Unfinished Baltic

There's not much in the way of trains linking the Baltic republics so we take a coach northwards to Tallinn, capital of Estonia. Much of the road is forested but we hardly notice the border as there were no checks (only on the way back). None of this have been this far north before. Tallinn is on the same latitude as the Orkneys and the sun doesn't go down till 10.15. Almost the land of the midnight sun!

Like Latvia, Estonia suffered badly in the 20th century, passing like a ping pong ball in WW2 between the Soviet Union and Nazi Germany. There's little sign of that now in this prosperous city. A 10-minute walk gets us to the Town Hall area, swarming with eager tourists like us. It's not ashamed to recall the happier sides of its past, with eye-catching costumes on show. Continuing uphill, we enter the walls of the castle, started in the 13th century and well-preserved. Maybe---just maybe---the man playing "I just called to say I love you" is referring to Tallinn itself! The seat just outside the city walls provides garden therapy for others.

Tallinn is a busy port both for cargo and passengers, but some of the redundant premises have, like Docklands in London, been converted to 21st century residential use. But there still reminders of past and present conflicts, with this WW1 picture outside a museum, and banners at the Russian embassy protesting about Ukraine.

Would we go back to the Baltic one day? There's talk about it, and perhaps the third country, Lithuania, as well. An excellent 7 days.Read more