Tallinna Teletorn
(Tallinn TV Tower)

About 6 km east of downtown Tallinn is the Tallinna Teletorn.  It is a tower that is host to television and radio broadcasting equipment and antennae.  It is constructed of reinforced concrete and the observation deck rises 170 meters (558 ft) above ground.  You may be asking, "Why are you posting about a TV tower?"  This is no ordinary tower.  There is significant history associated with it.  Let me explain.  On August 20, 1991, in the midst of a coup d'tat in  Moscow to replace Mikhail Gorbachev, Estonia declared its separation from the U.S.S.R. and reasserted its independence.  Soviet troops were sent into Tallinn to try and prevent these events from gaining any momentum.  They thought that by taking control of the TV tower they could prevent any information from reaching the people of Estonia via radio or television.  When it was known that Soviet troops were approaching the tower, it was evacuated except for a small handful of police who stayed behind to prevent entry.  They barricaded themselves on the 22nd floor and prepared for the worst.  It would be a simple matter for the Soviets to board the elevator and ride up and seize control.  However, it didn't happen that way.  Due to some quick thinking, someone at the top placed a matchbox in the door of the elevator to prevent it from closing.  As a safety feature, the elevator car could not move unless the outer doors were completely shut, so it just sat there.  

An Estonian matchbox from who-knows-when.  It reads:
 "Grandma, are your lungs healthy?"

The troops were forced to climb the nearly 1,000 steps to the top.  This bought the defenders some time.  When the troops threatened to blast open the doors, the Estonian police, who were barricaded behind the doors, threatened to activate a halon gas fire extinguishing system that completely removes all oxygen from the room.  This would, in effect, kill everyone, including themselves.  It may be debatable as to if there really was a halon system or if it was actually functional.  The Soviets bought it and did not try to enter.  Eventually the coup d'tat in Moscow was ended and the troops were sent packing.  In the midst of all this, Estonians had been notified of what was happening at the tower and hundreds of them showed up to show support for their countrymen.  Their numbers overwhelmed the Soviet troops by comparison.  

Below are some pictures of our visit

Tallinna Teletorn

View from the top

It was a bit chilly and windy outside

This hole in the floor gave me the shivers.
Yes, that's the base some 558 ft below

For 20 euros extra, you can go outside the
safety fence and face certain death strapped
to a harness

These young girls tried it.  Not me!

Soviet Era assault vehicle

Eesti Vabaõhumuuseum
(Estonian Open Air Museum)

Want to step back in time?  Go to the Estonian Open Air Museum.  Bring a lunch because it will take all day to see the entire 195 acres that comprises the museum.  It is a life-sized reconstruction of an 18th century rural/fishing village.  It comes complete with a church, schoolhouse, an inn, several mills, a fire station and 12 farm yards.  Every weekend, there is a local dance group that comes to perform the old folk dances and songs of times long ago and lucky us, we just happened to be there when they were performing.  I can try to describe it, but the video will do it better.

This is a cute courting dance.  If a girl can steal a boys stick, he can only reclaim it by giving a kiss.  Below is more of the same.

I'm not sure what this one above was about, but it looks like the women have corralled a horse.

                A fun little folk dance with pairs and couples.

I got pulled into this dance above.  You know I can't resist a good polka, or whatever it was.  They came and grabbed me and before I knew it, I was in the dance (just look for the back of my head).  That BYU Folk Dancing class I took 40 years ago came in handy.

A women's dance.  I wasn't invited. I put this in so you could see all the various colors of their costumes.  It is so fun to see the different styles from the various regions of Estonia.

           Not the Virginia Reel, but something like it, I suppose.

It's kinda long, but the story line is this: The man is looking for a needle.  Notice how he looks for it.  At some point the "needle" is discovered and she tries to get away but is eventually caught.

OK, I get caught again.  This time, I don't have time to pass off the camera to Sister Allred as she was caught also.  This is really fun.

