Estonia
Estonia, the most northerly of the Baltic states. It is a mainly flat country on the eastern shores of the Baltic Sea, with many lakes and islands. Much of the land is farmed or forested.
The Estonian language is closely related to Finnish, but bears no resemblance to the languages of the other Baltic republics, Latvia and Lithuania, or to Russian. About one quarter of the population is of Russian-speaking origin.
Tallin is the capital of Estonia. The Old Town is a compact maze of cobblestone streets, historical buildings and great views and has a place on UNESCO's World Heritage List. Many of the old buildings have been renovated, but generally speaking in quite a good way. The Old Town is easy to cover on foot. Start near the Townhouse square (Raekoja Plats), head your way up to the Pikk Jalg, to the Castle Square. On Castle Hill you find Toompea Castle and the 19th-century symbol of the Tsar's power in Estonia, the Alexander Nevsky Cathedral. To fully get a grip on medieval Tallinn, you might consider walking around the walls and fortifications. The city used to have 66 towers (!) of which 19 remain. Some are restaurants or shops, others are offices. The three oldest towers, Nunna, Sauna and Kuldjala, can be visited in summer.
Tallin is full of museums, covering a range of fields from history and nature to art and architecture. For art lovers, museums show a range of established artists, but the city's art scene is also alive with constantly changing exhibits in galleries and halls. Paintings, sculpture, graphic art and applied art by lesser-known names and new talent from Estonia and abroad are shown in many venues throughout the city, giving a better taste of what's happening now.
With Tallin being a port city on the water, many ferries from other Baltic countries and cruise ships regularly dock here. Therefore it is fairly easy to spend a day in Tallin to see the sights. The Old Town, both Upper and Lower Town are well preserved and/or restored and worth the visit.
