The Travelling Teacher: Estonia

July 10-11

Hello everyone!

Another bus ride has taken me from the most populated Baltic capital to the smallest. One whose name translates to ‘Danish Town’...

Old Thomas, the guardian of the city also
known as the Silicon Valley of Europe

Throughout history, it's also been called Reval,
which links to a man killing a deer and then
feeling sad. Should've called it Bambi...

More a Norwegian town when I went to watch
the FIFA men's World Cup quarter-final here...

I wouldn’t suggest to an Estonian that they are Danish. But it is a nod to the smallest Baltic country’s history that they have been externally influenced over the centuries. A big influence, which I feel differs from Riga and Vilnius, is that Tallinn is a truly coastal city.

Beach on the eastern side of Tallinn

A lovely skyline sunset - this was after 10pm

Tallinn is the red dot, Parnu is the blue dot

It may be small, but Estonia does have the longest coastline of the three Baltic nations. All of them sit on the Baltic Sea, a key feature which has forged alliances, forced wars and developed trade and identity in the region. I had my first proper view of this when we made a brief stop at the beach town of Pӓrnu.

The main street of Pӓrnu

The Baltic Sea has only existed for around
8000 years, making it a very young sea!

The sea here was less a sea, and more a lake. Technically it is the Gulf of Riga, and it had very little ripple in its shallow waters. On possibly the first truly warm day I’ve had in the Baltics, it was nice to dip my feet in. No time for any more to be submerged, so I can’t see how truly ‘Baltic’ the water was!

The water has a very low salt percentage, so
freshwater fish from rivers dip in and out of it

I imagine this is very busy on weekends

Pӓrnu itself is an interesting place, a mixture of beaches, little elephants and impressive churches. The Russian Orthodox church is particularly grand, and feeds into my instinct that there is a bit more of a Russian influence here. I’ve certainly heard more Russian than I did in Lithuania, for example.

The elephants are a city symbol, emanating from Estonia's first independence
when there were 2 wooden elephant structures in the sea at Pӓrnu

A Russian Orthodox church in Pӓrnu

Like the other two Baltic States, Estonia was part of the Russian Empire in the 19th century, and was a Soviet state for 46 years of the 20th century. I found it interesting to learn at the Estonian History Museum that many Estonians fought with the Germans against the Soviets during WW2.

Russian sub-machine guns used in WW2

Like the other Baltic countries, there is a strong
pro-Ukraine and anti-Russian feeling here

During the Cold War, Estonia was part of the USSR. Relics remain: one that I did not know was that Tallinn hosted part of the 1980 Moscow Olympic Games, as this was where the sailing events happened. The legacy lives in some respects, but not others, like the abandoned ziggurat complex.

Linnahall was originally called the "V. I. Lenin Palace of
Culture and Sport". Because, you know, Soviet...

There were many people sailing when I walked along the coast

Not that you could invoke the Olympic spirit and fully forget where you were during that regatta. On the edge of the water lies a fortress called Patarei, built by Nicholas I and then used as a Soviet prison. It’s currently closed as they prepare to reopen it to the public - not that there was a lack of people in the area, as a maritime festival was being held. They like a festival in Tallinn.

Patarei Fortress was built in the early 19th century

A kebab stall in front of a large ship. Standard weekend in Tallinn?

What I found interesting about Tallinn is that, rather than focusing on this era of history like Latvia, Lithuania and Poland do, Estonia’s capital commemorates its earlier history. It really leans into the medieval period.

The city walls

Part of the Dominican friar building

There is a folk festival of sorts here this weekend, which obviously amplifies the effect. But seeing many people dressed in Middle Ages gear as they walk through narrow alleys near domineering castle walls helps to add to the medieval vibe.

Not the only costumes I saw on the weekend

Town Hall Square

Though a 17th century fire damaged many buildings in the Old Town, the UNESCO protected area of the city houses many elements from a previous era. Its town hall, looming high above the square, dates from 1402. Heading up the narrow spiralling tower, you can imagine the power felt by the bell ringer as they lay eyes upon the settlement far below.

These stalls were part of the medieval weekend festival

The view from the Town Hall tower

A nearby pharmacy lays claim to be the oldest continually functioning pharmacy in Europe, having started selling ‘medicine’ in 1422. Whether you see things such as novacaine and arsenic as treating or exacerbating an ailment is up to you.

It actually was on its third owner by 1422,
so must have been open before that

It made me thankful for advances in modern medicine

Near that pharmacy are some narrow alleys that again evoke images of a medieval era. St Catherine’s Passage is a great example of this. The monk statues found elsewhere in the city, in the Danish King’s Garden, could also bring that feeling. There is a ghost story connected with them - if you’ve read the previous blogs, you’ll know that Baltic countries love a legend or ghost story.

This area was in a state of disrepair until independence in 1991

Murdered monk?

Another medieval story passed down through time is linked to two passageways, which are dubbed ‘Long Leg’ and ‘Short Leg’. The gates within separated the upper town (aristocrats) and lower town (the rest). Love story between a man from high and a woman from low, man being told not to marry by family, woman gets sad and cries at the sea - usual stuff. Less usual is that the woman was referred to as Fat Margaret, and has a tower named after her.

The gate in question is now a popular photo spot

Tallinn: city of love?

There are also tales about a water well (in which locals sacrificed animals such as sheep and cats to ward off evil spirits - good thing they were drinking beer rather than water) and a nearby building which now has an artificial window. Once upon a time, the owner of this house was short of money, so rented a room to a stranger with a black cloak. During the night, he peeked through the keyhole as there was a lot of commotion. What he saw was a wedding…with the groom having devil horns…

Tallinn's Cat's Well

The artificial window is in the top left of this picture

All of these strange and spooky stories took place within the walls of the city, which were recognised as one of the strongest defensive structures in Europe in the Middle Ages. Towers rising even higher from it, such as the Hellemann Tower, would have been very imposing for any visitor or prospective invader.

Long Leg street - not the high walls either side

There are 26 defensive towers in total

Tallinn is much more welcoming now. It has redefined itself as a tech hub - Skype and Bolt were created here. Based on the amount of support for Norway at a large screening of their World Cup match with England, it seems that Estonians are getting on well with all but one of their neighbours. Not that anyone seemed anti-English - it was a very friendly atmosphere.

Modern buildings like this are numerous outside the centre

At one point a man tried to initiate the 'Norway Row' by banging on
the metal fence. He banged with a glass bottle. The row didn't last long...

It also has lovely areas outside of the Old Town, particularly to the east. It was in this area that I was able to run right in from of the Estonian President’s residence, find a beautiful palace called Kadriorg complete with stunning garden, stop at a house belonging to Peter the Great, circle possibly one of the world’s smaller Japanese gardens, find a monument to a sunken Russian warship, and the beach. As it was a sunny afternoon, this green and fresh area of town was pretty popular.

Kadriorg Palace was commissioned by Peter the Great for his wife

Not much Japanese about this garden, I feel...

The "Russalka" memorial for the eponymous ship that sank in 1893

I enjoyed my time in Tallinn, and it is different to the other cities that I have visited on this trip. Maybe it’s the Baltic Sea air, maybe it’s the focus on all things medieval rather than 20th century brutality and repression. Maybe it’s writing this after returning to my hotel at almost 3am with the city never having truly gotten dark…