A full-day on the open water sailing across the Baltic Sea between Gdansk, Poland and Tallinn, Estonia on the 15-day Viking Homelands itinerary gave Viking’s 2025 Platinum Club a day to prepare for their imminent return to reality, and also immerse themselves into the luxuries offered aboard Viking Sky.
Whether that’s a lazy morning with room service to start the day, a barista made coffee with an almond croisant (or numerous other pastries) in the Living Room, a sumptuous Swedish massage at the Nordic Spa, relaxing poolside at the Main Pool or Infinity Pool, reading a novel in the nearby Lanai, doom scrolling on the mobile device in the comfort of the Explorer’s Lounge or even, heaven forbid, get a head start on laundry, there was no shortage of ways to spend the day.
The Lanai, Viking Sky
A passing afternoon thunderstorm made for an impressive display from mother nature, and how fitting Viking timed the show on our day at sea, rather than while wandering the streets of a Nordic city or village and the potential struggle to find shelter. Thank you Viking!
For dinner, LATTE joined Sous Chef Joseph and a small party of passengers at the Viking Cooking School at the Kitchen Table, a private space that backs onto the ship’s galley, wedged between The Chef’s Table and Manfredi’s Italian Restaurant. On tonight’s hands-on menu was Mushroom Risotto with duck confit and truffle oil, Saltimbocca Romana Style with veal, procciutto and mozzarella, and Tiramisu.
Sous Chef Joseph is engaging and keen to pass on his wisdom and skills with a blade, as my table-mates of 60+ years of age learn multiple tips and techniques with food preparation, slicing, dicing and tearing, as well as pasta-making techniques, secrets to a perfect risotto, and how herb stems and stalks should be used in the cooking process for sauces.
The voyage’s penultimate day began in a thick fog arriving into the Estonian capital of Tallinn. Viking Sky‘s foghorn was put to good use a dozen times in the early hours as the ship approached port.
The city’s well-preserved old town, a UNESCO World Heritage Site, is surrounded by a ring of 17th-century historic fortifications that were built to protect the city. Unlike some of the other visited Nordic capital’s and cities visited on this itinerary, the cobbled streets and laneways of Tallinn seem narrower and, in some parts, steeper compared to the likes of the seemingly flat Copenhagen, Gdansk or Oslo. But the charm of this historic city shine through, and the streets fill with tourists by mid-afternoon.
LATTE‘s Tallinn experience included a five-hour cycling adventure with a guided host. The bicycles used on this tour are not the more commonly used e-bikes, but are easily manageble, and the terrain covered on the 20km trail is easy-going, mostly on dedicated cyclepaths along the coastline and through parks.
Two highlights include a break at the Estonian History Museum and its graveyard of Soviet statues, featuring preserved busts and a bronze statue of Soviet figures, Vladimir Lenin and Joseph Stalin. The site serves to offer a reminder of life in Estonia during Soviet occupation.
The Estonian History Museum’s graveyard of Soviet statues.
The tour also includes a lunch stop at the former imperial summer residence, restaurant Mon Repos set within a leafy park on the fringes of Tallinn city-centre. Here the cycle tour group enjoy a two-course light lunch in the outdoors, beneath sun-shades and among budding rose gardens. The venue is recognised by Michelin, and the star-dish is halibut confit with leek and saffron champagne sauce. Our tour runs a little overtime, and doesn’t include a visit to the town centre; something to keep in mind for time-poor visitors to Tallinn.
The Michelin recognised Mon Repos in Tallinn, Estonia – a lunch stop on the Viking cycling tour.
Our time in Tallinn concluded mid-afternoon, as we made a B-line for Stockholm, Sweden where we would overnight. Stay tuned for details on our final port call latter in LATTE.