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July 1, 2019July 10, 2019

Kadriorg

In the northeast of Tallinn, Estonia you can find the city quarter Kadriorg or Catherine’s valley. When in the year 1710 CE tsar Peter the Great conquered Estonia which was by that time under Swedish reign he named this area after his second wife Catherine I of Russia and created his summer residence there. Still today you can find Kadrioru loss, the Catherine palace here – a nice baroque style palace with a beautiful palace garden and a vast park surrounding it.

July 1, 2019October 12, 2019

Botaanikaaed

Outside of the city centre of Tallinn, Estonia and close to the teletorn (TV tower) you can find the Botaanikaaed – the botanical garden. It is a vast park with different sections and many green fields. It includes an arboretum, a beautiful rosarium and a greenhouse with succulents and tropical crop plants. Distributed throughout the park you can also find some interesting artworks.

July 1, 2019July 9, 2019

Teletorn

The TV tower of Tallinn, Estonia is 314 meters high and was opened in 1980 – for the olympic summer games in Moscow, Russia. It is the second highest free-standing building in northern Europe after the TV tower of Rīga, Latvia. On the 21st floor there is a restaurant and an open terrace from which you can also see the Baltic sea. It is located at a height of 170 meters and only 100 persons are allowed to enter the tower at the same time.

July 1, 2019July 9, 2019

Tallinn zoo

The loomaaed (zoo) of Tallinn, Estonia is located a little bit outside of the city center close to the big shopping mall ‘Rocca al mare‘. It is a large area with many animals and a zoological garden undergoing a slow remake. There are a lot of old and empty cages, climbing elements for the animals made of concrete and often a high distance between visitors and animals – but also a lot of new buildings and areas beautifully designed.

July 1, 2019July 8, 2019

Turg

In the Baltic states food markets (‘turge‘) still play an important role. In Germany most people buy fruits, vegetables, meat, cheese and fish at supermarkets and going to a farmer’s market is rather a fun activity for weekends. Here it seems to be still part of everyday live. Throughout Tallinn, Estonia you can find different markets – one of the newest and most modern is the one directly next to the Balti Jaam railway station.

July 1, 2019July 10, 2019

Occupation & freedom

Estonia is a young state gaining independence only in 1990. In the past it was occupied three times by Germans (1941-1944) and Soviets (1940-1941, 1944-1990) – independence and having an own state is therefore of big importance for Estonians. What occupation means and what chances and challenges freedom creates is discussed in the Okupatsioonide ja vabaduse muuseum (VABAMU) – the museum of occupations and freedom at Tallinn, Estonia.

June 30, 2019July 9, 2019

Ships & more

Estonia is a sea-faring nation and of course there is a museum dedicated to that topic at Tallinn, Estonia. The Eesti Meremuuseum has it’s main location in the ‘fat margret‘ tower at Pikk 70 which is currently closed for renovation – therefore I could only visit the secondary location at the old waterplane harbour in Lennusadam. It can be reached on foot or by using a small train on wheels.

June 30, 2019July 9, 2019

Baltic sea

After visiting the Baltic states I’ve got the feeling that Tallinn, Estonia (formerly also called ‘Reval‘) is the one best known to Germans. That is probably because it has a harbour close to the city center where cruise ships can stop and unload masses of tourists. But that didn’t disturb me much during my visit and of course one should use the situation to give the Baltic sea a visit.

June 30, 2019April 19, 2022

City walls

Tallinn, Estonia is beautifully located on and around the Toompea (cathedral hill). A unique feature of the city are the remaining historical city walls and fortification towers. In medieval times 40 of these towers with red roofs existed and still today they shape the skyline of the city. A tour to the city walls typically starts at the castle with the town’s landmark – the Pikk Hermann (‘tall Hermann’) tower.

June 30, 2019July 10, 2019

Aleksander Nevski katedraal

When you’re on the Toompea (cathedral hill) of Tallinn, Estonia it’s not the castle standing there or the Pikk Hermann tower that is catching your views – it is the beautiful Aleksander Nevski katedraal with its six black onion domes. It is a Russian-orthodox church that was built between 1894 and 1900 CE. The location was well-chosen and during the first independence of Estonia it was planned to remove the church as it was and is a strong symbol of Russian influence.