Tallinn is the capital of Estonia situated in the north of the country on the Baltic Sea. Its charming, medieval Old Town has a magical feel–especially at Christmastime, when merchants have set up stalls selling mulled wine, traditional food, and gifts for the Christmas Market on the Town Hall Square, and a huge Christmas tree, performance stage, and Christmas music playing in the background add to the festive feel. The cobblestone streets hold many churches, museums, and themed restaurants with Old World ambiance and cuisine.
Photos: https://www.dropbox.com/sh/ulkmqwohv2q8qpi/rv9FvZzzPU
It’s funny you should be visiting Estonia because I have been curious about Estonia and the other Baltic nations such as Latvia and Lithuania. They are inconspicuous on the world stage and one hears very little about them in comparison to the other European nations. How did you decide to visit Estonia? Is there any particular striking difference between Estonia and other well known European nations like France or Germany?
I’ve been curious about the Baltic countries for a while too and had time to visit at this point in my travels. They’re much smaller and historically the conquered, rather than conquering, nations. Not the “big players” on the world stage. So, they haven’t been in the news as much. There are likely some major differences, but I’m mostly noticing the similarities. Since the Baltics have all been ruled by Denmark, Sweden, Germany, and Russia at different times in their past, there are a lot of elements of these cultures present here (architecture, art, food, language, etc.). Estonia seems a bit more Scandinavian, and Latvia and Lithuania a bit more German and Russian. This is especially noticed in the language. The Estonian language is related to Finnish and completely different from Latvian and Lithuania.