Finland has a lovey and hospitable neighbor to the south. Her name is Estonia. Estonia is bordered to the north by the Gulf of Finland, to the west by the Baltic Sea, and to the south by Latvia.
Land wise, Estonia is approximately two times smaller than my home (Kentucky). Formerly part of the Soviet Union, Estonia has been independent since 1991. Despire being a young nation, Estonia’s history is rich. For four days, my wife Kara and I experienced that history and much more.
Our journey to Tallinn, Estonia’s capital, began the day before Christmas. The ferry ride from Helsinki to Tallinn was just two hours. The voyage gave us enough time to enjoy a lunch from the world’s only floating Burger King.
As we approached port in Tallinn, I could see many unique sites. There was a sea fortress prepared to defend; church steeples reaching for the clouds, and cobblestone paving the way to our destination—Old Town. Entering the gates of Old Town was like going back in time to the Middle Ages. Medieval walls dating back to the 13th-century surround this historic part of Tallinn. Old Town has a fairy tale charm. The abandoned defensive towers are perfect dwellings for Rapunzel.
As I walked along admiring the enchanting architecture, I noticed twinkling lights and heartfelt music escaping from the impending corner. Without realizing, we had reached Tallinn’s famous, Christmas Market. The Christmas tree in Old Town is a tradition that goes back to 1441 when Tallinn was one of the first countries in Europe to have a tree displayed for the holidays.
Surrounding the giant Christmas tree were stands selling handcrafts, hot juice, desserts, and plates of sausage with sauerkraut. About 200,000 visitors go to the market every year, and I was one of them.
Being away from friends, family, and home during Christmas was difficult. Kara and I kept our spirits up by enjoying Tallinn’s many holiday festivities. For instance, we attended a choir performance at Church of the Holy Spirit. The clock on the church's facade is Tallinn’s oldest public timepiece dating back to the 14th-century.
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| Church of the Holy Spirit |
We also visited mainland Estonia’s oldest church, St Mary's Cathedral, for a Christmas concert. According to
EU Observer, Estonia is one of the "least religious" countries in the world. Only 14% of the population declare religion an important part of their daily life. Yet, I never would have realized due to the number of church services occurring for the holidays.
On Christmas Day, I realized Santa had come in the night! He brought us our favorite treats: café lattes and pastries. We enjoyed these delicacies at
Maiasmokk, the oldest cafe in Tallinn since 1864.
After eating our "presents" we participated in a free city walking tour hosted by
Tallinn’s tourist office. My Christmas was spent learning history, admiring architecture, and grasping Estonian culture. Click the image below to see all the sights from our tour.
Christmas Day would not have been complete without ice-skating. I mean, come on; it’s Northern Europe. I might be unable to skate backwards yet, but I have the going forward part down.
Before traveling to a European city, be sure to lookup the public holidays. We planned on touring museums and visiting historical sites the day after Christmas. Unfortunately, we did not realize December 26th is Teine Jõulupüha, or Boxing Day, in Estonia. More places were closed on the 26th than on Christmas Eve. No worries; we did not get discouraged. After all, simply walking around and admiring the buildings was good fun.
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| It was cold and rainy atop Fat Margaret's Tower. |
We did learn that the
Maritime Museum was open on Boxing Day, and we made it an hour before they closed. I am glad we did, too. The museum is inside Fat Margaret’s Tower. So, in addition to learning about Estonia’s maritime history and viewing interesting artifacts, we got to stand atop the 14th-century tower and behold the city lights.
Most importantly perhaps is that the III Draakon Medieval Tavern was open on December 26th. Here, we had elk soup and meat pie. I even went bobbing in a barrel for pickles. III Draakon is situated in the old courtroom of Tallinn's Town Hall. On the day of our departure, we toured the town hall. It is the oldest town hall in the whole of the Baltic region.
Everywhere you turn in Estonia, you are confronted with ancient history. Fortunately, that history is very much alive in Old Town making it an ideal tourist destination. Even
Lonely Planet, the largest travel guidebook publisher in the world, recently recommended Tallinn. The travel company tipped Tallinn as the best-value destination for 2018. So, what are you waiting for? Start planning your Estonia vacation today!
