The beautiful Russian Orthodox church stands on the highest point of the upper town, but the Estonians don’t think it’s beautiful. It’s a reminder of the occupation, when Russia decided to ‘save’ them from German occupation, only to create their own. And it’s built on the grave site of the father of one of Estonia’s… Continue reading Waiting for the fall
Category: Countries
Singing Revolution
Merle took me for a walk around the old town, telling me legends, but also her personal history with the Singing Revolution. She’d held hands in the line across the Baltic states looking for independence. More frighteningly, her father and brother had stood on the hill in upper town on the night the Russian army… Continue reading Singing Revolution
There’s no Problem
A couple of nights ago, we went to a concert in the main square of Tallinn. A Slovenian industrial band called Stroj Machine created their own earthquake through the old town. Eleven people hammered away at 44 gallon drums, keyed compressed air through a ring of flutes, blew tubes of metal welded into trumpets and… Continue reading There’s no Problem
Danish Flag
The Danes were losing the battle for Estonia, their knights being held back by Estonian farmers at the place where the wall now stands. They had to get up the hill and into the flag tower which would signify their victory, but they couldn’t break through the defences put up by the locals. They’d all… Continue reading Danish Flag
Maidens’ Tower
‘Oh, don’t you know about the legend of the maiden?’ asked a girl in a cream hooded cloak. Merle shook her head with me. She’d told me that the Old Town was divided into the upper section (Danish landowners) and lower section (Estonian and Danish merchants) who didn’t get on. The girl in the cloak… Continue reading Maidens’ Tower
Estonian Summer
Estonia is far enough north to have a midnight sun and even now, in late May, the city of Tallinn was bathed in light as we landed at 11pm. It’s been a mild winter, according to Merle, but summer hasn’t brought the expected warmth. A northerly wind today gave the city both blue skies and… Continue reading Estonian Summer
Jack the Ripper
My brother had arranged to take a Jack the Ripper tour with a friend, so I joined them for a night in stereotypical English weather. The guide was a Beefeater, who had a great knowledge of the city and a flair for story telling. He took us to each of the murder sites, described the… Continue reading Jack the Ripper
Roads to Paris
I got a lift with Jahnavi and Scott to Paris on Sunday, after lunch at Sabine’s parents’ own little manor, ready to catch the train to England on Monday. The roads got wider but more congested the closer we got to Paris until it took as long to do the last fifty kilometres as it… Continue reading Roads to Paris
Ni glass ni crystal
With all the time I’ve spent in France, I’ve never bought a souvenir. I’ve never been interested in trinkets that I can hang on the wall, so I dragged my friends into town on the Sunday morning to find a shop that sold red wine goblets. A small store on a sharp corner did the… Continue reading Ni glass ni crystal
French Wedding
Sabine and Glyn met while hiking, so the theme of their wedding was ‘tying the knot’ supported by a picture of two pairs of well-worn hiking boots with laces tied together. It was on the invitations, the website and on the menu at each table. Neither are very religious so they skipped the church in… Continue reading French Wedding