Tallin, Estonis

We could have stayed in St. Petersburg much longer then 2 days. They have approximately 300

Castles and many more cathedrals to see. We hit the high lights with our guide, Elena. She was delightful.

Next we were off to Estonia on a bike tour of Tallin with Jessica. She did say that they were much better off after the break up of the USSR. She mentioned they could say anything they wanted to in public without fear of retribution, the economy was better and there was no longer a twelve year waiting list for Russian cars with parts that were actually made out of paper mâché. Now could could buy any car they wanted.

Tallin is also the place were The Singing Revolution took place. Between 1987 and 1991, hundreds of thousands of Estonians gathered publicly to sing forbidden patriotic songs and share protest speeches, risking their lives to proclaim their desire for independence. While violence and bloodshed was the unfortunate end result in other occupied nations of the USSR, the revolutionary songs of the Estonians anchored their struggle for freedom, which was ultimately accomplished without the loss of a single life.

These two pictures show where the singing revolution took place. Now it is used for concerts.

Tallin is also a wonderful example of a walled city. The upper level was where the nobility lived. The lower level is where the working class lived and worked....shop keepers, grocers, etc.