Ready-Set-Go! (to Tallinn, Estonia, N E Eur No. 7)

Dear Friends and Family,

Wow! Tallinn, the capital city of Estonia, really amazed us! Approximately 12,000 people flooded in to run a marathon, and close to 5,000 ran a half-marathon, beginning and ending in Old Town, about a block from our awesome hostel, the Knight House. The cobblestone must have been killer on the runners’ feet, especially at the finish. The air was charged with excitement and energy for three days. We had complimentary pancake (crepes) breakfasts at the Knight House with friendly runners from China, Germany, Russia, and Poland, and re-hashed our own running days over strong Estonian coffee.

Estonia is pretty small and really lovely. We arrived by bus through rolling pastures and woodlands. The trees are tall and thin, with most of the foliage on the top third, very different from home. We saw farmers harvesting colorful fall crops like pumpkins and squash. The tallest point in Estonia is a hill that’s only around 300 meters high, but they call it a mountain. 😁 Estonia has 1.3 million people, with ~450k living in Tallinn. It was settled by the Danes and Germans during the fourteenth century.

Old Town Tallinn was divided into two distinct areas. Wealthy nobles lived in upper Old Town and merchants and traders lived in lower Old Town. There are two sets of gates between them that used to be locked at 9pm. Tallinn was only 20% destroyed during WWII and most of the ancient 9km. city wall and it’s 28 towers are still intact. There are tunnels beneath the wall that citizens used for shelter during the war. As we’ve seen in the other old towns we’ve visited, lots of businesses, churches, and residences were built directly into the wall. We followed the wall around and were delighted to find arched passageways leading to charming little courtyards filled with art, souvenirs, bars and cafes. They’ve really capitalized on the whole medieval atmosphere here, with locals dressed in period costume doing their best to entice tourists. We went to a pharmacy that has been in the same location since the 14th century. It contained a display of ancient medicinal treatments including viper fat, mummy parts (a hand), and dried toads and bats. What a hoot! Our favorite discovery in the ancient wall was a built in wine bar, with several connecting rooms lined with hundreds of bottles of wine. The stones keep the wine at a perfect temperature. Really mellow jazz music echoed throughout and added magic to the wine bar atmosphere.

The city of Tallinn is 70% Estonian, 25% Russian, and 5% “other.” Our walking tour guide told us that they are a pagan nation that considers their “religion” the earth. Statistically, they are 75% atheist or agnostic, <13% Lutheran, and <12% Russian Orthodox. They only celebrate Christmas for the gift exchange and Mid-Summers in June for their pagan bonfires and booze.

Estonians call themselves the “Singing Nation,” and say they “sang themselves to freedom” in 1991. From 1988 into the 90’s, 250-300,000 people fomented a revolution against Soviet occupation. Sometimes Tallinn rebels would meet on a hilltop in upper Old Town and exchange black market western vinyl records with stirring lyrics. (The tradition continues today!) On the same hilltop, they could pick up Finnish television stations, also forbidden by the Soviets. In 1991, they organized the “Baltic Chain.” It was a chain of 2 million people holding hands that stretched across Lithuania, Latvia, and Estonia. They bravely sang forbidden songs like their national anthems, and songs of revolution. Such wonderful unity! That same year, Russia gave them back their independence.

We spent time on the waterfront watching huge ferry boats coming and going from the harbor and explored a very small section of beach. A fellow traveler told us about an abandoned high-security Soviet prison right on the waterfront. It is a huge cement block structure, and fairly dilapidated now, with loads of spray-painted graffiti. Oddly, there is a black helicopter on an unmarked landing pad on one of the levels.

We ate some of the most delightful dark bread in Tallinn! We learned that Estonians don’t think of white bread as real bread. In fact, they have an altogether different word for white bread! We enjoyed a really nice fresh salmon dinner in Tallinn. Even though this is a coastal city on the Baltic Sea, the fish wasn’t that expensive. We did some cooking at our hostel and one day Bruce went to the market, list in hand. He couldn’t find eggs, so he asked two store clerks, who couldn’t understand his English. He acted out a chicken laying an egg. Laughing hysterically, they got it immediately.

We’ll close now. It’s time for eggs and toast!

Love n hugs,

BnL

Author: bnlmos

We are a retired couple, together nearly 35 years, who love International travel. Having a "blog" is brand new to us, so have patience as we do our best to keep in touch with our friends and family. Please feel free to comment on this blog or contact us via personal email. brucemos@hotmail.com View all posts by bnlmos