Tallinn TV Tower

Wednesday, Sept.30

We hopped a bus to the Tallinn TV Tower, the tallest building in Estonia. It has quite a history. It was built originally for the 1980 Moscow Summer Olympics to be used for telecommunications. It was barely completed in time. But the bigger part of history happened during the 1991 Soviet coup attempt against Mikhail Gorbachev. Troops were sent into countries like Estonia in an attempt to reassert control over them and quash ideas of breaking away from the Soviet bloc. Protesters surrounded the base and four individuals kept the tower broadcasting on August 21, 1991. This event directly led to the proclamation of independence for Estonia. https://www.dark-tourism.com/index.php/1433-teletorn

The rest of the day was walking around The Rottermann Quarter and a few less traveled areas in Old Town. We ended with decadent dessert from Pierre Chocolaterie and a drink from the Sigmund Freud Bar. 

Tallinn, Tuesday, September 29

History and Art Day! Our day began with the kindness of strangers. Since nothing seems to open before 10 am, we were strolling around Old Town. A woman who was setting up the display at a bakery saw us admiring the huge two-tone chocolate megachip cookies. As we turned to leave, she called out to us with a bag in her hand! A freebie to take with us on our day! We were so touched! We snacked on it later and it was as good as it looked!

We arrived for opening at the Estonian History Museum at the Great Guild Hall. The building itself, built in the early 1400s, was originally a club for merchants. We were particularly interested in the exhibit about the Hanseatic League, having learned a bit about this in Bergen. We were not disappointed! There was so much to learn about the German influence, particularly from Lübeck, as well as about the specific cargos (such as wax, timber, salt etc) and the trade routes. We also learned about the everyday life of merchant families. The Hanseatic League functioned as the major trading consortium for 500 years from the mid 1100s to the mid 1600s!  https://www.hanse.org/en/the-medieval-hanseatic-league

A treat of a beautiful handpainted marzipan butterfly from the Kalev Marzipan Museum Room gave us energy to continue deepening our knowledge at our next stop!

The Estonian Maritime Museum is cleverly located in the Fat Margaret Tower. Visitors make their way round each level and fittingly use the spiral staircase to ascend to the next level. We were very purposeful in our mission though. We wanted to see a Hanseatic cog—a single-mast, square-sailed cargo workhorse. This ship wrecked off the coast of Tallinn in the 1300s! It was unearthed in 2015 during a construction project. It was in remarkably good condition and included ~700 artifacts! We learned that since then, an even larger one has been found and is being conserved while another has been left buried for future exploration. https://meremuuseum.ee/paksmargareeta/en/for-history-and-maritime-buffs/the-cog/

We left Old Town in the afternoon to explore the Tallinn coast and walk through the neighborhood of Kalamaja. We stopped by another craft brewery, Põhjala Tap Room, where we had a nice selection to taste.

The last part of our day was spent at Fotografiska Museum. https://tallinn.fotografiska.com/en There were two exhibits. Level one featured work by Vivian Maier. During her life, she was a nanny who traveled the world. Her work was discovered after her death and she is now considered one of the greatest street photographers of the 20th century. https://tallinn.fotografiska.com/en/exhibitions/vivian-maier The second floor was devoted to Latvian photographer, Inta Ruka. This display captivated both of us. The series, My Country People, focused on a small Latvian village bordering Russia in the Balvi region. She returned to this canvas repeatedly for 20 years. It felt like a scavenger hunt once we realized that we were seeing the same people in later or earlier years. In Amalijas Street 5 a, her focus was on the residents of an apartment building in Riga..Her portraits showed hardship, determination, and small moments of joy. They were like an unfinished story for which you were yearning to know the end. Very powerful work. We watched this great documentary about her work: https://youtu.be/bG9IATOpptE?is=kXML4UiEtP44dJSS. Just as we were about to leave, John realized that Inta Ruka was speaking in one of the galleries! Even though we only heard the end of her talk, we felt like we had won a prize!

Tallinn Old Town, Estonia

We stayed at the Cru Hotel which is a 14th century building. To get to our room, it is like wandering through a rabbit warren--up stairs around corners, down halls, up stairs again! Tallinn Old Town is an UNESCO World Heritage Site. It is one the largest and best preserved medieval walled cities. There are several opportunities to walk the walls or ascend various towers, complete with spiral staircases. They seem to all have memorable names, some of the most famous being Tall Hermann, Fat Margaret, or Kiek in de kök. There is a lively town square and intriguing alleyways and courtyards. We took a guided walking tour on Monday, September 28. Our guide was so passionate about the history of Tallinn and Estonia that not only did our tour go over the two hours, she clearly had not shared all that she would have liked. Similar to our previous guide, she referenced the complex, multilayered history of Estonia. After a very nice lunch at Rataskava 16, we left the walled city and explored Telliskivi, a former industrial area that is being reimagined and revived. We stopped by Humalakoda Pub for local craft brew and ended our day by seeing the sunset and the Estonian flag lowered from Tall Hermann.

