Tallinn I - Estonia - Europe

Tallinn is the capital of Estonia, a country of less than 2 millions citizens located in the north of Europe on the baltic sea. Tallinn is exactly on sea south and in front of Helsinki capital of Finland. In the Middle Ages it was an estimated trade centre. Recently it has been part of the Soviet Union but, culturally, socially and historically, it has always been more connected to Finnish countries. In fact, Estonian language is quite similar to Finnish.

In the Old Town you can still feel the smell of the Middle Ages. Tallinn is one of the better conserved Middle Ages city in all Europe [1]. Believe me, it is amazing to admire the city walls and towers, the Middle Ages style houses and restourants (or "restoran" how Estonian people call them) where you can still taste traditional drinks (like "claret" a really interesting liquor and "kali" a soft drink) and dishes. Most of the time served by smiling guys in traditional dresses.

But the Old Town is the core of a city moving to the future, more closed to west Europe than I thought.

One of the best trip I ever had [2,3,4] and I'd like to thank my special Estonian friend Kriss to have me introduced to local dynamics. I am always curious of that...

[1] tallinn tourism website
[2] mypictures: section Travels 2005-> Tallinn I
[3] mypictures: section Travels 2005-> Tallinn II
[4] mypictures: section Travels 2005-> Tallinn III