Sailing south from Helsinki, we arrived in Tallinn, the capital of Estonia. It wasn’t very far, and frequent ferries make the crossing daily. I was last here 10 years ago, on my 50th Birthday! 

Estonia is not a big country, and it doesn’t have a large population, just 1.3 million, making it one of the least populous member states of the European Union. Tallinn has about 460,000 inhabitants, of which about 30% are Russian. Estonia is located on the southern shore of the Gulf of Finland, sharing land borders with Latvia and Russia.

A little History of Estonia:

Present-day Estonia has been inhabited since at least 9,000 BC. The medieval indigenous population of Estonia was one of the last pagan civilisations in Europe to adopt Christianity following the Northern Crusades in the 13th century by the Danes. 

As was similar to other Baltic states, in the14th century the Teutonic Knights arrived, followed by the Swedes, the Hanseatic League and then the Russians with Peter the Great. Having access to the sea, it flourished due to the trade of Russian fur and wax, for Estonian grain and linen. Other traded goods included herrings, wine and spices. Under the Tsarist Russians, the Estonian people were subjected to the slave like serfdom. 

Following World War 1 Estonia declared independence, but still leaned towards Russia for trade, although general conditions for the people did not improve. In World War 2, Estonia was occupied by the Germans, and many people found this preferable to the Russians. Following Germany’s defeat in 1944, Estonia became part of the Soviet Union. The Soviets didn’t forget any of the people who collaborated with the Germans; many paid with their lives or were deported to Siberia for their ‘crimes’. 

Although, for the 1980 Moscow Olympics, the sailing regatta was held in Tallinn, the Soviet occupation didn’t enhance people’s lives; the people suffered and the economy stagnated. This was also the experience of neighbouring Baltic States, Latvia and Lithuania. Following the 1988–1990 "Singing Revolution" by all three states, this peaceful protesting against Soviet rule allowed full independence to be restored for Estonia on 20 August 1991, and the country proceeded to join NATO and the European Union in 2004. The independence from the Soviet Union came not a moment too soon, as there were plans (when they had raised enough money) to tear down the Medieval walls and replace them with Brutalist concrete!

Nowadays, despite a feeling of freedom and calm in Tallinn, the country has concerns that Russia wants to reclaim Baltic states. This fear and preparation means that 5% of the budget spent of Defence. A recent declaration is that everyone aged 18, must do 1 year of Military Service; many are training as nurses in preparation of a future war.

My tour today was hosted by our guide, Helle, to learn about the farmers, and how they lived and produced ‘black bread’ (not burnt, but a form of rye bread). This involved driving to an open air museum, which had houses, where both fishermen and farmers lived and worked. Estonians are known as hard workers, so 200 years ago, they primarily worked farms for German bosses. The main crops were barley and rye. We were shown how the grain was harvested, how the grains were separated out and subsequently ground into flour using rotating stones brought in from Gotland, Sweden.

Using the flour produced, there was a demonstration of how the bread was made. Finally, we had a ‘here’s one I prepared earlier’, moment, and had the opportunity to sample the bread with lashings of butter! None of the harvest was lost; the husks were used to form animal feed, and in ‘lean’ times, this was also used in bread.

After the visit to the farm, we returned to Tallinn for a walking tour of the Old Town. Similar to Visby, Tallinn Old Town is a beautifully preserved Medieval town with its original street plan. The town started in the 12th Century with a wooden fortress being built on Toompea Hill. A visiting Arabian geographer visiting referred to it as “a small town like a large castle”; not much has changed to this day!

Since 1991, Tallinn has transformed itself into a modern metropolis, through tough economic policies and foreign investment – the ‘Baltic Tiger’ model. The economy is now booming, with new buildings being erected, whilst preserving the Old Town; many examples of soviet architecture persist, especially when it comes to apartment housing.

We had some free time in the main square at the end of the tour. This housed the Medieval Town Hall, as well as the Apothecary, the oldest continually operating pharmacy in the world from 1422. 

On my previous visit we visited the Orthodox Cathedral (Alexander Nevsky Cathedral), one of the prettiest in Tallinn. The interior is beautifully laid out with frescoes, paintings and lots of gold! Nearby is the Lutheran Cathedral (St. Mary’s) which dates back to the 13th century.

With our free time at an end, we were transported back to port, in time for a cocktail or two, to celebrate 4 ports in 4 days. We’re not done yet! Tomorrow is port 5 (5th in 5 days), Stockholm, Sweden.