Lahemaa National Park, Estonia and more!

Today was AMAZING! Little did we know when we signed up for this Travelers Tour day what a packed full, incredible day it would be! The tour lasted nine hours and included multiple stops. 

The first was at the Jägala waterfall, the widest and largest natural fall in Estonia. The area has lots of fossils in the surrounding limestone from the prehistoric era when this area was a sea. Our guide was quite proud of the falls, given that Estonia is relatively flat. https://www.jagalawaterfall.com/en

Next stop: 

Lahemaa National Park. The Viru Bog Boardwalk wound through this primordial landscape. We experienced spongy earth, and mirror-like ponds reflecting the rare blue skies along this 2 mile walk. A tower mid way gave us a sweeping view of the area. The walk ended in a forest of tall trees with an open forest floor and dappled sunlight shining through. Magical. https://visitlahemaa.com/en/

Lunch was at Altja Kortz in the tiny seaside village of Kortz. We had some interesting conversations about how connected the world is, despite us all being from different places. After lunch, John and I tried out a giant wooden standing swing! It could hold multiple people, but no one else was game to join. We got it going pretty high! https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Village_swing  We walked through a museum area with older homes and a well on the way to the beach. We had lovely walk on the shore which led into the otherworldly forests we have seen all day.

Last stop: Sagadi Manor

Wait! There's more! We couldn't believe we had one more stop. The Sagadi Manor is a rococo style manor house which was last owned by the Von Fock family. We had a crash course in Estonia history and the influence of German Baltic nobility as well as the changing rule of Estonia through the centuries. The grounds featured manicured gardens as well an orchard. There was also a fascinating exhibit about forestry...both cutting and preservation.  https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sagadi 

Fantoft Stave Church

It's raining today (surprise!). I dropped off our laundry at Absolute Cleaning, a drop and go service. There are not many choices for laundry in Bergen. This choice was price competitive and gives me the freedom of time.

I took the light rail to the Fantoft station. The public transportation has worked out well. We purchased 7 day tickets and it has been well worth it. That is even in combination with all the walking I have been doing. The church was a ten minute stroll from the platform. It has an interesting history. It was originally built in - 1200 in Sogn. As religion and churches changed, it was moved to Bergen in 1883. In 1992, it was a victim of arson. It was rebuilt using traditional medieval methods and 400 year old pine trees from an area near Sogn. Sadly, it now has a chain link fence surrounding it for safety. Still, it is an impressive sight. The exterior is covered black tar and has a svalgang (external covered walkway) to protect it from the elements. This svalgang was also used as a place to drop weapons before the service, socialize out of the rain, and for people with leprosy to listen to the service. For the latter, there was also a small hatch to receive a blessing. The dragons carved at the top were to keep evil forces away, a unique crossover from earlier Norse religion and Christianity. https://fantoftstavkirke.no/historie-2/

https://www.stavechurch.com/

Fjord Boat Trip

Today we had sun in Bergen! So many people were out enjoying it! My day featured a cruise through the Mostraumen Fjord. Norway has some rugged, beautiful spots!

Rainy Day (for real) in Bergen

This was Museum Day! The Bryggen Museum was the morning visit. The experience begins with a backward timeline, and there have been A LOT of fires in Bergen over the centuries, mostly the Bryggen area. In 1955, the area was so dilapidated that when there was yet another fire, many people reportedly wanted the area razed. Archeologists came in and found layers upon layer of artifacts. I was stunned to see items from the 1100s! The museum houses a large collection of over 650 message runes carved on wood and bone. The messages range from showing ownership to love notes. One amusing one says, "Gyda says that you are to go home." There was also a weaving exhibition featuring work by Ragna Breivik. She is known for her professioanl association with Gerhard Munthe, an illustrator, and the Åsmund Frægdagjeva tapestry series. https://viewer.pandasuite.com/83af0tfu?wid=2c4b30903c870f780004f6 

Afternoon: After circumnavigating the buildings (in the pouring rain!), I finally found the entrance to the Kode Museum. I learned about Norwegian art and artists through the years. The photo is from a series by Harriet Backer who spent six years painting scenes from this stave church. The Kode also has the third largest collection of Edvard Munch. It was fascinating to see his style change through his lifetime.

We went to Heit sauna in the early evening! What fun! It was perfect weather for it. After being wet and cold all day, the sauna was a welcome change. We learned from the locals in there with us that saunas are new to Norway and have gained popularity in the past five years.