A hop, skip and a boat or plane ride from Finland or Sweden takes you to Estonia on the Baltic Sea. Estonia boasts more than 1,500 islands, beautiful beaches where you can surf or swim, castles, churches, hilltop fortresses, craft beer and fabulous fruity wines. Still not convinced? From June through August the sun hardly sets, there are amazing music festivals that draw acts from all over the world, there’s a great university town and throw a rock and you’ll hit a fascinating museum. Contact GetAway Travel and we’ll help you punch that ticket to Estonia.

Tallinn, a capital steeped in history

 An important trading center in the Middle Ages, Tallinn is one of the best preserved medieval cities in Europe. Home to more than 50 museums, there are lovely old buildings around the square and you can’t miss the onion-domed Alexander Nevsky Cathedral. This Orthodox Church was constructed in 1900, across from Toompea Castle as a demonstration of Russian supremacy.

There are some interesting mosaic panels over the entrances of the church and the church towers have an incredible ensemble of bells including one that is 15 tons.

St. Nicholas Church, one of the most famous and beautiful churches in Tallinn, is no longer a place of worship. Originally dedicated to the patron saint of seafarers and merchants, it now is known as the Niguliste Museum. It holds a vast collection of church art from altars and gravestones to silver pieces. There is also part of Bernt Notke’s “Dance of Death” painting on display. The observation deck offers great views of the area.

The oldest medieval building in the city is St. Olaf’s Church. Dedicated to the king of Norway, it served as the center for Tallinn’s Scandinavian community. Climb to the top of the 196-foot spire for some fabulous views of the city. It should be on a day when you are feeling particularly fit — there are 234 stone steps to get to the top.

Museums for miles

There are no lack of museums in the city and no lack of unique museums. The Estonia Open Air Museum has authentic historic houses from all over the country. There are log homes, temporary homes used by nomadic fishermen from Hiiumad (one of the islands of Estonia), wooden windmills, a chapel and a Soviet-era collective farm.

Seaplane Harbor is one of Europe’s most interesting museums. The maritime museum is in a seaplane hangar and it features all types of vessels that sailed on and below the sea. Included in the more than 200 items on display is a century-old icebreaker, a seaplane, remains of the oldest ship found in Estonia and a 195-foot submarine built in England for the Estonian Navy. The Lembit is the only Estonian submarine warship constructed before WWII to survive. You can walk through the submarine, from the engine room to the sleeping quarters. The interactive displays offer great photo options, like piloting a seaplane, wearing a lifejacket, sitting in a dinghy, sit in a sailboat… etc.

Don’t worry about sending the pics to friends. There are free wi-fi hot spots everywhere in Estonia. As a matter of fact, the country is the birthplace of Skype and Hotmail.

Kadriorg Art Museum is inside Kadriorg Castle. This stunning example of Baroque architecture was built by Czar Peter I for Catherine the Great. The immaculate grounds have lovely manicured gardens with ornate fountains and sculptures. The museum has an extensive collection of Russian and European art from the 6th to 20th century.

You can take an archery lesson if you visit the ruins of Haapsalu Castle. There are turreted towers and walls still standing as well as creepy tunnels to go through if you are so inclined.  A museum is devoted to the history of the castle. It is supposedly haunted by the White Lady who is visible on the walls just past sunset. One cool feature of the castle grounds is the children’s playground which has a pirate ship for them to explore.

The oldest cafe in Tallinn is Maiasmokk and its home to the Marzipan Museum. Marzipan, an almond paste mixed with confectioners sugar, was supposedly invented in Estonia. In addition to the museum, you can learn all about the sweet at Kalev Chocolate Factory where you can sculpt your own marzipan figurine.

Estonia’s University City

 Tartu is the second largest city in Estonia and home to the University of Tartu. Established in 1632, it is one of the oldest universities in Europe. The student vibe gives the whole city an extra little boost of electricity in the air. The town square is lined with pastel buildings and in the middle is the famous Kissing Students sculpture. The fountain has been in the square since 1948, but the kissing sculpture was added in 1998. It was done by contemporary artist Matt Karmin.

The National Museum of Estonia in Tartu has more than 140,000 artifacts detailing the history of the country, its culture and customs. It’s also in a pretty cool building. The exhibition space is built over a bridge on a former Soviet military base.

Toomemägi Hill is the city’s birthplace. Here Tartu Cathedral, the only cathedral in the country with two spires, was built. The huge Gothic style wonder is partially in ruins now, but the ruins are pretty amazing and the part that still stands is the Tartu University Museum.

The Old Observatory, once the world’s most prominent astronomy site and now a UNESCO World Heritage Site, is also maintained by the university. You can climb the tower at the observatory and see the world’s largest telescope. It was here that instruments were developed to measure the curve of the earth, discover stars and first measure the distance to an individual star.

Thank the students for the proliferation of craft breweries and taprooms in Tartu. Also thank the students for the strong street art culture in the city. Every where you look the walls and horizontal surfaces have little portraits, large murals, cartoons and graffiti. It is illegal to deface surfaces with “graffiti,” ironically, the city is the host each year of Stencilbility which is an annual street art festival.

Speaking of festivals, in July and August the country turns into a music destination. There’s a four-day festival with well over 400 performers on dozens of stages as well as musical workshops featuring performances, that’s the Vijandi Folk Music Festival. Another large music festival is the Setomaa’s Treski Festival which runs for several days with a large variety of music as well as cultural events. In 20234 Tartu was nominated as a European Capital of Culture as a nod to the city’s wide variety of inclusive and sustainable cultural events.

And then there’s Saaremaa Island

 Once home to pirates, Vikings and ruled by at least four nations, Saaremaa is Estonia’s largest island. It’s worth a day trip to the island. There’s the Kaali Meteorite site where 7,000 a giant crater was formed when the meteorite crashed to earth.

Kuressaare Castle houses one of the most popular museums in the country — actually, three museums. There’s the castle itself, and farm museums with unique exhibits of tools as well as a complete farm including a blacksmith shop, threshing barn and carriage house. Kuressaare is one of the best preserved fortresses in Estonia. Explore the halls, passages, chambers, stairways and don’t miss the room near the bishop’s chambers It overlooks a dungeon where prisoners were supposedly fed to lions.

Do your plans to visit Finland or Sweden include a stop in Estonia? Maybe they should! The travel advisors at GetAway Travel can make that stop, and the rest of your vacation, an adventure to remember. We can be reached at:  (262) 538-2140, e-mail: sue@getaway.travel or paul@getaway.travel