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Estonia was celebrating the 100 year anniversary of when it first declared independence from Russia on February 23rd, 1918. I had three days off during the so-called “Anniversary Week” during which special events were planned. Because of that, I was off to Tallinn for a chance to immerse myself in a historical moment for one of the Baltic countries.
Tuesday
Flew to Frankfurt with SWISS followed by a connecting flight with Lufthansa, operated by a CRJ-900 to Tallinn. I had never flown on a Canadair Regional Jet (CRJ), so this was quite exciting. Both flights arrived early and were quite comfortable. I had the 2-seat row to myself on the Lufthansa flight, so although CRJs aren’t reputed for their comfort as the cabin is quite tight, I certainly couldn’t complain.
Got to Tallinn city by tram, and I couldn’t buy ticket onboard although I was told to do so by airport staff. Oh well, at least I tried. I spent most of my afternoon walking around the old town. Europe’s oldest pharmacy is in Tallinn, with the first documented reference being from 1422, when it was already operated by its third owner. They sell typical modern OTC medication, and in the back is a small exhibit about the history of their business, along with some of their former products. Has your doctor ever prescribed you some “scorched hedgehog”?
Continuing across most of the lower old town, I passed several medieval guildhouses with varying degrees of decorated façades. One particular building, situated on Pagari [street] 1, was the site of KGB’s Estonian headquarters, with some cells having been preserved and transformed into a museum about the horrors that took place inside. The basement windows were bricked up, so people on the street couldn’t hear the screams of prisoners.
On the western edge of the old town lies stretches of preserved town walls, dating from the medieval era. You can walk along several sections of it, and even enter some of the towers.
Next up came Toompea, a citadel sitting higher up than the lower old town. Toompea Castle, originally built in the 14th century but renovated under Catherine the Great in the 18th century, now houses the Estonian parliament.
On Toompea hill is allegedly where my fatherland Denmark got its flag during a battle in the 1200s. It supposedly fell from the skies, giving the Danes a favor in a battle that they ultimately won. I swung by Tallinn’s city museum before it closed for an introduction to the history of the city, and got on a bus out to the TV Tower, which was actually closed but had an restaurant open till later. It turned out the restaurant was reserved for a large private event, so I wasn’t allowed in. Fortunately the bus back into town didn’t take long to show up. Still, seeing the TV Tower with the lights on at night wasn’t too bad.
Had an excellent 3-course dinner at a restaurant named after its address, Rataskaevu 16. Complimentary house-recipe bread and butter + fried Baltic herring as an appetizer, braised elk as the main course, and a hot chocolate cake for dessert.
But my evening didn’t end on a high note, as I slipped and fell on an icy sidewalk walking back to my hotel. My left hand got a fair share of bruises.
Wednesday
Got up early and walked to the Russian Orthodox Alexander Nevsky Cathedral, which was quite close to my hotel. No pictures allowed inside. I followed this up with the comparatively less stunning St. Peter & Paul Church.
The Alexander Nevsky Cathedral’s exterior.
Continued towards the massive Linnahall, a concrete eye-sore concert hall built for the 1980 Moscow Olympics, where Tallinn hosted sailing events. The structure is almost 500meters/1500 feet long, and the concert hall is actually under walkways leading over the top of the building. It’s quite odd-looking, and has been covered in more and more graffiti since closing in 2009. It’s heritage protected, and the city of Tallinn doesn’t know what to do with this failed piece of Soviet architecture.
I kept walking along the seaside to Patarei prison, another abandoned building. It was actually built by Tsarist Russia as an army barracks in 1840, not the Soviet Union. However, it was under the reign of the latter that it gained infamy as a prison for political enemies. Conditions were bad, but given that most other prison facilities and concentration camps had despicable conditions, the Patarei was referred to as a “health resort” by comparison. Yes, you read that right.
Next-door was the Lennusadam Seaplane Harbour, and I was actually there 10 minutes before opening time, but the nice museum staff let me wait indoors to escape the freezing cold, as they prepared the museum to open at 10:00. Inside three connected hangars was a number of sailing boats, a submarine and the replica of a seaplane on display, in addition to several larger ships docked at the harbor outside.
I didn’t get to see the ships docked outside, as I was running low on time, needing to get to the train station for the 11:22 Elron train service to Narva, the eastern-most city in Estonia, on the border with Russia. Narva hosted several events celebrating Estonia’s Centenary of declaring Independence.
Walked off the train and down to the riverside where two castles face eachother like a game of chess across the country border. On the left the Danish-built Hermann Castle faces off with the Ivangorod Fortress in Ivangorod, Russia across the river.
