From Helsinki, we day-tripped to Tallinn via a 2-hour cruise ship. With a play area like this, we happily breezed across the Baltic. Why can't airplanes be like this?
Tallinn's medieval wall and watchtowers greeted us. This city's flag is the same as Denmark's red and white cross, since Denmark ruled Tallinn in the 13th century. Since then, ownership has passed to Germany during the Hanseatic Golden Age, who lost it to Sweden, who then lost it to Russia, after a brief independence and Nazi occupation. It was a very long road to Estonia's independence in 1991. The layers of history are evident all throughout this city. How the unique Estonian language, cuisine, and traditions survived the centuries is beyond me.
One of Tallinn's many small surprises. I have a thing for doors.
The medieval German-merchant street leading up from the harbor. Old KGB headquarters are just down this street.
Pulpit of the 14th-century "Church of the Holy Ghost"
We soaked it up: Tallinn's bustling Town Hall Square on a crisp day in early June. Lots of handknits, but we weren't really in the mood for mittens or sweaters. (Plus, I didn't really believe half of the women who said they were handknit.)
We slipped into a quiet inner courtyard for lunch at Von Krahli Baar. It felt like we had arrived in Eastern Europe.
Cold potato pancakes stuffed with shrimp. Sounds funny, but they were delicious! We also tried borsch for the first time and really liked it (a soup made with beets and tomatoes). After paying for our (cheap!) meal with our bank card to avoid needing Estonian krooni for the day, we wanted to leave a tip and decided to ask our server if she took Euros. We thought that this was reasonable, since Estonia is switching to the Euro on January 1. Little did we expect her to grasp our coins excitedly, examining them as if they contained the answers to all of her questions about the future. As we left, she was still huddled over them with her coworker.
In the 18th century, Russia built this pink palace which now serves as Estonia's parliament building, topped by the Estonian flag and seal.
Perched on a hilltop is the beautiful Russian cathedral, strategically built in 1900 over the grave of an Estonian hero. Rick Steves aptly calls it "muscle-flexing."
Something I love about world history is the peaceful end of the Cold War. It's thrilling to imagine the optimistic momentum that was necessary to produce the Baltic Chain in 1989. From here to Lithuania, hopeful nationalists clasped hands to form a 360 mile human chain symbolizing their solidarity against the USSR. Recently, Estonia has chosen to join the EU and further distance itself from its Russian/Soviet past. However, Estonia remains 25% Russian; a seemingly difficult line for the government to walk.
Because prices are so much lower in Estonia than Finland, our ship back was packed with Finns with packed suitcases. All. full of. beer.
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