Visiting Tallinn came up during the conversation in the Hilton lounge Helsinki. A young Estonian joined us for the drinks and gave us the snapshot of the Estonian history. Tallinn is only 87km by ferry from Helsinki and no visa is required for US citizens. 
The decision is unanimous, must go!
Next day we boarded the ferry and arrived in Tallinn. Our guide was waiting at the port and took us to vist the palace and Peter the Great’s summer residence. A very rustic and small structure converted into a museum in the middle of a beautiful garden. The palace is now turned into the Government house. The well kept gardens, fountains reminded me of Vienna. The maritime museum near theTallinn port show case EML Lembit the submarine that survived the World War II. The Seaplane Harbour museum has 100 years of history. Peter the Great built this as his naval fortress with its column less thin shell concrete structure. Amazingly preserved and our guide was very proud to show us around. 
Old town Tallinn is the tourist hub and the cobble stone streets remind the heydays of the Merchant guild or Hansa. The well preserved 12th century St. Mary’s Cathedral and the Russian orthodox Alexander Nevesky’s church display the contrast in the architecture from the gothic to the domes of Eastern Orthodox tradition. Estonia is now a secular state after the fall of communism in 1991.
It is in a strategic point connecting St. Petersburg in Russia and also a vantage port in the Baltic Sea.
There are many restaurants and our guide recommended the Olde Hansa with a medieval menu. Vegetarians have no choice only salad! So we browsed around the adjacent shop that has so many varieties of candles, soaps and medieval Estonian artifacts. Walking around the old town smelling the food, made us feel hungry. Time to relax and rest our feet. The unanimous choice was Chakra an Indian restaurant situated in the old town. Very nice ambience. The food and the service was great. The hot ginger tea energized us to explore the history around us. After visiting many cities in both western and Eastern Europe, I understand pattern of wars, the personas and human aberrations. Every war or migration provide lessons. Looks like we are in that eternal learning! Hopefully peace will prevail.