After the dancers were through, we toured most of the displays.  The houses and barns are from the 18th and 19th century and were rebuilt here or transported here from other areas.  As you can see from the pictures below, this land is so green and lush and very rich in culture.  We saw a video portrayal of Estonian courting and wedding customs of the early 19th century.  It was quite entertaining.  The grooms father would usually come and arrange for the engagement by placing a bottle of vodka on the table.  If the girl's father drank from it, then the proposal was accepted.  Later on, when the wedding was set, the intended groom would come to look for the bride and would have to search the house for her as she would be in hiding.  Sometimes, decoy women (usually female relatives) were presented as the bride to throw the groom off track.  Once found, the bride would be whisked off for a "makeover" at the sauna.  She would then be adorned with the traditional headdress and apron of a married woman. 

Married woman with headdress and apron

 She would then hold the apron up so that guests could throw money in it.  At the wedding feast, the groom and bride would sit at the table with the others, but were only allowed three bites which had to be fed to them.  The bride had to have her head covered. After the wedding, the bride usually gave handmade gifts to the guests. The wedding party usually lasted 4 days.

Wind mill for grinding grain

Country lane

This is actually a sauna

Inside the barn

Typical stone fence.  It's found everywhere.

  

At the Food Bank

Every two or three weeks, we have the opportunity, as a district, to serve at a local food bank.  We dress in P-Day clothes and go to what looks like an old warehouse.  Upon entry, we discover that it is indeed an old warehouse.  Inside are boxes of food that have been removed from the stores because the expiration dates have passed.  The organization gathers this food and packages several items together to form a "box".  The box is then distributed to the needy.  Our task is to assemble or load each basket with the 15-20 items that are being given.  There is always some bread, some yogurt, cans of some vegetable, pasta, cookies or candy and maybe a drink of soda or fruit juice.  Each person has a specific task to load certain things into the box.  It gets crazy with so many things being loaded all at once, but it's fun and we enjoy it.  Below are some pics.

Food boxes being filled

An evening at Old Town

Every so often we venture into Old Town.  What is Old Town you ask?   In the 13th century, crusading knights of the Teutonic Order built a castle on where Tallinn now sits.  At the time, it became a major center for commerce with much wealth. Remnants of the castle still remain and the streets are all cobblestone.  Yes, it will take you back a few centuries.  There are shops and eateries everywhere and people still live there.  Much of the castle wall is gone, but enough remains that will make you feel as if you've gone back in time.  The banner picture on this blog is of Old Town with it's distinctive red tile roofs.  One evening on our walk, we took a different route and ended up in an obscure area where we met angels of death.  Actually, they are monks.  They are found in what is called the Danish King Garden.  Legend has it that the Danish King Valdemar II, was at war with the people (in what is now Estonia) and was losing badly.  In a plea to heaven, a flag fell from heaven in the form of a lamb skin banner with a white cross on it (this, by the way, is the basis for what is now the Danish flag). The king showed it to his men and they took courage and won the battle.  Why are the monk statues here?  It could be that they were somehow connected with Bishop Anders Sunesen, who did the praying to heaven.  There are many versions of this story.  I'm going with this one.  

Danish Flag

Since the castle was built by crusaders, there are quite a number of churches in Old Town.  They are mainly tourist attractions now and aren't used much for religion anymore.  Also along our walk, we found surviving remnants of the wall and towers.  The country has done much to leave it the way it was back then.  One of the churches in Old Town is the Alexander Nevsky Cathedral.  It was built around 1900 when this land was part of the Russian Empire.  It was named for Alexander Nevsky who won the Battle of the Ice in 1242.  It was fought almost entirely on a frozen lake (south of Narva and northeast of Tartu).  That's the kind of winter we have to look forward to here in Estonia.  Yes, we saw our breath the other morning on our walk.   Really?  It's September! 

One of the many towers

Each wall has a story to tell

Alexander Nevsky's Cathedral

One of the many churches in Old Town