My mum came to see us in Estonia! Yeah! She had wanted to visit the Baltic States for quite some time, so when we asked where on this RTW trip she wanted to come find us, she chose Estonia. I’m glad she did.
Estonia was nothing like I had imagined. It was formerly occupied by the Soviet Union, so I imagined a small country something like Eastern Europe … Slavic, kind of dirty, dark. I was very wrong!!! But pleasantly so. Because Estonia is so far north and so close to Finland, being there is much more reminiscent of Scandinavia than Eastern Europe. At least I think so … I’ve never actually been to Scandinavia (other than in airports, and that doesn’t count). Tallin is clean and bright. Many of the buildings, especially the newer ones in the upper part of Old Town, are painted bright pink, yellow, and green. There are lots of trees and grass. And … since it is very close to the “land of the midnight sun” at this time of year … there is lots and lots of sunlight. I think my favorite thing about being in Estonia (other than seeing my mum) was the long hours of daylight. Even a month after summer solstice, the sun was out from 4:00AM to after 11:00PM. All that sunshine, energy, and vitamin D is a definite plus in my book.
There are, however, mementos of the recent Soviet occupation (Estonia was “freed” in a bloodless, “singing” revolution 12 years ago, in 1994). You can find former KGB headquarter and lookout buildings without searching too much. And many of the apartments where people actually live are the communist-style concrete monstrosities. There is a museum about the 54 ½ years occupation. And when you visit the new KuMu Art Museum (which houses an amazing collection of art by Estonian artists from 1800 or so through present day), much of the art in that 60 year period reflects the country’s mostly negative sentiment toward the Soviet regime.
We spent most of our time in Old Town Tallin … another World Heritage Site on our unofficial World Heritage Site tour of the world. As a side note … we were browsing the web the other day and found that companies actually give World Heritage Site tours, where you go from one Site to the next. Maybe we should start a company? The majority of the Old Town is still looks the way it did in the 13th – 17th centuries, with cobbled streets, a city wall (complete with defensive towers), the old town hall, and restored merchant shops. The reason they’re still there is primarily because the Estonians didn’t have the money to knock them down and rebuild for a long time. Now that they have the money, it’s better to have the old buildings renovated so they can continue as part of the World Heritage package.
We did also see the Song Bowl, a huge amphitheater where Estonians hold a nation-wide song and dance festival every 7 years. This played a big role in their “bloodless revolution” … they sang traditional songs and hymns that had previously been banned by the occupying Soviets.
We also took a tour through Lahemaa National Park, where we saw manor houses that had been built in the 1700s and quite a bit of forest. My primary motivation for going on the tour was the forest … I wanted to see the “nature” Estonia is famous for. As it turns out, people live in National Parks in Estonia and there are whole towns in the area with the protected wildlife status. So it wasn’t quite what I’d imagined … but still gorgeous. It’s by the sea, so kind of like visiting the Olympic Peninsula or the coast of Maine. Only different scenery.
