Home Stretch

Our last two stops were the charming cities of Tallin and Visby. The slower pace was greatly welcomed by all.

We sailed into Tallin yesterday morning. Tallin is the capital of Estonia, one of the former Soviet states. Our group walked around the Medieval village that remains today in the middle of the city and then went to make our own chocolates at Chocolats de Pierre. All of us had a fabulous time playing with our food, even (or maybe especially) the guys. The table was covered with plates of nougat, chocolate and marzipan, and bowls of nuts, fruits, lavender, flowers and other goodies to put on and in our chocolates. There were two vats of chocolate for dipping – one white and one brown/milk. Our finished products tasted great, but let’s just say that, due to the heat and our collective lack of skill, the visual presentation left quite a bit to be desired. Afterwards we shopped for Amber, which comes from Estonia and had pizza outdoors on the town square before returning to the ship.

We arrived in Visby this morning. Visby is on the island of Gotland and is about 60 miles southeast, though still a part of Sweden. There is evidence that a fishing village was on this spot over 5000 years ago. It was at one time an important crossroads for trade in the last 1000 years because of its location in the middle of the Baltic Sea. Today, it is more of a summer retreat for residents of Stockholm, although there is a significant year-round population. Most of the Medieval walled city remains and is quite beautiful. It was definitely cooler today and just as we were returning to the ship, some much needed rain (for Visby and us) finally hit.

We sailed out of the port at 2:00 pm and will arrive in Copenhagen tomorrow morning. We are looking forward to a Beatle’s party tonight to celebrate our last night on the cruise!