In 2011 I saw a short documentary called Hing (Breath) at the Al Jazeera Documentary Film Festival in Doha. I saw dozens of films at that festival, but for some reason Hing really stayed with me. The documentary was about the only female chimney sweep in Estonia. That was all it took, and I was hooked on Estonia. Then again, maybe the interest was always there. After all, years before that, I wrote a short story with a character named Tallinn. So, who knows…
I couldn’t put my finger on what it was exactly, but I knew I wanted to go to Estonia. It quickly shot to the top of my list.
In 2014 I finally went for my birthday with a friend. And I loved it. Something about Estonia just resonated with me. Something always had. But I still couldn’t pinpoint what it was. Once I was back in England, I knew I wanted to return to Estonia.
When Jeremy and I decided to quit our jobs and become travel bloggers, I put forward Estonia as a starting point after the UK. Luckily, Jeremy agreed.
Unfortunately, we had a few date commitments in Europe, so our time in Estonia was incredibly limited. We only had two full days in Tallinn before heading south to Riga.
Nevertheless, I was excited to be back in Tallinn, and I was hoping to delve deeper into my fascination with the country.
Let’s Go On a Walking Tour
As I’m sure you all know by now, Jeremy and I love a good walking tour. They’re a great way to see a city, learn some history and culture, and even potentially make friends. So, naturally, we were excited to learn that there was a free walking tour that departed just around the corner from our hostel.
As we walk down to the meeting point outside the tourist information centre it is drizzling and most of the buildings are obscured by mist. It is chilly, but the temperature is ideal for us. Everyone else waiting for the tour is wrapped up in in heavy winter coats, complete with woolen scarves and hats. Jeremy and I are significantly less wrapped up. Our winter clothes this season are a thermal shirt, cardigan, fluffy hat and scarf for me and thermal jacket, sweatshirt, beanie cap and scarf for Jeremy.
Yeah, it’s going to be a cold winter in Eastern Europe. But for now it’s perfect. We even love the rain.
Our tour guide, Miriam, is a short, blonde, 20-something Estonian. “I am not a normal Estonian,” she advises us, “most of us are very tall!”
We follow dutifully behind her as she holds up a bright yellow umbrella for reference.
In case you’re looking for a tour, we went with Traveller Tours and thoroughly recommend them!
A Very Violent Past
Miriam walks us through Tallinn’s incredibly picturesque old town and tells us about Estonia’s turbulent past.
Although Tallinn has one of the best preserved medieval old towns in Europe, it is not without its loss. Some of the old town was burned and knocked down in the Middle Ages, but most of what has been destroyed is due to bombings from the Soviets during WWII. Today, the rest of the city is an interesting mixture of soviet era buildings and modern design.
As we walk through Vabaduse Väljak (Freedom Square) and St John’s Church, Miriam points out a large hanging on a building sporting a symbol that encompasses the numbers 100 and 18.
“2018 is 100 years of freedom for Estonia and the rest of the Baltics,” she tells us. “Well, kind of.”
Estonia, along with Latvia, Lithuania and Poland, are all celebrating 100 years of freedom this year (possibly others as well). This is because in 1918, they each gained independence from Russia. However, this independence didn’t last and during WWII, they all found themselves right in the crossfire between Stalin’s communist Russian empire and Hitler’s Nazi German nation.
Without going into too many details, Russia won, and the Baltics were folded back up into the extended wings of the Soviet empire. However, in the early 1990’s, there were uprisings across the Baltics and Eastern Europe and the USSR started to collapse. This lead to renewed independence for many of the former soviet bloc countries. Estonia officially regained its independence on 20 August 1991. Although Russia did not fully evacuate until 1994.
Related: Dark Tourism in Tallinn, Estonia
Understanding My Affinity
During our tour, Miriam states that people often comment on the fact that Estonian’s aren’t very friendly.
“It is true. Kind of,” she advises us. “If you really want to get to known an Estonian, go drinking with them on Friday, Saturday and Sunday and by Monday they might ask you your name. We Estonians are very shy and socially awkward. For example, we do not like eye contact. I will give you an example.”
She calls me forward to assist in a demonstration.
