Today we stopped in Tallinn, Estonia. It's just across the straight from Helsinki. We were told by some friends that is was a really neat place and we agree. The town is over 800 years old and has a very checkered history. Estonians (like our guide) like to brag that Tallinn has never been conquered. That turns out to be true, but only because they surrendered to almost every army that approached their gates. First the Danes, who got tired of constant rebellion and sold the place to the Teutonic Knights, then the Swedes, then the Russians.... The place wasn't really independent until 1918. The benefit of all this easy capitulation is that the medieval portion of Tallinn is very well preserved. There is an upper town and a lower town (separated by a wall--the two parts didn't get along too well). Lots of churches and a nice town square with a town hall that is about 500 years old.
Here are a few pictures.
We also visited a demonstration site that showed how Estonians have lived over the centuries. They found typical buildings all over Estonia, took them apart and reconstructed them in a park outside Tallinn. Here's one of the houses. The thatched roof was remarkable.
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