Estonia

Tallinn Estonia

Tallinn is the capital city of Estonia and the birthplace of Skype (fun fact). It has a beautiful old town very close to the busy port.

 Views of Tallinn from the old town walls.

One of the old town towers. 

Part of the old town wall. The wall and towers are mostly intact. They are the best we have seen on our trip.

St Olaf's church steeple.

Dome Church steeple

Alexander Nevsky Cathedral

Town Hall Square

Interesting building facade

Really nice Art Nouveau facade                                                           Simple entry

Bill and his new friend

Antique store entrance

Jewelry store entrance

Souvenir store entrance

 Freedom Square

Part of Russalka Monument. This was a huge monument all made of concrete.

Linnahall - Built for the 1980 Olympics by the Soviets. It is typical of the Soviet style, very large and made of concrete.

We saw a lot of these vehicles in the parking lot at the ferry terminal. Can you imagine driving on secondary roads in an older car using no GPS on a long road trip through Europe. We can't! In the city we use both GPS and Google Maps at the same time. They usually don't agree on the route, so we use both then decide which to follow. These guys must have a very large map cabinet.

Loading onto the ferry to Helsinki. The bow opens for loading. We had a 2 1/2 hour smooth crossing.

Estonia

Tartu Estonia

We visited Tartu, the second largest city in Estonia. It is a college town, so it has a more vibrant feel. The old town, where the college is located, has a bit of a modern edge to it. We enjoyed the change from old to a younger vibe.

Tartu Town Hall

Kissing Students fountain in front of the Town Hall

 Town Hall Square - The yellow rectangle swivels so you can frame what ever you want.

Weird sculpture called 'Father and Son'

The "Leaning House"  One side of the foundation was built on wooden pilings which eventually sank. Now the house has a definite lean.

Sculpture in front of the "Leaning House".

The white building with the columns is the University of Tartu main building. It is also represented in the wall mural in the foreground.

Dome Cathedral ruins dating back to the 13th century.

Interesting entry way.

Oscar Wilde and the Estonian writer Eduard Vilde sculpture.

The University of Tartu Botanical Gardens

Peony on the gardens.

Garden sculpture

Street art on a light pole.

Freedom Bridge over the Emajogi River

Graffiti on the Freedom Bridge. There are some talented artists.

Ice cream my favorite food. I could have done without the hairy arm.

Lithuania

The rest of Lithuania

This post is about places we visited near spots we camped for free. It is amazing what you find traveling through the countryside.

Near the town of Trakai is the Hill of Angels

One of the wooden angel sculptures

Bill swinging with the angels

Trakai Island Castle in Lake Galve

Inside the castle walls

The inner court yard houses an interesting museum of Lithuanian history.

Weird suspended rocks sculpture in a rest area.

Bill swinging one of the rocks.

Hill of Crosses

People started placing crosses on the hill in the mid 1800's.

During the Soviet Union occupation it was a symbol of peaceful resistance.

There are layers and layers of crosses.

The underground Plokstine missile base was the first nuclear missile base of the Soviet Union. We were able to tour the base on our own because the guided tours were only in Lithuanian. We rented an audio recording that explained everything in English. They let us tour the underground facility on our own at our own pace.

Dome covering a missile silo.

This guy is the first thing you see as you enter the facility. He was very creepy.

Some of the weapons.

Cold War propaganda. One side of the room had Soviet and the other U.S.

The nuclear missile silo.