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I find the history of Estonia to be quite fascinating. A relatively young country which fought for its independence from Soviet Russia, and were successful in 1920, was then subjected to occupation by the Soviets during the second World War. Furthermore, when the Germans turned against the Soviets during that time, the country was ground zero for fights between both sides with Estonians caught in the middle, being forcibly drafted into both armies at different points in the war. Finally, the Singing Revolution was initiated with the introduction of Perestroika, that restored the independence of the nation of just over 1 million people.
Today, Estonia is among the fastest growing countries in the EU, with itโs highly-developed advanced economy, high position on the Human Development Index, and one of the most digitally advanced societies. The capital of Tallinn is located on the northern coast of the country along the Gulf of Finland.
To get here, you can take a flight directly into the capital (Airport code: TLL), take a bus from southern neighbor Latvia, or a ferry across the Gulf of Finland from Helsinki. Some people do day trips to Tallinn from Helsinki, but a couple of days are recommended in the Estonian capital to get the most of out of your visit.
You can find a Google map of the places I will discuss at the end of this post. If you do decide to explore Helsinki for a day by ferry, check out my blog post here on what to see in the Finnish capital.
The main draw of Tallinn has to be the old town. Here youโll find alleyways flanked by pastel colored buildings, eventually leading you to a variety of viewing platforms with different perspectives of the city below. There are two platforms in particular:
Kohtuotsa viewing platform - the most popular spot, containing viewing binoculars and often decorated during the cold winter months.
Patkuli viewing platform - just around the corner and between the two is an excellent bar called Fersen, serving beer and mulled wine, perfect when itโs below zero outside.