Tried to wander into the heart of the city, but I got on quite a detour due to the fences around the customs building and the bridge leading across the river. Narva’s architecture is interesting compared to Tallinn. After WWII, an estimated 98% of Narva had been destroyed by bombing from first the Germans, then the Soviets. Almost the entire city has been re-built by Soviet architects, and due to a sluggish local economy, there aren’t many new developments. Additionally, the city’s population of 60,000 people is almost entirely ethnic Russians.
I decided to already go to Town Hall Square for the Estonia 100 events. This turned out to be a good idea, as they started earlier than scheduled. Shortly before 3PM, a children’s choir with an orchestra performed a number of Estonian songs, including National Anthem.
The musical performance was followed by a speech by Estonian president Kersti Kaljulaid, and some other government representatives.
Commemorative coins celebrating Estonia’s Centenary were published at Narva’s College on the Town Hall Square prior to my arrival in Narva. My plan was to buy this commemorative coin once sales started at 3:30. Afterwards I’d go to a special youth concert at a local cultural centre at 4:30. I figured buying the coins couldn’t take more than maybe 10-15 minutes, so that I would have ample time. Man, I was so wrong. I ended up waiting in line for two-and-a-half hours, mostly outside in frigid -10C/10F temperatures.
I finally got my hands on the silver edition of the coin with about 15 minutes to spare before the last train left for Tallinn at 6:11. If it wasn’t for a taxi that happened to be waiting outside Town Hall Square, I probably wouldn’t have made the train back to Tallinn.
Thursday
After checking out of my hotel, I stopped by the Kadriorg Park, Tallinn’s favorite green space. It wasn’t very green, more white, but I can imagine it’s quite pretty in the summer.
Next stop was the Metsakalmistu (Forest Cemetery), for a wreath-laying ceremony on the graves of former state leaders. I got there a bit late, and got lost inside the forest looking for this ceremony. It wasn’t until I heard the orchestra that I located it. I had to make my way up some stairs and found what I believed to be a fitting spot in the small crowd. Suddenly I realized that I was standing in front of a pair of gravesites. It was necessary for me to get out of the way so the guests of honor, several military veterans and the Estonian president, could get to them. Oops.
There were only a handful of actual visitors. Most seemed to be part of the military orchestra, the president’s bodyguards, local media or actual relatives. The procession moved throughout the cemetery to gravesites in various places. Throughout a large part of the ceremony, I was within 5-10 meters of the president, because the crowd was so small. I stuck out among the crowd so much, that one of the president’s bodyguards gave me a death stare when I reached into my pocket. He was perhaps worried I would pull out something more dangerous than my phone.
Thirty minutes after it had started, the ceremony was over. I made my way down to the nearest bus stop for a freezing 15 minute wait for the next bus downtown. That’s actually not bad, but living in Switzerland has really spoiled me with frequent public transport. Conveniently, the end of the line for the bus was right by the Hotel Viru, where I had booked a tour. Did I simply book a tour of a hotel? No, the Hotel Viru isn’t simply like any hotel. It opened in 1972 as the main hotel for foreign visitors to Tallinn. Sixty specific rooms and most public areas were wire-tapped with microphones recording any and all sounds. Not only did the KGB have units operating inside the hotel, they also ran a secret spy base from the 23rd floor, where they kept contact with spies throughout northern Europe. The secret spy room was operating until two months before Estonia’s independence in 1991. Suddenly overnight, the KGB unit fled and took what they could carry with them to Moscow. The spy room has been preserved in its hastily abandoned shape, and the hotel has made a museum of it.
KGB uniforms left behind by the agents. These uniforms were never, if at all, worn.
After lunch, my next stop was the Maarjamäe Palace, mostly so because the Stables building supposedly houses an exhibition from the 1941-1944 years of Nazi German occupation. I was told that the Stables were closed off due to a private seminar (in a Nazi Germany-themed museum exhibit?!), and when I asked in the main building, I was informed this exhibit had moved “outside and around the corner”. All I found around the corner were Soviet monuments that I had already spotted beforehand. So instead of learning about Estonia during WWII, I had to settle for a dozen Lenin, Stalin and Trotsky sculptures.
Having been denied entry to the TV Tower on Tuesday night, I headed over there for a second attempt. Their public viewing platform is open during the morning and afternoon, so this time I got in. Visibility wasn’t perfect, so the views of Tallinn itself were a little hazy.
My last sight in Tallinn became its Photo Museum, which was supposed to be nothing special. However, earlier in the day I had spotted a sign outside highlighting temporary exhibitions about the birth of Estonian aviation and North Korea. Given that aviation is my professional career and one of my biggest hobbies, I suddenly felt like going. The images from Korea were an added plus, given the fact that I am one of the few Westerners that have visited the DPRK.
My sightseeing in Tallinn had concluded and I was off to the airport for a 6:15 Lufthansa flight to Frankfurt, as it was time to make my way home.
From Frankfurt, I continued home with SWISS, and finally I arrived in Zurich at 10 PM.