Tallinn Lower Town

This picture was taken from the Upper Town of Tallinn. It shows some of the roofs of the Lower Town. In the background, you can see the Norwegian Jewel and another cruise ship.

At one time, the Upper and Lower Towns were different cities. The Upper Town was populated mainly by the upper class. The Lower Town was populated by the workers.

There was a single road between the towns. If there was a dispute, one or another or both towns would barricade the road and prevent people from travelling between the towns. Now both are part of Tallinn.

Estonia

After spending a pleasant day in Finland, our ship sailed overnight to Tallinn, the capital city of Estonia. The population of this small nation is around 1.34 million. The capital and largest city has around 400,000 residents. This means that the although Tallinn is the capital, it has the charm of a large town or small city.

The national flag is in the picture atop the castle tower. It has a blue, black and white strip. We were told that the blue represents the sky. The black represent the earth. The white is for purity.

Estonia regained its independence from the Soviet Union in 1991. It had been under Soviet, German and then Soviet control again since 1939.

After gaining independence, aggressive reforms resulted in it being the most prosperous region of the former Soviet Union. It joined the European Union in 2004.