Tallinn, Estonia
If I would have made a list of countries to visit, I would not have had Estonia on that list. But when my daughter, Emily, asked me to travel there with me, I said yes. We stayed right within the walls of Tallinn.
I quickly realized how special that decision had been. Walking through the old town felt like stepping into another century. Within these medieval walls, cobblestone streets curved between narrow buildings painted in soft colors. Tallinn’s Old Town is designated a UNESCO World Heritage Site and recognized for being one of the best-preserved medieval city centers in Europe.
From the lower town, we climbed stone steps. From the overlooks, the view opened into a sea of red roofs. Below us were guild halls and merchant houses from the city’s days as a Hanseatic trading center. Tallinn was a major port in the Hanseatic League, linking merchants from Germany and Scandinavia with markets farther east. The wealth from that era built the stone warehouse, guild halls and defensive towers that still define the old town today.
Estonia has been at a crossroads between East and West. Over the centuries, it passed through Danish, Swedish and Russian rule before enduring decades under Soviet occupation in the 20th century. This small country regained its independence in 1991.
Tallinn proved to be a beautiful town enclosed within its ancient walls. Like so much in life, meaningful journeys begin with a simple “yes”.
Read More From Nancy
Nafplio and Worry Beads – Greece
While visiting Greece this year, we drove to Nafplio, a town that was built for wandering with its narrow cobblestone streets. This romantic seaport town in the Peloponnese, was part of Greece’s first modern capital. Among its charms, we discovered a shop filled with strands of komboloi or Greek worry beads. These beads are not […]
Omaha Beach – France
When we stood on the sands of Omaha Beach at Colleville-sur-Mer, it is hard to grasp the sheer scale of what occurred here on June 6, 1944. The shoreline is now peaceful, but on D-Day it was one of the most violent and deadly battlegrounds in modern history. In the early hours of that morning, […]
Cathedral in Saint Hyacinthe – Quebec, Canada
While teaching outside Montreal, we visited the town of Saint-Hyacinthe. I love exploring small towns, and I was not disappointed as we drove into the tree-lined streets, modest homes and then the skyline changed with the cathedral. The Cathedrale de Saint-Hyacinthe dominates its neighborhood. A cathedral of this scale and design speaks to the depth of […]
