Saturday, July 2, 2011

Alexander Nevsky Cathedral
Haapsalu
Saturday, July 2, 2011........Haapsalu, Estonia

We docked early this morning. It is a beautiful day; actually very warm, probably the upper 80's. Our tour bus took us out into the country to the town of Haapshalu, to an old castle that was constructed back in the 13th century. According to our guide, part of this building was a Monastery for the Cisturtian monks. It is made of limestone which was brought in from the town of Ungru, which was not far from here. This castle has it's own very interesting tale to tell. According to legend, half of the residents were monks and half were lay people who worked and lived there. Supposedly one of the men who worked there, brought in a woman and had her disguised as a choir boy. The disguise worked for quite some time until the Bishop grew suspicious. Once he found out that she was in fact, a woman, he had her walled into the baptistery. Supposedly she still appears in the window during full moon nights in August.
When we left Haapsalu, we went to Talinn and went into the Alexander Nevsky Cathedral. This Cathedral was consecrated in 1900. It is quite spectacular.
Tomorrow, we begin our two days in St. Petersburg.

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