Marilee and I took our first “cruise ship” in company of my brother Clete and Sister Ursula, their spouses and friends. We embarked from England off to the four Scandinavian capitols (photos posted elsewhere), then to St. Petersburg and Tallinn, Estonia. The stop at the latter was a brief six  hours and many of the ship’s passengers didn’t bother to disembark  for a hilly all-walking tour of a town they’d never heard of...especially after walking miles around Russia.

        Tallinn proved to be the biggest surprise of the trip. What a delightful quaint tourist town filled with great shops, good restaurants and a plethora of art and antiquities. It’s allegedly where Russians who aren’t allowed to sell art and other old things at home, black market out some really interesting pieces. Scandinavians were very nice, can’t say a bad word about them; Russians didn’t know what to do with tourists or how to treat them (but I’ll bet they learn fast); but the folks of Tallinn were ready, willing and able. If you go there, be the first one off the ship. The time you’ll spend is all too short.  I’d like about three days just to prowl antique shops and art galleries.