To Russia With Doug, Part 5: Tallinn, Estonia

Tallinn, Estonia


Estonia is a tiny country. It’s the smallest member of the EU, and many people have never even heard of its historic capitol, Tallinn. Its entire population is smaller than the Bronx. Their travel slogan is “Estonia: A great little country.” And having been there now, I can tell you that this is very true, and very indicative of their self-effacing attitude.

Like Riga, Tallinn is a medieval port with a historic heart. The people are warm and the city absolutely charming. It was one of my favorite places. Sure, it doesn’t have the awesomeness of Moscow or St. Petersburg. But wandering aimlessly along its crooked streets and ancient walls is an enchanting, almost surreal experience.


My hotel was another modern skyscraper just outside the Old Town, the beautiful and brand-new Swissôtel. My room didn’t have a view of the Old Town but rather of the ship and ferry terminal on the Baltic Sea:


At the center of the city is the Old Town Square, and as you wander through the city you inevitably wind up back here:


Beautiful buildings surround it:


And it is dominated by the Old City Hall:


Note the dragon gutters!:


On one side of the building is a great, beautiful old clock:



On top of it is Vana Toomas (“Old Thomas”):


The figure of Old Thomas was put atop the spire nearly 500 years ago, in 1530. According to legend, Thomas was a peasant boy who excelled in parrot-shooting contests organized by the local German nobility (where contestants fired crossbows at a painted wooden bird on top of a pole). Although he was the best shooter in Tallinn, Thomas could not be awarded a prize because of his lowborn status. So they gave him the title of “Town Guard for Life” and he was subsequently immortalized in copper atop the town hall where, 500 years later, Old Thomas continues to stand guard:


The other building that stands out in the Old Town is St. Olaf’s Church:


The great turreted steeple rises well above the city walls. In fact, it was the tallest building in the world in the 1500s and 1600s. During the Soviet occupation, when churches were closed to parishioners, it was used by the KGB as a surveillance facility:


Another beautiful church, St. Nicholas:


The other most recognizable aspect of Tallinn is the wall that surrounds the Old Town. This was once a feature of virtually every European city, but they have rarely survived as well as those of Tallinn. Striking red-roofed towers connect sections of the tall, stone wall:







Some other views around town:






Estonia is known for their linen and knitwear. Here’s the knit market, held under the city walls (not to be confused with the store where Karen Landes does all of her shopping; that’s the nitwit market):


That night I had dinner outside on the Old Town Square, enjoying a delicious meal and local brew as I watched the sun set on Old Thomas:


Like everywhere else in Northern Europe, it was light 20 hours a day—and this photo from my hotel window shows you how dark it gets at its very darkest:


The next day, unfortunately, it rained cats and dogs. So I slept in and changed the time of my ferry the next day to Helsinki so that I would have more time in Tallinn. I went into Old Town to buy some souvenirs and only took a few photos. This statue outside the Estonian Theater looked kinda cool in the rain:


And I passed this striking edifice:


The next day it was again bright and sunny and so I headed out bright and early to see Toompea before my ferry to Helsinki. Toompea is a hill next to the Old Town. According to Estonian folklore, Toompea is the burial mound of King Kalev, built by his wife Linda. Sitting upon it she cried the tears that formed Lake Ulemiste. Now it’s home to Tallinn’s government and beautiful views of the Old Town. Pikk Hermann (“Tall Hermann”) is an ancient tower on the hill that has always been the most revered symbol of Estonia. The Estonian flag—banned during the Soviet occupation—is raised upon it every day:


I happen to love the Estonian national colors. I think I’ll do my next home in them:

But I digress. Pikk Hermann is now connected to the incongruously pink Estonian Parliament building:



And across the way is the Eastern-inspired Alexander Nevsky Orthodox Cathedral (I felt like I was back in Russia!):


Typical view of the crowded buildings on top of Toompea. The pale yellow house on the left with the flag on top is where the President lives:


Beautiful views over the Old Town:



In the distance on the right side of that first view you can see big ferries waiting at the shore. Well, soon after taking this photo I would be on one of them, sailing across the Baltic Sea to Helsinki!

Still to come… Finland’s Helsinki and one night in Stockholm!! BUT BEFORE WE GO TO FINLAND…A FEW PARTING SHOTS!

