[Photos taken 09 August 2023, posted online 26 May 2024. I am officially unemployed! Survived the last two weeks at work by blasting the winning song of Eurovision 2024 (Nemo’s The Code) at every opportunity, just to keep up my energy levels, and joie-de-vivre! Expect more frequent blogging in the near future, as I try to catch up with myself… ]
When I mentioned to people that we were going to Helsinki, I was advised to plan a day-trip to Tallinn, the capital of Estonia, as it is only a two-hour ferry-ride away.
Apparently it is quite common for Finns (the natives of Finland, not people named Finnur!) to take the ferry over, party hard and buy cheap alcohol, and then sail back late at night.
After much perusing online, I decided we’d start the day by visiting the highly popular (really?!) Lennusadam maritime museum, before passing the time walking around the old town.
Wednesday 09 August 2023
Up high on a wall overlooking Tallinn, the capital of Estonia.
The day began early, by 8 am we were on public transport to the ferry terminal. It took us less than 15 minutes to get there, it’s such a well organized system!
Outside the T2 ferry terminal. I somehow didn’t take a single photo inside of it, but it was very new and nice looking! There were a lot of people there, but the lines moved quickly.
We had breakfast on board, at which point Anna’s sea-sickness kicked in for real.
Anna did a lot better up on deck, so I basically hung out with her there, trying various spots until we found one where the wind was not very overbearing, and there was minimal movement.
About to enter the Tallinn harbor.
Cars waiting to board. These are full service ferries, and there are multiple trips by at least two companies every day.
On our way to the Lennusadam maritime museum. There was a lot of road construction by the ferry-terminal, and the bus-stop we were aiming for was not in use, so we walked onwards to the next stop. When we got there, the bus was a ways away, and we decided to just keep walking…
The juxtaposition of a boarded-up house and the fancy new flats in the background was interesting to me.
Walking past the now-decommissioned Patarei Prison, which used to be a sea-fortress. Apparently it will become a museum/research center that is opening in 2026.
After a fair bit of walking (but the weather was nice, and we had all day, so no biggie) we found the old sea-plane hanger that now houses the maritime museum.
We entered, and the first order of business was to feed everybody. The cafe was surprisingly good! And that ceiling, so cool!
Quick lookout to the patio, similar designs are popping up everywhere.
The main attraction of the museum is the Lembit, a real submarine which was in active water-use as a warship, training ship, design-study, and war memorial from 1936 to 2011. In 2011 it was hauled out of the water and installed in this museum.
All kinds of buoys along a skyway, the sub behind.
Emma practicing shooting animated airplanes out of the sky with a big long gun. It was not as easy as you’d think.
Checking out a gun-sight. With Estonia having a border with Russia, military stuff matters.
There were a lot of guns…
On the deck of the submarine, with the Estonian flag and bell.
Going into the belly of the beast.
Torpedo tubes, and a lot of gauges.
An opportunity to teach about old tech.
Officers’ lounge.
No clogging the toilet!
Periscope check.
Engine room. It had both diesel and electrical motors, for loud and quiet running.
It’s kind of hard to fathom that something as small as this can drive a sub.
Quarters, and boxes for personal items.
By a bulkhead.
Tiny cots to sleep on. No rolling!
Kitchen.
Captain’s room.
A photo book.
Back outside.
Model of the seaplane harbor building.
Playing dress-up.
More dress-up.
Quite a shark-y profile.
Passing the remains of a ship from the 16th century on our way out.
We decided to be patient and wait for a bus to take us back to town.
Street-view. There was a lot of active construction going on.
The second part of the day wasn’t really planned, aside from “wander around”, much to Emma’s consternation. We exited the bus at some point, and oh look, a church!
Some Estonian architecture. Bjarki and Emma were the same weight at that point, they’re just built very very differently!
The other side of the church. We decided we needed a blood-sugar boost, so we went on the hunt for some good ice-cream.
