Tallin, Estonia
My Baltic Adventure Alexander Nevsky Russian Orthodox Church We were on an offshore excursion in Estonia, heading to the Song Festival Grounds (Lauluvaljak) – the largest open-air entertainment and music festival grounds in the Baltic. As we passed the coastal district of Pirita, our guide pointed to the bay and said, "It's the Gulf of Finland. You can take a boat to Helsinki from here." Helsinki is only 80 kilometers away and shares the Gulf of Finland with Estonia. Tallinn, the largest city and capital of Estonia is on the southern coast of the Gulf of Finland. Our guide told us a little bit of history of Estonia and Finland under Soviet rules for decades and the contrasts between the two countries post-Soviet Union. Although close in proximity, Helsinki, the capital of Finland has remained subdued and Scandinavian, while Tallinn, the capital of Estonia, has transformed itself into a tourist mecca and has adapted a Western European attitude. Tallinn was named...