The Medieval Old Town in Tallinn.

The history of Tallinn is incredibly rich. The first fortress was built on Toompea (the cathedral hill) as early as the mid 11th century. In the middle ages, the town was part of the Hanseatic League. It lay on the cross roads between the Northern Europe and Russia, and prospered enormously. 
Today, the Old Town is visited by thousands of tourists each year. And with good reason - it is well preserved and presented, and since the late 1990s it has been a UNESCO World Cultural Heritage site. 
For a while, we forgot the modern glass and concrete buildings and paved tar roads and wandered the narrow cobblestone streets and alleys of this beautiful medieval part of Tallinn.

An observation platform on Toompea. Later we would climb up to the steeple of St. Olaf's church the children are looking at here.

Inside St. Olaf's church. The steeple of the church was the tallest edifice in the whole of Europe at one time.

Of course, we had to climb to the observation platform of the steeple to see the height for ourselves.

The view from St. Olaf's toward Toompea.

An interesting find in the Old Town.

This house was built long before Christopher Columbus was even born.

The Kadriorg Palace

Estonia has plenty of places that claim to have been visited by one of the greatest Russian czars Peter I.The Palace at Kadriorg in Tallinn is not a place of a legend, but a proof of Peter the Great's love for his wife Catharine to whom the palace was built. The palace and the park that surrounds it even got their name from Catharine or Kadri for short in Estonian. The rooms in the palace are magnificent, and the gardens in the back are beautiful. Today, the palace serves as an art museum. 
What made our touring of the palace and its grounds so special - we spent the morning together with a missionary family. What a blessing!

With Peter.

In one of the rooms in the art museum, the children were allowed to touch sculptures.

Saara with Poseidon. 

Sangaste Castle and Chruch

In Estonia, the landed gentry had always been foreigners.The people who worked on their lands - the peasants - were Estonians. The relationship between these two classes was generally strained and unfriendly. The Count of Sangaste, however, was an unusual exception. He loved the locals, and the locals loved him back. He cared for his people and was respected and honored in return. 
It was his home that we visited one day. Because of many years of neglect and then misuse during the war and the Soviet period, the castle had suffered much. But in recent years a lot of the lost glamour of the castle has been restored. Also the story of the Count and his relentless work developing Estonian agriculture has been revived. Andrew and Saara learned a lot about rye and how important it has been to this country.

The Sangaste Castle

For us, it was a surprise to read that the Count was homeschooled at first.

The 'hunting hall' still has the original fireplace. The count's children used to play in front of it, and the side of the fireplace still has the notches that were carved in to measure the height of the kids. The hall is used as a restaurant nowadays.

The ball room. It is hard to imagine that the Russian soldiers kept their horses in this room during the war.

The winter garden had not only pretty plants, but also a few very loud parrots.

A machine to sort grain.

The library. Beautiful place.

The rye for which the count is best  known for.

Sangaste Lutheran church.

Tartu - a Hanseatic Town

Tartu is the second largest city in Estonia. The history of Tartu goes back to the 5th century AD. During the Medieval times, it became an important trading city and joined the Hanseatic League. In 1632, the University of Tartu was founded by the Swedish king Gustavus Adolphus. It is the oldest and most renowned university in Estonia. Tartu has been and still is the center of Southern Estonia. 
So, on 4th of July, we drove to this fair city to walk the streets and be a part of a very unique and very Estonian event - a song festival. 

The center of Tartu - the Town Hall Square. The fountain sculpture of kissing students has become one of Tartu's symbols.

Mom's old Alma Mater, the University of Tartu.

Established in 16 32. 

Saara and Andrew with Gustavus Adolphus.

Right behind the university's main building rises the Toome Hill. On top of the hill are the ruins of a Medieval Cathedral.

Part of the cathedral has been restored and it houses a museum.

About the town. Children with writers Oscar Wilde and Eduard Wilde.

The beginning of the song festival. All the choirs walked in a procession from the Toome Hill to the song festival ground. It was a beautiful sight.

And then it began: 3000 singers from various churches from all over Estonia. It was a glorious feeling to hear them sing. Every four years the country holds a Grand Song Festival in Tallinn with tens of thousands of participants. But I am thankful, we were able to watch and enjoy even this small festival. The children had never experienced anything like this.