Take me back to Estonia!

If you had asked me a couple of months ago to find Estonia on a map, I would have danced my fingers over northeastern Europe and said, “Somewhere here, I think.” And I would have been right! But not very confident.

The city of Tallinn, Estonia
Isn't it beautiful?

Rob and I went on different tours today. He wanted to see how close he could get to Russia (about 65 miles, by visiting a town called Rakvere which he hysterically described as a cross between a Renaissance Faire and the Alamo). I didn’t need that much time on a bus nor the castle climbing, so I went on an easy city tour of the port town of Tallinn. We both had a great time, and we agreed Estonia is way more interesting than Finland. Totally worth a return visit someday!

Plastic horse, flags, people in costume.
A cannon was fired, too. Total Ren Faire!

Rob got close enough to St. Petersburg
to see a mileage sign. That's about 200 miles.

Estonia is a fascinating country. It is small (about the size of Maryland) and is one of the least populous nations in the European Union (population of about 1.4 million). It is super safe and sounds extraordinarily livable, except for the average annual temperature of 41 degrees Fahrenheit (my tour guide said the national sport of Estonia is complaining about the weather. She was a hoot!). Until its independence in 1991, Estonia was under foreign rule of some sort for over 700 years (Germany, Sweden, Denmark, Poland…). It was under Russian occupation from 1918 until 1991. That wasn’t that long ago.

Estonia has an intriguing mixture of architecture, with old and new blending well, reflecting its history and semi-recent growth and stability. Culturally, Estonians speak their own language – which is very similar to Finnish – but about 25% of its population is Russian. Estonians tend to be straightforward but a bit wary and reserved (according to my lively tour guide), but once they trust you, you have a friend for life.

Old Tallinn in the foreground, new
Tallinn in the background.

Just a random building that I thought
was uniquely pretty.

Tallinn is also very modern.

It was a bit shocking to hear my Millennial tour guide speak so matter-of-factly about the KGB and being under surveillance and having relatives who were shipped to Siberia with no known history afterwards. We breezily drove by Soviet Block-built houses and office buildings and bugged hotels. We learned about Russian concerns during the 1980 Moscow Summer Olympics that Estonians – where archery and sailing competitions were held – would get a glimpse of the other side of the Iron Curtain. The “Easy Day in Tallinn” bus tour unexpectedly made life under Communism real and not just conceptual.

Soviet-Era apartments. They were coveted when
they were built since they had electric heat.
They are not coveted now.

This hotel's nickname is "Ashtrays
with Ears." The KGB had the whole place
bugged, relying heavily on ashtrays.
If you mentioned while in your
room you were thirsty, a drink would
arrive. The 23rd floor didn't exist on the
elevator -- it was the KGB floor.

Local Tallinn residents do not like this
Alexander Nevsky Cathedral. It was built
in the late 1800s to exert Russia's power.
I think it pains the locals that it is such a
popular tourist destination. 

This is a memorial dedicated to the Estonians
who died as a result of Communist rule. There
are 22,000 names engraved on the walls.

One (only?) benefit of Estonia being controlled by Russia for so long is that Tallinn – its capital and biggest port – is one of the best-preserved medieval towns in Europe. Because Russia didn’t bomb it during either World War. I didn’t get to see much of the old city – a key reason I want to return – but the protective stone wall is in great shape which tracks with my tour guide’s claim of preservation.

The walls around Tallinn were constructed in 
the 13th Century.

I loved how green and leafy Tallinn is. Trees are everywhere. Apparently about 70% of Estonia is forest. Accordingly, wood is its biggest export.

LOTS of trees throughout Tallinn and its suburbs.

My tour guide explained that the trees support a culture of seeking to be in nature, to wander in the forest, to look for the quiet. It sounds like a great place to live if you’re an introvert! She also said that despite the large number of churches in Tallinn, the country of Estonia is not very traditionally religious. Instead, about 70% of Estonians believe trees have souls.

Lots of trees to hug and love.

Rob and I were in different parts of Estonia today and we came away with the same feeling: Estonia is vibrant with energy and oomph and a history that shaped them but doesn’t define them. I had no idea I wanted to go to Estonia. And now I want to go back.

Sadly, no photo of Rob in Estonia.

 

Next stop: Stockholm, Sweden!