Prepare to be Estonished!
Estonia is a very different place. The difference is
visible as soon as you cross over the border. Where you
will find filth, squalor and crumbling infrastructure in
Russia, you will find…well… LESS filth and squalor and
quite a bit of construction work in Estonia. It probably
also helped that my cold was easing up a little…
We stayed in the capitol, Tallinn. Most of this city is
nothing in particular to look at - not as ugly as
St.Petersburg, but still a rather grim prospect. However,
they have an Old Town in the center that is just about the
most wonderful place I've ever seen. It's incredibly well
preserved and the buildings range from the 12th to the
19th century. I have never been to Prague, but I've been
told by those who have seen both that Tallinn is a Prague
in miniature, and some even think Tallinn is better.
Narrow, irregular streets, cozy little shops and cafes,
nice pubs, cobblestone squares, ancient and beautiful
buildings, castles, city walls… Tallinn has it all. I
cannot recommend this city enough. Sadly, the film with
most of my pics from the Old Town was destroyed in
development, so you'll have to take my word for it.
Of all the former communist countries, Estonia is the one
that has progressed the most. The Estonians can't wait to
become a part of "The West", and have nothing but scorn
for their Russian neighbors and their old-fashioned ways.
The Estonians are very keen on learning languages, and
they'll jump at any chance to get to practice English with
foreigners. They have a "western" attitude to business and
prices are still reasonably low there, although rapidly
rising. It's a friendly country and a friendly people and
I hope to go back there soon.
We visited some educational facilities, got a briefing at a
military academy (the Estonians would just LOVE to join
NATO) and spoke with the people at the Norwegian embassy.
In addition, I was fortunate enough to wind up next to the
head of a large Norwegian company at a restaurant in the
old town. He told me quite a lot of stuff off the record…
about Estonia, Russia and the other Baltic countries
(Latvia and Lithuania for you Americans out there). He
confirmed, in no diplomatic terms, my general view of the
differences between the respective nations. Estonia has
only a fraction of the crime they have in Russia and the
other Baltic nations, and the economic structure and
development is much, much better. I also got this
impression when speaking with the Norwegian ambassador,
and with ordinary Estonians. They are generally
optimistic, and eager to join the European Union, NATO
and anything else that can get them as far away from
Russia's political influence as possible. The main
political issue is the fact that 35-40% of the population
are ethnic Russians. It seems that this has become less of
a problem, because most Russians now realize that they'll
be a helluva lot better off as a minority in comparatively
rich Estonia, than as majority citizens in a Russia run by
old commies and new fascists.
A combined military & police academy. Estonia has held
some joint exercises with NATO, much to the annoyance of
the Russians, who still see Estonia as a part of their
empire.
The Estonians have a very rich musical heritage,
especially choir singing. There are about 1.5 million
people in Estonia, and less than 1 million of them are
ethnic Estonians. Yet, in
this place in 1992, on the one-year anniversary of
Estonian independence, a couple of hundred thousand
Estonians gathered for the celebration and made the
biggest choir ever. That's like 60 million Americans
singing Star Spangled Banner in front of the Lincoln
Monument on 4th of July.
A
soldier monument. I believe this monument is from the
Soviet era, and celebrates the struggle against Nazi
Germany. Say what you will about the Russians, but they
made a huge sacrifice against Hitler, and they are rightly
proud of the effort. There is a small section at the
entrance to the Old Town that has been left as it was
after a German bomb raid. Pretty scary sight.
The
castle that overlooks the Old Town. In addition to
castles and buildings, they have an ancient city wall
encircling and partly cutting through the Old Town. Some
places, there are small shops inside the wall… damn, I
long to go back there.
Old
Hansa. A great place…Brilliant concept… Modeled to
look like the home of a Hanseatic merchant of the 14th
century, the restaurant on the 2nd floor offers a variety
of exotic and good food, and at reasonable prices too.
I especially recommend the wild boar. They have a really
nice pub on the 1st floor.
Speaking of nice pubs… This is the
Hell Hunt, established 1653.
The best pub in Tallinn. The patrons are a good mix of
locals and foreigners and the interior setting is
great.
And now to something completely different
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