Tallinn at 6 am Monday Morning, July 15

1-Aug-2013 • Tallinn Estonia

Marc and I woke up early on our only full day in Tallinn. We did not intend to wake up early, we just did. It seemed to me that as we got older, the longer it was for us to get over the time difference. It only used to take me a couple of days tops. This time, it had been a week and we would feel very sleepy as early as 4 pm.

Anyway, breakfast was not yet ready in the hotel. So what were we to do? Sit around in the room and watch CNN and BBC World news over and over? Not! We got dressed and went sightseeing at yes you guessed it, 6 am in the morning. It was no big deal. The sun was already bright and shining at 4:30 am when we were there.

Fat Margaret

As usual, to enter Tallinn's Old Town, we had to go through Fat Margaret which to me seemed absolutely wonderful.

The arched entrance and the Estonian Maritime Museum

Whenever we passed through Fat Margaret to get to Old Town, it was inevitable for us to pass by the Estonian Maritime Museum. They were attached to each other.

The Estonian Maritime Museum

There were only a handful of museums we planned on visiting in Tallinn. The maritime museum was one of them. It was the last one we visited before we retired for the day.

True to its name, even the museum's outdoor light fixture was in the shape of a boat.

At this early in the morning in Tallinn, we hardly saw another soul while we toured the city. It was both eerie and good for me at the same time. Eerie because it felt like a ghost town without people. On the other hand, I liked it too because it made taking pictures very easy. We had the town all to ourselves.

This house was old but of no historical significance. I took a picture of it anyway beacuse I liked its color and its door was unique.

Here's the house's door up close.

I am an avid reader of Tripadvisor. I myself contribute reviews to the site. Everytime we go on a long vacation, I usually write a review about each of the hotels we stayed in. Anyway, while walking around Old Town, I saw one of the hotels reviewed by many travelers for Tallinn in search of a place to stay in. The Meriton Old Town Hotel. It was indeed in Old Town well within the walls.

The Meriton Old Town Hotel

You will have to check it out on Tripadvisor should you be interested in staying here.

St. Olaf's Church

St. Olaf's Church

Some of the apartment buildings in Old Town

Many of the buildings within the fortified walled Old Town of Tallinn have been renovated and updated. They may look old on the outside but modern on the inside. Just like in many medieval cities, the facades of these buildings were preserved but their interiors were completely gutted and updated.

These buildings, on the other hand, were still being rehabilitated.

A medieval alleyway

The Menshikov House

The Menshikov House sign

What can I tell you? Towers like this are everywhere in Old Town.

We went through a small passage and this is where we ended up. Now this is really Old Tallinn for me.

A medieval house, really, really old

An Open Air Gallery

An Art Noveau building

Art Noveau

The Estonian History Museum

The Church of the Holy Spirit

A local bar

The Town Hall in the Square of the same name

Not a soul this early in the morning.

One of the historic old buildings in Town Hall Square a few yards from the Apothecary

The oldest pharmacy in Tallinn and in the western world

The Swedish Embassy in Old Town Tallinn

Tallinn's House of the Brotherhood of Black Heads

Tallinn's Brotherhood of Black Heads

The colorful door of Tallinn's Brotherhood of Black Heads

I wondered what this tiny structure was.

After a bit of scrutiny, it turned out to be a mini shrine housing many religious icons similar to the ones seen inside a Russian Orthodox Church