‘Magic’al Europe – Day 9

Today would mark the ninth day on our European retreat. Today, our port-of-call would be Tallinn, Estonia, on our way back to Copenhagen to conclude our trip. Russia would be the furthest stop from Copenhagen, so this would officially mark the first day of our trip back towards Denmark, and by extension, the conclusion of our trip. Today, we were given a mini-game to complete, to find all the stickers around the ship and mark them down on a piece of paper, upon completion where we would be given chocolate as a reward.

As we woke up slightly later then usual, we decided to have Brunch instead of our usual breakfast fare. For brunch, Ashley had the Potato Gnocchi, ZA and I had the Roasted Shoulder of Lamb, and SF had the Eggs Benedict which she had a craving for.

Soon, we were again off the ship to explore Tallinn, Estonia. Being within Estonia was really a surprise for me, as most of my friends have never been to Estonia, and here I was, in sunny Estonia. Most people would have visions of Estonia being a moody, cloudy place, but in reality it was as beautiful as any other European town that I’ve visited on this tour.

Soon, after some distance of walking, we arrived in the Old Town of Tallinn. Surrounded by the old walls of the town, it gave it a very rustic look that is even more picturesque then the other towns and cities that we have been too. The buildings, and the road, by this time we were used to, as they were all cobbled and really completes the image of a classic European town.

Afterwards, we took a stroll around the old town, as well as towards the huge shopping complex in the middle of the town, where we hunted for souvenirs before we headed towards lunch, in one of the most highly-rated restaurants in Tallinn, ironically, a unnamed restaurant, only known by the street it is located on.

For lunch, I had the elk roast, ZA had the Fried Fresh White Fish and Ashley had the Beef Tenderloin. We also sampled some local popular sodas, that were funnily, German in origin. We overall enjoyed our lunch very much, and shortly after this, headed back to the ship.

Back on the ship, there were some activities that Ashley was able to partake in, which were all Frozen themed, in accordance with the additional mini-games and activities that were taking place all over the ship during this time.

Afterwards, we went to a tour of the Kid’s club. normally only accessible by children. This really shows how far Disney bothers to make the cruise enjoyable for all kinds of markets, children, families as well as couples, where any group can enjoy catered content of extremely high quality. Of course, Ashley really enjoyed her time here in the kid’s club.

After the tour, we headed back to the room for a short break before heading up to the deck to join in the ‘Freezing The Night Away’ party. Pleasantly surprised, we found our chocolates already arrived and placed on our bed, together with another tower sculpture.

Interestingly, it was about 7pm at night at this point, but it was bright as day out on the deck, making the ‘Freezing The Night Away’ party feel a little weird, as it was obviously designed with the night time in mind, instead of being broadcast in daylight, where most of the effects were drowned out by the sun.

Afterwards, we took some photos yet again, before heading to dinner yet again. Unfortunately they did not have a unique backdrop for Tallinn, instead using drops from both Denmark and Norway, allowing guests who did not take the photos originally to get another chance before disembarking.

For dinner, we had one of our favourite bread services for the entire cruise, Banana bread. It was really almost a taste from home due to the fruity banana taste together with the starchy, soft bread that was so different from the hard, European bread that we were having up until this point. Unfortunately, most of us were very full from before, with ZA and I opting to just get Mac N Cheese just like Ashley, while SF had a more filling meat option. For this time eating in Animator’s Palate, they had some special viewing animations, videos and special effects going on in the room, which was very cute.

The day ended after dinner, with a photographer, as usual taking some portraits of us. Tomorrow would be a full sea day, marking the final day which we would be aboard the Disney Magic, marking the end of our European trip.