“Questions permeate every aspect of our world and our life. Life is all about questions. If you stop asking, you stop living.” – Louis Kahn

I was so glad that Estonia was part of our Scandinavian tour, otherwise I would never have come this delightful country. Again, we only got to spend one and a half interesting days here, so my observations are limited. Our hotel, the Savoy Boutique, was just on the edge of the old town in Tallinn, where we toured, dined and shopped.

The old town celebrates its medieval history with themed restaurants, costumes and while we were there, a medieval fair. Like Bergen, Tallinn was part of the Hanseatic League and the Germans ruled the city for many centuries. The well-to-do Germans lived in the upper city while the tradesmen and artisans lived in the lower area, divided by a wall that closed at 9 pm, reopening at 9 am. You had to keep out the ruffians of the working class, kind of like gated communities in the US. The Swedes took over from the Germans, ruling them until they gained their independence in 1917 only to lose it in 1940 to the Russians. Then in 1991, when the Soviet Bloc was dissolved, they again gained their freedom.

Tallinn is home to Europe’s oldest apothecary established in 1422 and still operating today. Marzipan was developed here, originally used as a drug to relieve the pain of love. We didn’t sample the almond delight but we were treated with Kama, an Estonian dessert made with meal containing milled rye, wheat, barley and peas, sour milk and sugar served with berries. It was delectable, very light and creamy, the tart berries a beautiful accompaniment. This delicacy was served to us in a tavern built in the 1300’s.

The first day, I had a bun, baked with caramelized cabbage inside, which was very tasty. And then shared a cherry almond tart with Lynn that was sinful. We also enjoyed a wonderful meal at Tchaikovsky, recognized in the Michelin guide. Tallinn was much more reasonably priced then the rest of Scandinavia, cocktails and meals cost almost half of what we had been paying.

Like much of Scandinavia, the people started out as pagans, converted to Catholicism during the crusades, then became Lutheran during the Reformation. And in most of the countries the citizens still support the church but very few attend Sunday services. They only keep their ties to the church active for weddings, funerals, holidays – and insurance. In a recent survey, 85% of Estonians said they do not believe in god but they are very superstitious. Maybe reverting back to their pagan days? See the statues of the monk ghost that haunts the king’s garden.

Estonia is very flat and covered in trees, mostly pines, spruce and birch – 80% of their land is forest. We were treated to a trip to their largest (of two) waterfalls but after the spectacular falls in Iceland and Norway, I was a little underwhelmed. We also visited a bog which was surprisingly pretty and soothing somehow. We were told the mosses on the trees only grow in the purest of air, so we breathed very deeply to enjoy it. Bogs, mires and swamps cover 30% of the country.

I of course, had to spend some time as a local so visited one of their spas. Saunas are as popular here as they are in Finland. In fact Estonia will claim that they were the first to enjoy the activity. The spa contained an olympic sized pool, two large water slides, a series of luke warm pools with different features – showers to pummel your body, jets to massage your back, a rain shower, and a sauna and steam room – both with big plate glass windows overlooking a park. There was another sauna downstairs in the ladies locker area, which was much hotter and empty. I enjoyed it in solitude, twice. Upstairs, it was interesting to watch the families with their children, the gossiping women, the young couples – maybe on a date, and the teens strutting their independence. I attempted conversations with several people but it was a struggle, not at all like the tourist areas where everyone speaks English. The signs were in English so I was able to navigate without a problem.

One of or guides, Hanno, who came from Canada, took early retirement from Siemen’s, returning to Estonia where his parents were born, expecting to take it easy. Once here though, his cousin told him, “we don’t retire in Estonia, we work”. And since English speaking guides are in demand, he quickly found a job. We’re glad he did as he was very informative and patient with this tired group of travelers.

Next up – Budapest.