerry, Robin Colliander
(GLOBE web developer), Dr. Elissa Levine (GLOBE soils scientist), Tyrone,
and Durrell. After lunch the group wandered (in the rain!) around the
beautiful town of Tallinn looking in stores for Estonian crafts and
precious amber.
A brisk walk around Tallinn revealed wonderful and ancient treasures such as these stone carvings hung carefully on a limestone wall. There was no information about them, but the display was curious and beautiful.
The group boarded a hydrofoil boat for a speedy return to Helsinki at about 9:30 that evening.