Day 4 - Tallinn, Estonia (July 4th)

"It's hot today", I thought. We were as far north as the tip of Labrador and it was at least 85F. The water was serene and the MS Rotterdam was the first ship of a stream of other cruise vessels to dock. While crossing the main road outside the docks, I noticed a slough of photographs littering the road. Picking up a couple, I knew I'd found the ultimate Estonian souvenir: photos of Estonian girls decked out in fur coats at the local bar (pic right >). I quickly stuffed the photos in my pocket to avoid getting hit by the oncoming traffic.

Walking into Old Town as soon as the ship docked was a bonus; No tourists. But for some cars on the street, it clearly felt we had time warped to 1394. Old Tallinn is charming, untouched and quintessentially medieval. The heart of Old Tallinn is the Town Hall Square (pic below left) which once was the sight of a marketplace and executions. It now serves as a sight for festivals and outside cafes. Picturesque as it is in the summer, I couldn't help imagining what it might look like with a fringe of snow along the rooftops and a string of lights on the eaves. Toompea Hill is a short walk and not only provides a great view of the new and old city below but our first site of Russian influenced architecture, the Alexander Nevski Cathedral (pic below right). Tourists were coming out of the woodwork by the time we reached the top of the hill so we decided to make our way down to Viru Street and out to the new town. Viru Street is the main shopping drag of Old Town and houses some interesting bookshops and clothing stores. As you approach the end of the street you slowly feel like you're walking forward in time as office buildings and modern hotels replace the medieval visage. Crossing the road to a large park, we stopped to snack on our lunch of room service sandwiches, ordered from the ship the night before. This was when we first began to realize that Janet was somewhat of an attraction herself. Walking through the modern shopping mall, people were desperate to cop a look at her. This was different from the experience she had in Sicily the year before when all of the men wanted to touch her. These people were in shock. When it got to be overwhelming, I started yelling, "Black woman coming! Come and look at the black woman!" Janet wasn't amused and begged me to shut up. Clearly sneaking glances is not necessary in Estonia as many would just sit and stare at her blankly. I was warned that Estonians and Russians could be very forward in their approach. This was particularly evident when I walked into a clothing store, asked for a larger shirt than I was given and was told bluntly, "Don't flatter yourself." Shocked at first, I came to appreciate this straightforwardness as I felt that if someone could be so direct with me, then I could talk more freely with him or her. It seemed so much more sincere than the treatment I got back home.

Walking through the new town was more thrilling, not because of the sights but the experiences. We found an outside market that catered only to the locals and the bargaining of their wares was a sight to watch. Just like the 2 different towns, there are two types of Estonian women: the old and the new. The old women are stereotypically Russian in appearance. They have that weathered dried up apple type face with the scarf tightly wrapped around the head look. The young girls are fashionable, bold and prone to bright shades of hair color. Clearly tiring of feeling like an oddity, Janet forced me back into Old town to hide amongst the growing madhouse of tourists. We picked up a few bottles of 5 Euro Estonian Vodka, a tshirt and then hightailed ourselves back to the ship. On our way, we met two fellow passengers, Inger and her mother. They had just returned from a taxi tour of Tallinn for $50. If she'd been able to find us, she could have shared the cost and we could have seen the town for $25 per couple. Inger's mother, who apparently was 97, walked the mile from Old town back to the ship. There were people half her age paying the $5 shuttle fee for the same trip.

Tallinn is a great port with fascinating people, good shopping and a bustling atmosphere. It made me wonder what it must have been like before Soviet freedom in 1991. And more importantly would St. Petersburg be more of the same? After celebrating the 4th of July with our American contingent at an old fashioned barbecue out on Lido deck we hauled ourselves to bed at midnight. Tour group was to meet at 7AM sharp under the violins in Explorer's Lounge.