August 12th, 2026

We docked at a brand new cruise port this a.m. and it can hold 4 large cruise ships. 3 were in today and we were the first one in. Like some of the other ports on this cruise we have been here before but many years ago. We had no plans for today so we got off the boat at a leisurely pace and set off for old town. They have a well marked path from the cruise port and there were lots of passengers from the 3 ships walking into town so we just followed the crowd.

There is a new Tallinn sign looking over the port on the walk into town.

We entered into old Town through one of the main gates. Shops line most of the streets when walking into town.

More cobblestoned streets and brightly colored buildings as the city slowly winds up.

Tallinn medieval city wall is one of Europe’s best-preserved fortification systems, stretching originally over 2.4 kilometers with 46 towers. Construction of the wall began on the orders of the queen of Denmark and started in 1265. You can still walk the city walls today.

Like the other cities we have been in the buildings are very ornate and colorful. We walked around for a couple of hours and made our way to the top of the fortifications and then worked our way back down. We decided to have lunch in the main square of town and enjoy the people watching. The weather was in the mid 60s but there was a strong breeze so it felt more like 56.

Kathy enjoying her beer on the square.

You could take a horse drawn carriage ride through town.

After a few hours in town we walked back to the ship. We checked out a place that was recommended as a good place to watch the eclipse tonight. It is the roof of a very large complex that was built by the soviets in 1980 for sports events and even had an ice skating rink in it. Since then it has fallen into disrepair and there are no plans to do anything with it. It is considered a historic site so it can’t be torn down. It is a popular place where the locals go to watch sunset.

We are the cruise ship on the far right, then we have the Norwegian Sun and then the Silver Moon.

We rested for a little bit and then met Linda and Michael for dinner. After dinner we headed back out to watch the eclipse. We had a few more layers on this time, the wind was fierce. The roof was packed when we got there. It is about 1 mile from the cruise port.

Part of the roof complex. There are 100 stairs you climb to get to the top and it is right on the water.

We could only see a partial eclipse from Tallinn and the eclipse took place during the sunset. We watched until after 9 when it was completely gone.

On our way back to the port we passed this ice cream machine and there was a couple buying some and they said it was surprisingly good ,that they had some earlier that afternoon and were getting more. We tried to get some but it did not seem to like our credit card so we will have to take the couple’s word that it was good. We made it back on board at 10pm and all on board is at 11. We sail for Helsinki, Finland at 11:30pm.

Tonight is also supposed to be a great night to watch meteors, up to 75 an hour. The ship is inviting people up to deck 16 at 1am and turning off the lights in that area to better see the meteors. We are going to try and stay up to see them but who knows.

Tomorrow is Helsinki, Finland and the high is 68 degrees.