This dog food looks so exciting, even I want to try it:


A little taste of home in the Old Town of Tallinn:


Finally, Carol DiSanto has demanded more pictures of yours truly…so here I am in the Old Town Square!

See you in Helsinki!

To Russia With Doug, Part 4: Riga, Latvia

Riga, Latvia


Going from Russia to any of the Baltic republics (Latvia, Estonia, and Lithuania) is definitely a culture shock. The Russians are a very proud people. For example, they don’t just win a war; they make it a holiday, erect 117 monuments, and rename a park, a square, and a subway station in every city after it (and sometimes the whole city). If there’s one thing that Russians love to celebrate, it’s Russia.

Then you go to the Baltics. All three countries have different, checkered histories, but they have a few things in common: they’re small, they were important medieval ports, and they all hate Russia. That's because they were occupied by the Soviet Union for about 50 years starting in 1940. The Soviets claimed that their occupation was welcomed by the republics to defend them from the Nazis. The republics—and pretty much the rest of the world—always viewed the Soviet occupation as illegal. In any event, they all reclaimed their independence in the 1990s.

So when you go from St. Petersburg to Riga, you go from a city that glorifies Russian history to a city that commemorates “Russian occupation and oppression”. Again, a bit of a culture shock. But a pretty one:

The “Old City” of Riga is a medieval maze of old building and churches. It is quite beautiful, but a bit overrun. Apparently the UN has been threatening to remove their status as a “World Heritage Site” because the modern bustle of this—the biggest city among the Baltic states—is getting a little too close to its historic heart. That said, it is still quite beautiful:


My Hotel, the Reval Hotel Latvija, was a modern one just outside the Old Town but offering terrific views thereof (the first one in this entry was from my window!). It was also very close to the Freedom Monument, a 138-foot tall column commemorating the Latvian War of Independence. This war was fought from 1918 to 1920 and I still don’t understand who fought who…but the bottom line is that the monument is considered to be the country’s most sacred site, akin to our Statue of Liberty:


It even gets an honor guard:



And couples come to lay a wreath on their wedding day:


The Great Guild Hall, now a concert hall:


Across the street is a famous house with this sculpture of a cat on top. The house was built in the 1300s by a man who was not admitted to the prestigious Great Guild. Angered, he put this sculpture of a cat on top, sticking its butt out at the Great Guild Hall. Finally they allowed him into the Guild and he turned the cat around:


When I got to the center of the city—The Old Town Plaza—I found myself in the middle of a folk music festival:


These women must have been so embarrassed when they showed up in the same outfit:


Still, there were some beautiful buildings around the square:


Including the Dome Church, the biggest in the Baltics:


Other famous churches include St. Jacob’s Catholic Cathedral:


And the iconic St. Peter’s:


St. Peter’s is near Town Hall Square. The square is dominated by the Blackheads’ House. This intricately beautiful building was built in 1334. Although the original was destroyed in World War II, it was rebuilt in time for the city’s 800th anniversary in 2001 (as always, you can click to enlarge any photo):






These crooked old houses are called The Three Brothers:


This is Riga Castle, now home to Latvia’s President:


There is one historic synagogue in Riga, but it was closed for renovations (unfortunate, because it is apparently so beautiful that even the Nazis chose not to destroy it). A more haunting site, however, is the Big Choral Synagogue. On July 4, 1941, the Nazis rounded up about 300 of Riga’s Jews, locked them inside, and burned it down. No one escaped, and the remaining foundations of the building are now preserved as a memorial:


I didn’t spend a tremendous amount of time in Riga, but it was a lovely city. Sunset from my hotel:


Still to come…Estonia, Finland, and a night in Sweden!! BUT BEFORE WE GO TO ESTONIA…A FEW PARTING SHOTS!

On the Daugava River…is this misspelling intentional, or did they just not want to make the room for all the letters:


The Reval Hotel had some interesting signage. For example, is “Take a chance!” really the best marketing slogan for a hair salon?:


And while I realize that they are proud to offer free WiFi, is the bathroom really where they think it will get the most mileage?:


And speaking of the bathrooms, note some of the “Produkts” used to clean them (click to enlarge if you can't read it):


Finally, on my Air Baltic flight to Estonia…this woman was drinking Bailey’s. From the bottle. A big one. At 10AM:

See you in Estonia!