Day 17 - Tour Day 6 – Fri 19 July 2019 - Riga to Tallinn, Estonia.

Sunrise: 4:57am Sunset: 10:16pm

Woke at 5am and decided to get up. Showered, dressed and did the last minute packing and went down to breakfast

Breakfast room
just after 6:30. Put the main luggage out when I got back from breakfast and took the carry-on and backback down and put on the coach, before we departed for our included city tour, which departed at 8:30.

First up was a visit to the Central Markets. 

Insight might need to re-think that visit. From there we took the bus to another part of the old town and started our walking tour, which lasted about an hour.

Some of the people then went back to the hotel with the TD and others stayed in the old town.  We just needed to be back at the hotel by 1pm for our departure to Tallinn.

1:50pm.    I’ve been reading, so not taking notice of the countryside until now. Lightly timbered forest on both sides of the road, with a train line on the left side. I’m not sure what type of trees.

Very tall with a thin trunk. The main tree species grown in Latvia are Scots pine, Norway spruce, silver birch, downy birch, black alder, grey alder, aspen, common ash and pedunculate oak.

2:15pm.   We came to a halt and then on the other side of the road a police car came past with lights flashing and siren  going, then came a 2nd one. After them there were 3 semi trailers carrying tanks or very large tracked vehicles.  Once they passed by we were on our way again. I think they were ex British tracked vehicles, as they sold some “surplus to requirements” to the Latvian army in 2014.

2:30 and we are just passing through the port town of Salacgriva.  Passed through the former border at 2:40 and we are now in Estonia 🇪🇪.

We stopped at a shopping centre and I bought a small packet of bandaids. My thumb nail has split and the bandaid will protect it from tearing off the nail bed.  We had about 45 minutes there.  Most of us also visited the supermarket there to buy snacks.  We departed again at 4pm.

Anna then came around with an Insight Flourish. A block of Estonian chocolate and then she came around again, handing out 3 different types of wrapped single chocolates. Very yummy. I’m saving the block of chocolate for another time.  Anna was also giving us a talk about Estonia and Estonians.

5:10 and we are still on the road about half an hour out of Tallinn.  Reached the outskirts of Tallinn at 5:30 and the traffic really slowed.  I thought Anna would have been filling us in on Tallinn but she was talking to a few of the people up the front of the bus.  Can’t say I’m overly impressed with her performance to date but I’ll keep an open mind.

This Radisson Blu is very nice and it’s a high rise. I’m in room 1622

View from one of my windows

and it’s very spacious.  I'm actually in a corner room, so have 2 outlooks.

Nicole & I arranged to have a drink in the Bar lounge on the 24th floor.  It was a tad too windy to sit outside, so we sat inside. I enjoyed a cocktail called The Flirt. Sparkling wine, pineapple juice, coconut juice and a syrup.  Very refreshing and surprisingly, not overly expensive.

Back to my room shortly after 8 and have been doing some hand washing and ironing clothes for the next couple of days.  Just wish the iron would heat up a bit more. :) 

It’s now 10pm and the huge setting sun is a vivid red.

 It was a full moon 2 nights ago.
Not sure if you are aware that if you click on the photo's they go to full size.

Steps Walked 13,630

Hotel: Radisson Blu Sky Hotel, Tallinn