Friday, June 26, 2009

Tallinn Estonia

A liesurely morning. I awoke at 8:00 a.m. and showered and headed to breakfast. I left Kathy sleeping and went to breakfast first ......COFFEE and FRESH SQUEEZED ORANGE JUICE were really enticing me. Then up to the Internet/Library to try to straighten out the situation....complex and irritating! I also checked out John Dean's new book -- Broken Government -- to read while we are at sea. We headed into town after lunch. We caught a taxi - It was 20 euro. I decided to try walking back to the ship....It is difficult to believe that we are in Estonia --- When I was growing up this could not have happened since this was part of the communist block. The old town - center is a Unesco sight because of its exceptional preservation. It has not been rebuilt--it actually exists as a 14th century city. We walked around the city center took in several of the handicraft stores. There are lots of hand knit items that are very expensive, then their are items that are hand knit machine items that are more moderately priced. There is a lot of Amber, several glassworks blow glass and there are cut glass artists working as well. The air is cool especially as the wind comes in off the sea. There is a modern port town next tot his old medieval city. Some of the streets have some cement between the cobbles --- some are left in their original state which makes access very difficult. One street had a great black slate sidewalk down the center which made pushing the chair a dream. Certainly UNESCO should make all these heritage sites accessible. One of the real issues for Kathy is that though she was told accommodation would be made (and onboard ship that is surely true) there is little or no accommodation for the wheelchair. Why would there be prohibitions against wheelchairs in the castles, and why there is no access in the Hermitage even though there are elevators. This should be investigated and answers need to be forthcoming for others who might come to St. Petersburg to see the palaces and the art, only to be disappointed.

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