8/8/10

Biking Tallinn


Sightseeing on two wheels was the order of the day after our do-it-yourself walking tour of Tallinn's Old Town. This time, we venture out and beyond the walls of the historic center and into a much different setting. It's a perfect day for a ride with sunny, blue skies. To do this, we signed up with local outfitter Citybike. For 250 kroonis (16 euros), we got a bike, helmet, safety vest, a bottle of mineral water and a guide to lead seven of us riders. We had 16 kilometers to cover, taking almost 3 hours with stopovers for those requisite photo shoots.


We start off at the Great Coastal Gate (Suur Rannavärav) - part of the defensive wall on the seaward side of Old Town.

At the Kadriorg Palace, we marvelled at this summer palace built by Nicollo Michetti for Tsar Peter the Great. The well-manicured flower garden is a sight to behold in itself.


We head out next to the Presidential Palace, surprised to find ourselves right in front of the main door! There was no gate or checkpoint, only two sentries standing outside, something that's never possible with Malacañang Palace or the White House.

We cycled out through this park adjacent to the Presidential Palace . . .

. . . and into the Song Festival Grounds, a massive open-air venue that had the likes of Madonna, Michael Jackson, Metallica, The Rolling Stones, among others performing here. In 1988, thousands of Estonians gathered here for a spontaneous singing which came to be known as the Singing Revolution. The Soviets eventually left in 1992.


We continued biking along the highway which led us to the Soviet-era Maarjamae War Memorial with its prominent obelisk dedicated to the Russians who died in 1918.


We made it to Pirita - one of Tallinn's administrative districts - and passed by this marina with its Olympic Yachting Centre which was built for the 1980 Moscow Olympics (Tallinn was the venue for the yachting regatta) . . .



. . . to emerge into a white sand beach called Pirita Beach. Estonians of all ages go to this favorite summer destination for some serious beach time.


We resumed cycling and into this seaside promenade with a panoramic view of Tallinn's skyline - both old and new. . .


. . . and declared this as one of the best cities for biking with a great view to match . . .



. . . never mind if we have to rejoin the vehicular traffic in the newer part of town . . .


. . . for as long as we know when and where to stop - be that for a red traffic light or a beautiful spot that needs a closer look - biking anywhere in the world is a healthy and an environmentally-friendly way of sightseeing.

13 comments:

  1. biking tour this time.
    nice one dennis.
    good thing that weather in that part of the globe cooperated with your activity.

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  2. Wow, it's an interesting way to go around. I only had that as a tourist-y experienced when we biked from Station 2 in Boracay to Puka Beach.

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  3. tourist indeed, i wont mind being burnt under the sun kung ganyan naman kaganda ang place.

    btw, looks like no one is sweating, hindi ma mainit jan kahit maaraw?

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  4. Doc Gelo,
    It was very sunny with low humidity. Perfect for a day out.

    Witsandnuts,
    It feels totally different seeing sights that way and burning up some calories in order to do it.

    Chyng,
    Naku, it was like 32 degrees celsius kaya pinawisan pa rin kami habang nag-biking. Buti na lang di mataas ang humidity.

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  5. is this your group? i was under the impression that there's only two of you in this trip.

    are the locals friendly?

    love the sights.

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  6. wow dam nice!!!! i love cycling too :) i will soon get my own bike here in curitiba... so i can cycle anytime when i am free :) btw nice pictures as usual :)

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  7. Photo Cache,
    Me & my travel buddy merely joined a biking tour along with other visitors. The locals we met were friendly; however, the older population doesn't speak English so we ask the younger ones whenever we want some directions.

    Fufu,
    Man, I envy you - I want to be in Brazil again (and visit Rio). Hopefully, I'll be in South America later this year.

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  8. looks like fun... i went cycling twice (amsterdam and salzburg) and both times i fell! clumsy me... so no more cycling when travelling for me... (i think i need to be really used to the bike)

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  9. That's actually a cool way to see the city! I am guessing the one with the orange safety vest is the tour guide?

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  10. Very nice place! The third and the seventh photo have, actually, made me think that heaven is actually here on earth.

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  11. Lechua,
    Sorry to hear about your bike mishaps. But that shouldn't stop you from trying again. Malaysia itself has lots of biking opportunities.

    Linguist,
    Yes, he's our guide. He did a good job but you know what, he didn't expect to get a tip!

    RJ,
    There are lots of underrated places in the world - places you wouldn't think 'heaven is on earth' and Estonia is one of them.

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  12. Biking tour! I didn't know they have that when I was there. Hindi ba delicado when you guys were weaving in and out of traffic?

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  13. Bert,
    It wasn't really dangerous as the cars weren't moving that fast. If we were probably biking on an express way, I'd back out hahaha!

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