Top 6: Things we learned in Tallinn

Today Team Estonia went and explored Tallinn (capital of Estonia), and here's the top six things we learned!

Choo-Choo!

You can get a train every 20 mins from outside tourist information to take you around and show you all the sights of Tallinn. It is a favourite among young and old alike! ~ Alyson

Fat Margaret

With 46 towers, Tallinn was known as one of the most fortified towns in Northern Europe. Fat Margaret was built in the early 16th Century. It was built during the reconstruction of the medieval gate system. It is called fat because it is the largest part of the city's fortifications, with walls measuring 25m in diameter, 20m tall, and 5m thick (metres not miles!). It was built to stop invaders, but also to impress outside visitors arriving by sea. The hostel where we are staying takes its name from this impressive tower. ~ Charlotte

Cruise Ships

Large ships use Estonia as one of their main ports, meaning that the old town became over-run with tour groups during the day. Tallinn is home to many churches, and you can climb some of the towers. Today we explored the Orthodox Cathedral, and hopefully we will climb a tower on another visit to Tallinn. ~ Katie

Amber

Lots of places in Tallinn sell Amber jewellery and gifts. Amber is a type of fossilised tree resin, which can be found in the Baltics due to its climate. In fact, most of the Amber sold isn't real, and real Amber is really rare in Estonia. Doesn't stop all the touts and tourist shops advertising it though! ~ Margaret

Estonian Symbols

The lions on the Estonian coat of arms each represent something different. One of the lions symbolizes the courage of the fight for freedom in ancient times. The second stands for the courage in the uprisings in Harjumaa in 1343. The third represents the courage of the Estonian fight for freedom between 1918-1920.
The wreath of oak leaves stands for the perseverance and strength of Estonia and the evergreen traditions of freedom. ~ Emily

Vesi

As in most places in the world, bottled water is available at the supermarket. Being in Estonia, the writing is all in Estonian. We thought we did brilliantly at the supermarket by finding a large multipack of water for 29c, and we choose the blue one thinking it would be still water (like in the UK). Much to our disappointment - it turns out that blue means fizzy water in Estonia! ~ Tamara

Tomorrow (Tuesday) we will be heading to the Estonian National Guide Camp to run workshops and seminars with Leaders and Rovers. You might not hear from us for a couple of days (unsure on Internet status), but we will make sure to blog it all when we get back to Tallinn in a week!