“There are two types of Estonians,” she begins, “social and non-social. So we are, for example, talking to each and one comments on the others shoes. Here’s how it would go: A non-social Estonian would look at their own feet,” she looks down at her own feet, “and say, ‘hey, nice shoes!’ But a social Estonian, they will look at your shoes,” she turns her attention to my shoes, “and say, ‘hey, nice shoes!’ And this is the difference!”
Everyone laughs, but I relate so hard to this. I’m not necessarily shy, but I am a socially awkward introvert.
“There is an Estonian joke,” Miriam says, “that there once was a man who loved his wife so much… he almost told her!”
There are countless reasons to love this place and to feel as though I belong, as if an entire country (or, well, maybe just city) gets me.
If the shared social awkwardness doesn’t convince you, this next fact might. Tallinn is a city built on the salt trade, and if you know anything about me, know that I love salt more than anything. Anything.
OMG Look at All the Doors!
I have always been kind of obsessed with doors. I have a weird amount of professional photographs and paintings that in some way feature doors.
So when I noticed that a lot of the doors dotten around Tallinn – especially in the old town – are unique and beautiful, it was just another thing that confirmed why I love the city.
Here are a few to prove my point:
Am I Over Estonia?
I am not. I would love to go back. I would particularly like to get out of Tallinn and explore further afield.
Is Tallinn my favourite city in the world? Probably not, but it’s definitely up there. The Baltics in general are a fascinating set of countries that we both hope to return to and explore more thoroughly.
One thing I do want to note, however, is that my experiences in the Baltics have all been during winter time. This makes a difference as it is off-peak season for tourists. I have heard from others that during the summer, the shores and the old town are ascended upon by cruise ship tourists. In the winter, however, this is definitely not the case. It was not uncommon for us to be the only people in a museum or restaurant, or walking through a street.
My advice? Skip the summer rush and try to go between late September and early May. It’s worth it!
Related: Why You Should Visit Tallinn in Winter
Some Fun Facts
- Estonians love their technology. More startups have originated in Tallinn than any other European city, including Transferwise and Taxify (now Bolt). It’s also responsible for some major international companies – most notably Skype. Because of this, the country is sometimes referred to as the ‘Silicon valley of Europe.’
- Estonia was actually the first country in the world to mandate that access to the internet is a basic human right. And they are absolutely right. Because of this, there is free, public wifi anywhere you go in Tallinn (and presumably any city).
- Starting this year (2019), Estonia became the first country to issue digital nomad visas. This follows off the back of it being the first in the world to offer e-residency visas. It is no surprise, then, that Estonia is becoming one of the best countries for digital nomads.
- More firsts: In 1441, Tallinn became the first city in the world to have a public Christmas tree. Riga, Latvia also claimed to have the first public Christmas tree. It became such a controversy between the two cities that their respective government officials had to sit down to discuss a compromise. It was agreed that Tallinn had the first Christmas tree and Riga the first decorated one. However, there remains a Christmas tree statue with a plaque in memorial to the first Christmas and New Year tree in Riga.
- Tallinn’s St Olaf’s Church is believed to have been the tallest building in the world between 1549 to 1625. The church has been hit by lightning 10 times and burnt down three times.
- During my previous visit, my friend and I went to the Estonian History Museum at the Guild Hall (recommended), which boasts at several points that Estonians are probably the saddest people in the world.
- Unlike most medieval cities, the wall of Tallinn was not only built around the city, but also through it in order to divide the rich from the poor.
- Tallinn has a famous seagull named Steven the Seagull. He even has his own Instagram account and hashtag!
- In 1684 there was a fire that destroyed 80% of the buildings in Toompea (upper half of Tallinn’s old city). Ironically, the upper half of the city – the richer half – was built out of wood as it was considered a rich man’s material. Therefore the lower half of the city, which had to be built of stone, fared infinitely better. Going forward, the whole city was rebuilt with stone.
- There is no official national sport of Estonia, instead it becomes whatever they are doing well in. At one point, it was sumo wrestling.
- In 2017, it was voted that the most beautiful phrase in Estonian was “Sõida tasa üle silla,” which translates as “drive quietly across the bridge.”
- More on the Estonian language: there is a joke that ‘Estonians don’t have sex and have no future’ since there are no genders and no future tense in their language.
- One of the country’s previous presidents was raised in New Jersey and worked as a DJ on the side.
