Tallinn and Helsinki

Old Town Tallinn

Tom and I took a nice weekend trip to Tallinn, Estonia, and Helsinki this weekend. We drove to Helsinki Friday evening and spent the night at the Radisson Blu Seaside, near the port in Helsinki. The next morning, we took the Tallink Silja ferry "Star" to Tallinn, which is 50 miles across the Baltic.

Old Town -- see Shrek bottom right?

Estonia has had a turbulent history. Like Finland, the country was ruled by Sweden, then Russia (from 1710 to 1918), then gained independence after WWI. They couldn't hold on, however, and when the Soviets expanded their territory during WWII, they took over Estonia for the next 50 years. Estonia joined the European Union in 2004.

The town has two markedly different parts -- the famous medieval Old Town, which dates back to the 13th century, and the new part of town, which has just come into being in the last 10 years or so (according to our tour guide). We stayed in the new part of town at the extremely modern 30-story skyscraper, the Swissotel, and it was very nice.

We took a combination bus and walking tour, since this was our first time in Tallinn. The bus part went outside of town, to various sights, including the famous Song Festival Grounds, where Estonians gather for a songfest every five years and which also hosts concerts. It is an important place in terms of Estonia's fight for independence, because in 1988, 300,000 Estonians gathered at these grounds to sing patriotic songs since they didn't have weapons or suitable means to fight the Soviets. In 1989, Estonians, Latvians and Lithuanians made a 360-mile-long human chain to protest Soviet rule. As the USSR was falling apart, these three countries were finally able to assert independence and hold elections. 

Dragons guard Old Town Hall

Russian influence is still around, most notably in the concrete apartment buildings the Soviets built to house Russians they shipped in to Tallinn. There also are ornate buildings, such as the Russian Orthodox Cathedral in Old Town and the Kadriorg Palace, which Peter the Great built for his wife Catherine.

Anyway, it's a very interesting city, both the old and new parts, and we certainly didn't have enough time to explore it all. Guess we'll have to go back!

We took the ferry "Superstar" back to Helsinki on Sunday, and spent a couple hours walking around and checking out the casino before heading back to Rauma.

I'm going to fly to Copenhagen, Denmark, next week for a few days, and I can't wait to go to the Christmas Market at the famous Tivoli Gardens!


If you want to see more pictures from Tallinn and Helsinki, here's the link:

https://picasaweb.google.com/103069509757300719995/TallinnAndHelsinki1111?authkey=Gv1sRgCLOs8KqNwfGJ9wE