Estonia - Lahemaa National Park

Lahemaa National Park is located on Northern Estonia, 70 kilometers east from Tallinn and it took us about 1.5 hours to reach. It was the first area to be designated a national park of the former Soviet Union back in 1971. With forests covering more than 70 per cent of Lahemaa, the area is rich in flora and fauna. 

There are four manors situated in the national park, Palmse manor, the Vihula manor, Kolga manor, and the Sagadi Manor. Our tour visited Palmse Manor which is one of the grandest baroque mansions in Estonia. The mansion and open-air museum were the first fully restored manor complex in the country. Construction of the main building started in 1697 and  finally completed in 1720 and re-decorated 1782-1785. The first floor was built with high ceiling as that is where entertaining is done.The second floor was for bedrooms while kitchen and other household rooms were in the basement including a wine cellar.

Palmse Manor Estonia

From the picture below, you can see that Palmse Manor is surrounded by plenty of greenery.

Palmse Manor - layout

The garden behind the manor. Unfortunately the flowers in the garden was not blooming even in May as Estonia had a long winter this year. Our tour guide told us that the place was still cover in snow even up till April!

Palmse Manor- garden

The back view of Palmse Manor (left) and staff quarters (right).

Some photos of the interior of Palmse Manor, including the wine cellar and a musical box (bottom right) which still works today.

Palmse Manor -interior

On the way to Altja fishing village, we drove pass Sagadi Manor and managed to take a quick photo from the outside.

Sagadi Manor

Altja is a small coastal village that over a century ago supported small family farms and fishing. You can still see the original fishing hut used to store and maintain fishing nets and small boats.

Altja fishing village Estonia

Estonia - Tallinn

Estonia is the smallest Baltic state and yet it is the most vibrant compared to Lithuania and Lavia.

Our journey in Estonia started with a walking tour in the old medieval town of Tallinn which became a UNESCO World Cultural Heritage site in 1997. We started our walk in the upper town and walked down towards the lower town. 

The first building we saw was this magnificent looking Russian church, the Alexander Nevsky Cathedral.

Alexander Nevsky Cathedral, Talinn

Toompea Castle which is situated opposite Alexander Nevsky Cathedral is currently the House of Parliament. Ever since the castle was first built in 1227-1229, every foreign empire that ruled Estonia used this castle as its base. Front the front, what is visible is this pink baroque palace while a look from the base of the hill will give a more Medieval perspective.

Toompea Castle, Talinn

Kiek in de Kök is an artillery tower built in 1475. It gained the name Kiek in de Kok from the ability of tower occupants to see into kitchens of nearby houses. The tower is 38 m high and has walls 4 m thick. Cannon balls dating back to 1577 are still embedded in its outer walls. Throughout its working life, the tower was extensively remodeled. By 1760, the tower had become obsolete. At this time it became a repository for archives and some floors were converted to apartments.

Kiek in de Kok, Tallinn Estonia

More shots of Kiek in de Kok from the back where you can see the museum and there are also restaurants on the upper wall.

Kiek in de Kok, Tallinn Estonia

As our walking tour was a brief one, we didn't enter any of the buildings in the old town. Some photos below, some of which were taken when we walked about on our own after our official guided walk ended.

Tallinn, Estonia

We stumbled upon St Catherine's passage when we were exploring the old town on our own. At that time we didn't know of the significance of the passageway. Just thought that it was an interesting lane. Apparently the passageway is the remains of St Catherine's Church and is also one of the prettiest little walkways in all of old town. We didn't walk all the way to the other end as it was starting to get dark. After our little "adventure" with the homeless/drunk guy (see below), we decided not to be too adventurous :)

The old town of Tallinn is generally peaceful with tourists and locals walking up and down the different alleys minding their own business. But we were unfortunate that we bumped into a homeless/drunk guy who came after us asking for food initially and then for money. He refused to go away even when I had my umbrella in front of me, with the intention of "shooing" him away. He stopped following us when we reached the Town Hall Square where there were many people. Pheww,... thank God, he didn't attack us!!

Even after 7 centuries the Town Hall Square – Raekoja plats - still remains as the social heart of the city: during summer, it hosts several outdoor cafes, concerts and fairs and in December is transformed into a charming Christmas Market. Town Hall on Raekoja square, the only intact Gothic town hall in Northern Europe, now operates as a museum and concert hall. On top of the Town Hall tower, you will see the guard of Tallinn Old Town – Vana Toomas.

Town Hall, Tallinn

The oldest continuously working pharmacy in Europe, Raeapteek, is located right across the square.  

Raeapteek, oldest pharmacy in Europe

This building, RESTORAN KAERAJAAN, sounds like "Government Restaurant" in Malaysian. It's strange how diverse is the language and culture between Estonia and Malaysia and yet at the same time there are also similarities :)

Dome Cathedral - view from the back.

Dome Cathedral

The cross like structure on the left of the picture below is the Cross of Liberty  which was created to recognise the services of participants in the War of Independence 1918-1920.

Monument to the War of Independence

The Tallinn Song Stage was built in 1959 for the Estonian Song Festival. In 1988 Estonians gathered here – at the Tallinn Song Festival Grounds – to sing patriotic hymns in what became known as the Singing Revolution that led to the overthrow of Soviet rule.Today, Tallinn's Song Festival Grounds are also used for hosting international concerts.

Tallinn Festival of Songs Venue

Our hotel in Tallinn for 2 nights - Sokos Hotel Viru - is just in front of the old town and we have a magnificent view of the old town skyline at all times :) 

Tallinn old town