Around Scandinavia: Part Twenty Three

In which I explored the Estonian capital

03.06.2025: Tour Day8, Country5, City1

Estonia is nestled along the Baltic Sea and bordered by Latvia, Russia, and the Gulf of Finland. Formerly part of the Soviet Union, it's dotted with castles, churches and hilltop fortresses. 

Welcome to Tallinn! Vihar introduced us to Anaesthesia, our tour guide for the day. Tallinn is the capital of Estonia, known for its cobblestone streets, Gothic spires, and preserved medieval architecture.

We drove to the old town, passed by St. Olaf church, Drama theatre and Kawe plaza. 

We stopped at 04:20pm at the Toompea hill for a walking tour with the guide. 

We watched the Toompea castle, which houses the Riigikogu, Parliament of Estonia; Estonian Chamber of Commerce and Industry. We visited the cathedral at 04:30pm. 

Alexander Nevsky Cathedral

It is a Russian Orthodox Cathedral. In the five onion domes, gilded iron crosses are seen. Inside are three gilded, carved wooden iconostases, along with four icon boxes. The church towers have an ensemble of 11 bells, among which is the largest bell in Tallinn, weighing 15 tons. The cathedral was so beautiful from inside as well but photography. I spent 10mins praying to God and admiring the architecture.

We walked by the St. Mary’s Lutheran Cathedral, watched the Stenbock House (seat of Government), Riigikantselei (office of Prime minister). 

We reached the Kohtuotsa viewing platform which gives the panoramic view of the city’s red roofs. 

At 5pm, we walked down narrow cobbled alleyways of the Pika Jala (long leg) street which connects the upper and lower part of the old town. 

We viewed St. Nicholas Church from the garden.

Danish Kings Garden

The park is the place where the flag of Denmark, Dannebrog, according to tradition, is said to have been born. Three bronze monks are standing: Ambrosius the “Waiting Monk”, Bartholomeus the “Praying Monk” and Claudius, the “Observing Monk”, known for ghost stories. 

Kiek in de Kök Fortification

It forms a complex over 500 m long, encompassing four medieval towers: the Kiek in de Kök cannon tower, the Neitsitorn (maiden tower), the Marstal (stable tower), and the Short Leg Gate Tower. 

We passed by the Pikk Hermann tower. Anaesthesia talked about its story in the bus.

We reached the main road and boarded our bus at 05:30pm. We drove to our hotel Park Inn Radisson and reached there at 6pm. My room no was 5129. 

We had an hour to get ready for the fashion show and party dinner, gather at the reception. We boarded the bus and it dropped us at the Freedom Square at 07:30pm. 

We passed by the Estonian Art House, War of Independence Victory Column and St. John’s Church (Lutheran Parish). 

We clicked a group photo here. We reached our dinner restaurant Maharaja in 15mins. The party included ramp walk, dance, voting for the winners. 

Winner is Mamta Thakur; 1st runner up is Jennifer Joshi and 2nd runner up is Poonam Gupta. We had dinner at 9pm followed by the cake cutting for successful completion of the tour at 09:45pm. 

We drove back to our hotel in 15mins. I packed the bag and dozed off.