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Published: June 26th 2011
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From Helsinki, it was a simple 3 hour ferry crossing to the Estonian capital Tallinn. The crossing wasn’t the best in the world (how can a ferry not have enough seats on board for all of the passengers?), worsened by the amount of drunk people on board (this was a 9am sailing). This did sort of set the scene for Tallinn though. I wasn’t quite sure what to make of the city. On the one hand, the old town is one of the most beautiful cities I’ve seen – it has the best preserved medieval city walls in the world, with 1.8 of the original 4.2km still remaining, as well as 26 of the original 50 towers. The city is divided into the lower town, where the merchants lived, and the upper town (known as Toompea), where the rulers and upper classes were based. The upper town boasts the castle, which is now home to the Estonian Parliament, as well as the oldest church in the Baltics (now the Lutheran Cathedral) and a more recent addition – the Russian Orthodox Cathedral, which neither the Soviets or the Estonians really liked, but has somehow managed to survive. The highlight of the upper
town had to be the views over the lower town and the city walls below though – stunningly beautiful (at least when the sun shone). The lower town was nice as well – the main square, complete with its 14th century Town Hall was really attractive, as were the many churches and streets of merchants’ houses. As Tallinn has changed hands so many times (it has been ruled by the Danes, Swedes, Poles, Russians and Soviets amongst others), it’s surprising just how intact the historic centre is. But as the boundaries of the centre haven’t changed in centuries, it is really compact and didn’t take long to explore. The whole of the centre is pedestrianised (with most of the streets given over to restaurant seating), which made the atmosphere that much nicer. There were also free walking tours, which were both funny and informative. Outside the compact centre, Tallinn is a whole different city. It was illegal to build in stone outside of the centre until the 20th century (so neighbourhoods could be burnt down should an enemy be approaching to prevent them from gaining shelter near the inner city). Consequently, there is a mix of old and new, with
varied results. The outskirts are dominated by row upon row of ugly Soviet-style tower blocks, though some of the areas have preserved their historic wooden buildings. My real issue with Tallinn was the amount of drunk people, sleazy strip clubs and stag parties in general roaming around the city. It is such a beautiful city; it’s just a shame that they’ve allowed it to become what it has.
Whilst based in Tallinn, I visited the Laheema National Park in north east Estonia, which boasts some spectacular coastal scenery with a pine forest backdrop. Public transport to the park was a bit of a problem – consequently I could only visit one part of the park around the town of Vosu, but I had a good time there – lovely beaches and interesting forest trails. I also visited Estonia’s fifth city – Rakvere – principally because I had to change buses there and had time to kill. Not much to see besides the standard main square, town church and ruined castle.
After a few days in Tallinn, I moved on to Estonia’s second city, Tartu. Tartu is in the far south of the country and is predominantly known for
being a university city, being home to one of the oldest and most prestigious universities in this part of the world. As the academic year had ended when I arrived, the city was eerily quiet and felt half-deserted. Despite this, I did really like Tartu. It felt a lot more Estonian than Tallinn, with a lot fewer tourists and much less of an obvious Russian presence. My hostel was actually on the main square, so I had lovely views towards the blossom pink Town Hall and the fountain in front of it which seems to be the city’s symbol. Behind the main square is Dome Hill, where the original city was built a thousand years ago. It absolutely poured with rain whilst I was on top of that hill – the weather in the Baltics seems to be so erratic! The only building left on top of this hill is the old cathedral, which is mostly in ruins, except for one end which has been turned into a museum (not open though when I was there so I had to shelter in the ruined towers). The torrential rain lasted for quite some time, before it eventually let up and I
could make my way down from the hill. There wasn’t that much in Tartu city to see or do really; a nice riverfront, a couple of old churches and the university buildings. But there was a great feeling about the place and the hostel I stayed at was excellent, which helped to make my stay in the city really enjoyable. My last day in Estonia coincided with the beginning of the Midsummer celebrations, which seems to be a big festival in the Baltic states. They had different brass bands playing in the main square all day and all evening (something I don’t think everyone in the hostel appreciated) as well as military parades and a few other smaller things.
I didn’t come to Tartu just to see the city – South Estonia is probably more beautiful than the north, and Tartu makes a good base to explore from. I only had one day to explore the area, so I headed to Otepaa, a town known for being Estonia’s winter capital due to the number of winter sports facilities it offers. I wouldn’t know about the winter, but in the summer Otepaa was really beautiful – lots of different hiking
trails through the rolling green hills of southern Estonia, with the jewel in its crown being Lake Pühajärve (Holy Lake). The 12km walk around this lake was really picturesque – the only issue was the amount of mosquitoes around – it was quite difficult stopping anywhere without being surrounded by a whole swarm. Hopefully the next time I go hiking I won’t get bitten so many times. The other thing to mention about Otepaa is roller-skating. The whole area was jammed with people either on roller-skates or skis with wheels practicing their skiing techniques. It was a bit strange to be walking along a path next to a lake on a sunny summer’s day and then be overtaken by a couple of skiers, scrambling with their poles to try and get up a slight incline.
After a week in Estonia, it is time to move on already. I am crossing into Latvia, so please look out for my next blog from there.
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