Because of our horrible experience at our hotel, the PK Ilmarine, in Tallinn, it was extremely hard for me to appreciate Estonia's capital, no matter how historic and pretty it may have been, the first time Marc and I went around to sightsee. The worry that we would have to sleep overnight in the dump of a room we were given was constantly at the back of my mind. We did take pictures of the historic buildings, museums, squares, and churches in the city. There were lots of people, mostly tourists in Old Town. I could hear languages of every kind. There were many Americans there too. I was even surprised to talk to some locals in banks and markets who spoke English rather fluently and with the American accent to boot.

As soon as we passed the gate attached to Fat Margaret, we were inside Old Town and the first building we saw to the left was the Estonian Maritime Museum.

One of the most visited churches in Tallinn's Old Town was the Church of the Holy Spirit. It was this smallish church with a tall skinny tower. What made this church stand out from the rest was the wooden square clock on its main facade as well as its interior which we got to visit on our second day.

I normally remember names of historic places without problems, however, whenever there are too many of them especially churches all clumped together in one city, then I have a big problem. Remembering this church's name was easy since I equated it to my second sister's alma mater, the exclusive girl's school of The College of the Holy Spirit in Manila.

The Town Hall Square was buzzing with activity. There were people everywhere and it was in fact jampaacked with tourists. Remember that Tallinn is an easy day trip from Helsinki and ferries arrive in Tallinn literally in droves.

I liked this tower a lot. At its base were many local vendors selling sweaters, scarves, socks, and boots, all made of wool.

I figured the deeper we traveled down the Baltic States, the cheaper they would get and so I passed on any purchases while in Estonia.

The Freedom Square in Old Town reminded me of the Adam Mickiewicz Square we saw in Poznan last year.

We walked by the walls of Old Town and we ended up seeing Tompea Castle.

We saw this sign in a number of places in Old Town, the center of the tourist activity. Luckily, nothing untoward happened to us. Actually, it felt safe being in Old Town, even safer that many cities in the US.

I must say, there was a lot of contruction and refurbishment of old buildings in Europe when we were there. From Helsinki to Riga, cranes, and tractors were a visible sight.

Now this Russian Orthodox cathedral was truly beautiful. Actually, all the Russian Orthodox cathedrals we visited from Helsinki to Vilnius were beautiful. Too bad photography was not allowed inside.

I remember there were the same two women panhandlers who stood at the base of the stairs.