[Kate] Planning A Travel Day

Obviously, we're doing a lot of sightseeing days on this trip, but mostly the kids don't do very much planning.  Either our parents have booked a guide, they have something planned out, or we make it up as we go along.  So there isn't much of an opportunity for Grace, Cannon and I to plan something out.

But then our Dad had an idea to have each of us to plan a day during the course of our cruise, in three different cities.  Our planning would include five things to do, how to get around, and a lunch location or plan.  So Dad wrote the three cities down on pieces of paper, and Grace Cannon and I each pulled out a paper out of a hat.

I pulled out Tallinn, Estonia.  Grace grabbed Helsinki, Finland, and Cannon got Stockholm, Sweden.

I procrastinated for a while, but eventually I did a quick google search, and found a website that gave ideas for what to do if you have a day in Tallinn.  (Having only a day in Tallinn seems very common, since cruises are a popular method of travel in the Baltic Sea area.)

Using that blog, and a few other sites, I found these five things to do:

• Viru Gate (a historic gate leading into the old town area)
• Alexander Nevsky Cathedral (a Russia Orthodox church from the time when the Russians ruled Estonia)
• St. Olaf's Church (an old church with a steep staircase up to a viewing point at the top of the church)
• Kohtuotsa Viewing Platform (a platform with views over the old town)
• Old Town Walls (a section of the walls that used to surround the old town of Tallinn)

All of these things were very close, and located in the old town, and so we would just be walking around the city for transportation, instead of worrying about metros or buses.  I also found a lunch recommendation (Rataskaevu 16) in the first blog I looked at.

On Google Maps I made a map of the places we could go, and ways to get to them (starting at the Tallinn cruise port).

This is a screenshot of my map of a possible walking route through Tallinn.

The day in Tallinn was really fun!  We didn't go to the Viru Gate or the Old Town Walls, but we walked through another interesting set of gates, and we saw the walls from the viewing point at the top of St. Olaf's Church.  Lunch was very delicious, and we ate traditional Estonian food).  We all had a good day in Tallinn!