who knew Estonia was an adventure?

The past few weeks have been densely packed for me, and I'm looking forward to the coming weekend of doing 'two-tenths of nothing', as Robert says.

Last month, Robert and I attended Drachenwald's Crown Tourney (the tournament that determines the next king and queen for our kingdom). The event was in Tallinn, in Estonia, a fascinating and ancient European city that I'd known almost nothing about before I arrived. It's physically tiny - you can cross it in a couple of hours, and be well into the next country - and has only 1.3 million people, 1/3 of whom live in Tallinn.

More than 10 years ago, I'd watched the end of the Soviet Union on TV, as did everyone in Canada. Estonia was unique in its 'bloodless revolution'; growing public calls for independence were tolerated, and eventually (through mechanisms I know not), the country was released from the Soviet Union, and declared autonomous. Estonians filled their football stadiums, and sang together for hours - they call it the singing revolution.

Tallinn's history as a city begins in the 12th century with the first mention in an Arab traveller's account. The story is a long series of
occupations and dominations by larger neighbours - Germany, Sweden, Denmark - as the port served the Hanseatic league for the medieval and early modern period. Tallinn was governed under a complex mix of laws - sometimes one part of the city fell under 'Lubeck Law', while another was under its own administration.

The medieval city grew rich as the Hansa laws required that anyone trading through Tallinn had to unload, store and reload, using entirely local draymen and warehouses; it was like a city of brokers and real-estate lawyers, middlemen taking a cut from other people's transactions.

As a nation they grabbed brief periods of independence, such as at the end of the Russian revolution; that lasted til the Nazis marched over the borders in 1940, only to be replaced by Soviet soldiers the next year.  The Estonian museums and histories state clearly: World War II ended in 1991, when the Soviet occupiers of Estonia withdrew.

Right now, Estonia benefits from its tiny currency, the kroon (abbreviated EEK), as western European tourists buy comfortable hotel rooms, meals, drink and souvenirs they wouldn't be able to afford in their own countries. Robert figured that our flight, hotel and food cost us about the same in Estonia as a weekend train and B&B trip to Lincoln in February, when we didn't even leave the UK.

Broadly, Tallinn caters to two types of tourists. Its compact Old Town of cobbled streets, medieval fortifications and rich history appeal to 'cultural' tourists like us. 

And it is lovely: we particularly enjoyed the coffeeshop in the old Town Hall off the central square wonderfully atmospheric. We sat at a tiny wood table and chairs lit by a candle, next to a leaded window set in a thick medieval wall, and sipped 'gluggwein' (mulled wine) a couple of times. 

That the candle was supplemented by very discreet modern lighting, and people sat at other tables tapping laptops was charming, rather than jarring for me. Because it's so compact, the entire Old Town is a Wi-Fi zone: that means that if your laptop is equipped with a wireless modem, you can surf the net from anywhere within the zone.

What I also found charming is that the shops still feature the same local products that made Tallinn rich as a trading city: linen, wool and woollen clothes, amber jewelry, carved wood objects, glass and ceramic. I bought a very cosy wool cardigan with a cat pattern (surprise!) from one of the street vendors - the only drawback is that I'm unlikely to have a chance to wear it much in the UK.

Competing for space in the Old Town are galleries and boutiques featuring artists in all these media; some of them get together in 'guilds' to share rent and space. I particularly liked one shop that specialized in felted hats; the makers began with a square of flat felt, and used old-fashioned hat forms and their own creativity to design a range of flat, cloche and bowler-shaped hats. When did you last see a hatter who makes hats one at a time?

The second type of tourist is the drunken weekend-stag-party variety, drawn by its very cheap liquor and beer, and weekend airfare and hotel packages. This is a big draw to Finns (who pay astonishing high taxes on alcohol at home) who apparently start drinking on the Friday ferry ride to Tallinn, and don't stop til they stagger home on Sunday afternoon. Some hotels won't accept stag groups at all, but evidently they are income for others.

(NB: In Europe, the British generally rule as the obnoxious drunken tourists that everyone loves to hate. The French nickname for the English has changed from the Napoleonic 'les rosbifs' to the modern 'les fuk-offs', thanks to the average English foul-mouthed football fan.)

On May 1st, Estonia will join the EU, along with nine other former 'Soviet' nations like its neighbours Latvia and Lithuania. Of them,
Estonia is consistently described as the 'best prepared' - and the city I saw is clearly open for Western business and tourism. Perhaps their small size, unified culture and their history of trade, negotiation and adapting to change has given them an edge over larger less flexible countries.