Estonia: Doherty Clan Baltic Adventure

Our first day back on dry land began with us moving from sitting on the 936ft cruise ship to sitting on a 30ft log on the pier, which had been dragged up from the bottom of the sea! After a few pictures in front of the ship, we put our best feet forward and walked into what felt like medieval Europe (with modern day comforts). The small town had old architecture, a city wall, and a cool looking watch tower.

Lots of the local businesses staff were wearing traditional outfits to fit the time period; we stopped at a stall for some tasty roasted almonds, then entered a restaurant and really stepped back into time. The menu was written in old, Renaissance English, the walls were decorated with beautiful tapestries, but prices had definitely been adjusted for modern inflation rates! Dad and I snacked on some elk jerky, washed down with a nice honey beer.

Further in to town, we climbed the stairs of a bell tower that overlooked the whole area. The view was very nice. Having spent eight months living on the top of Shanghai, where even my rooftop view of the city was only privy to other views of other skyscrapers, the view of low rises, single and two story homes, surrounded by trees and parks, along the beach was remarkable. We left the tower and walked through the town some more, including along an interesting kid’s park / play place that really got the teacher in the family interested.

In order to get back to the ship at the end of the tour, we had to first get past one major obstacle: a semi-truck full of chocolate! Resistance was futile: we stopped and loaded up on supplies for late night snacks and souvenirs.

We had dinner at the normal dining room on the cruise ship, then spent family time in my stateroom, with the girls watching some of Disney’s Anastasia to get ready for the next day in Russia, and the men on internet duty.

Me
Best memory: Exploring medieval Europe with the family
Fave spot: The restaurant where we had some kind of deer/elk jerky, drank honey beer, and were transported back to the middle ages.

Dad
Best memory: Shopping at the chocolate truck!
Fave spot: Restaurant, eating elk jerkey, olives, and drinking honey beer.

Shannon
Best memory: Exploring the medieval town with the fam
Fave spot: The bell tower with a beautiful view of the ship and the town

Mom

Best memory: You mean, other than having you and Shannon there for all sorts of spontaneous photo shoots???? I liked scaling the 258 steps up to the top of St. Olaf’s Church…coming down those 258 steps was not as much fun! (This church was once the tallest building in the world!)

Fave spot: The medieval looking café with costumed wait staff and beautiful menus, “Delicious Dishes of the Merchant’s Home”, made me feel like we were transported to another place and time!

For more photos of Estonia, go here