Tripatini2024-03-28T21:45:24Zhttps://tripatini.com/group/estonia/photos/feed/allHermann (aka Narva) Castle, the jewel of Estonia's third largest cityhttps://tripatini.com/group/estonia/photos/hermann-castle-narva-estonia2023-05-22T09:09:43.000Z2023-05-22T09:09:43.000ZRiccardo Rhttps://tripatini.com/members/RicardoR<div><img src="https://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/11134394501?profile=RESIZE_400x&width=400"></div><div><p>This city of some 55,000 lies in Estonia's northeast corner on the border with Russia (and indeed, many inhabitants are ethnic Russian because of Soviet resettlement policies post World War II), And this 3.2-hectare castle complex was built in the mid-13th century when this area was ruled by Denmark and was controlled by the Teutonic Order for most of its history. Today it houses a museum about Narva and the castle, as well as handicrafts workshops. More info <a href="https://www.visitestonia.com/en/narva-castle" target="_blank">here</a>.</p><p> </p><p><span style="font-size:6pt;"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Narva_asv2022-04_img09_Castle.jpg" target="_blank">A. Savin</a></span></p><p> </p></div>Raekoja plats, the hub of Tallinn's medieval corehttps://tripatini.com/group/estonia/photos/tallinn-estonia-raekoja-plats2023-05-22T08:30:14.000Z2023-05-22T08:30:14.000ZDavid Paul Appellhttps://tripatini.com/members/DavidPaulAppell16<div><img src="https://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/11134384452?profile=RESIZE_400x&width=400"></div><div><p>Dating back to at least the 13th century, this lively square is home to the city hall (pictured here), one of Europe's oldest continuously operated pharmacies, and a number of bars, restaurants and cafés. It also serves as a venue for a regular street market and concerts/festivals. <br /><br />Read more in my post <a href="https://tripatini.com/profiles/blogs/tallinn-estonia" target="_blank">A Return to Tallinn, Estonia</a>.</p>
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<p> </p></div>The Estonian Song Festival is a huge cultural landmarkhttps://tripatini.com/group/estonia/photos/estonian-song-festival-tallin-music-cultural-travel2023-05-22T08:16:24.000Z2023-05-22T08:16:24.000ZDavid Paul Appellhttps://tripatini.com/members/DavidPaulAppell16<div><img src="https://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/11134370460?profile=RESIZE_400x&width=400"></div><div><p>A few years ago I had the privilege of attending this national extravaganza, held in Tallinn together with the Estonian Dance Festival every five years since 1869 (the next one is in 2024), and I even got to sit in front of the then president of the country. One of the world's biggest choral events (and a UNESCO World Heritage Intangible Masterpiece), these days it involves some 30,000 singers and pulls in crowds of around 80,000. <br /> <br /> Read more in my post <a href="https://tripatini.com/profiles/blogs/tallinn-estonia" target="_blank">A Return to Tallinn, Estonia</a>.</p>
<p> </p></div>Tallinn's downtown bar/nightlife scenehttps://tripatini.com/group/estonia/photos/tallinn-estonia-bars-nightlife2023-05-22T07:59:41.000Z2023-05-22T07:59:41.000ZDavid Paul Appellhttps://tripatini.com/members/DavidPaulAppell16<div><img src="https://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/11134367295?profile=RESIZE_400x&width=400"></div><div><p>Mostly young locals and foreigners (especially Finns, in whose country alcohol is highly taxed) mingle on the streets of the old town in a frothy nightlife that goes on till the wee hours.<br /> <br /> Read more in my post <a href="https://tripatini.com/profiles/blogs/tallinn-estonia" target="_blank">A Return to Tallinn, Estonia</a>.</p>
<p> </p></div>A 'drunk Soviet tour' of Tallinnhttps://tripatini.com/group/estonia/photos/tallinn-estonia-drunk-soviet-tour2023-05-22T07:52:52.000Z2023-05-22T07:52:52.000ZDavid Paul Appellhttps://tripatini.com/members/DavidPaulAppell16<div><img src="https://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/11134364863?profile=RESIZE_400x&width=400"></div><div><p>One of the quirkiest memories of my last visit was conducted in a 1960′s bus with ratty seats and stinking of gasoline. Our guide was a youngish chap in a Soviet military getup (bottom left) who feigned drunkenness, kept demanding to see passports, and kept shouting, “Who you are working for?” Eventually he graduated to plying us with vodka; holding forth on the superiority of USSR to the decadent capitalist West whilst waving pictures of Leonid Brezhnev; trying to sign us up for “Communist Party membership”; and warbling a Red Army marching song or two (fortunately, it was an old warhorse called “Katyusha,” to which I just happened to know the words).<br /><br />Read more in my post <a href="https://tripatini.com/profiles/blogs/tallinn-estonia" target="_blank">A Return to Tallinn, Estonia</a>.</p>
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