St. Alexander Nevsky Cathedral, Tallinn

I have just got back before midnight after a half day in Tallinn, Estonia. No time to do a writeup, so will add that tomorrow.

This cathedral was the most impressive thing I saw today. It is SOOC, no time for messing around.

Larger cathedral.

This is one piece of Old Town architecture that really stands out at the top of Toompea hill, among its medieval neighbours. Although the cathedral is predominantly white, it is very colourful with its gold and pink - plus the exquisite interior which is powerful, colourful and incredible in every way. (I managed 3 photos inside without holding my camera to my eye!).

It is of course very Russian-looking with its onion domes. The cathedral was established in 1900 and is the main place of worship for Estonia's Russian Orthodox faithful.

Estonia's population of 1.3 million makes it one of the least-populous member states of the European Union. The country has not enjoyed a lot of freedom. The first republic was from 1918 to 1940 and the second is from 1991 to the present. Estonia was first occupied by the Soviets, then by the Nazis, and again by the USSR.

There are 4 ferry lines that run between Helsinki and Tallinn. I chose the Aussie built catamaran of Linda Line. The journey was fine but I could not recommend this company for its lack of professionalism in its schedules. Both my booked crossings were cancelled at the last moment and I was bumped onto their next ferries, 2 hours later.