It's time to take the step towards the edge.
Oh my God.
Whoo hoo hoo hoo!
[Travel sounds]
Good morning guys. How are we doing? Welcome to the beautiful capital of Estonia - Tallinn.
Tallinn is the city with tons of history and a beautiful old quarter. It's actually a UNESCO
World Heritage Site and we're about to go explore it in one of the most unique ways
possible.
On the roofs.
Estonia is distinct from its neighbors.
Baltic but also Nordic.
Formerly Soviet, yet not Russian.
And these complex layers of history are still visible today in its capital, Tallinn.
The Old Town Skyline hasn't change much since the middle ages, partly because of luck, but
also because the locals who keep it looking sharp.
Like this guy, Leo.
Alright guys. Well we've just met up with Leo. He is awesome and he's a legitimate chimney
sweeper.
We're going to go climb up on the roofs and see how he does his thing.
Well this is going to be quite the experience.
I have to admit that when I was a kid…Mary Poppins was my favorite movie.
I watched "Step In Time" literally on repeat and today I actually get to live it out and
go up on the chimney sweep like Bert.
Are you step in timing in the background?
[Laughter]
Apparently it's good luck to rub the buttons of the chimney sweeper…and it looks like
he likes to rub buttons too.
[Laughter]
What I was thinking when I first met Leo was that he looks like America's 16th present,
Abraham Lincoln. You guys see the resemblance?
I do.
Honest Abe.
Oh my God guys, I probably shouldn't be vlogging this but we have no…no safety equipment
and it's raining and there's like moss on this metal roof…
So I think I'm just going to stand like here and then film him doing it cause I don't want
to go any closer.
Whoa cat! Cat! Uh oh the cat is just sliding down.. Dude, you know it's dangerous when
the cat is about to fall off the roof. Sketchy.
I think we're going to go get some breakfast and then we are going explore more of the
Old Town. So…thanks to Leo, see you guys on the ground level.
[Bells ringing]
So we just finished breakfast and we're about to just start exploring the Old Town, which
was founded about a thousand years ago and has gone back and forth between many different
powers because Tallinn is in an extremely strategic position.
It's between Stockholm and St. Petersburg and it's the gateway to northern Baltic and
to Russia.
Estonians are most close linguistically and culturally to Finns, but over the years Tallinn
has been controlled by Danes, Swedes, Germans, and Russians.
Each one called it a different name but the name that stuck the most was Raval, which
was the name of the city until Estonia got its independence in the 1920s.
So we are going to learn more about this city, the history, going to meet up with a tour
guide named Lina who is going to show us the city wall to start off and the impact that
all these cultures had over the years.
Basically Tallinn was a German-speaking Hanseatic town and most of its trade was via sea
to the east. And this sold stop after the Livonian War in mid-16th century.
Everyone was so poor that all of a sudden they couldn't build anything new and that's
why the old parts of the city are so well preserved.
Okay so one of the first foreign forces to come to Tallinn was the Danes.
They came here as part of the Northern Crusades, which was Christianized by the people of Northern
Europe.
They built a fort here, they stayed for a while, and they also supposedly had inspiration
for the modern Danish flag right here.
So we're going to go up to the Danish Gardens where the legend began.
So there is a reason why this is called the Danish Gardens and it has something to do
with crusades, Danes killing Estonians, and divine intervention.
Basically, long story short, they were in a fight with the Estonians. The Estonians
were winning and at the very last moment – deus ex machina - divine intervention, God comes
down and presents red with a white cross.
That's the Danish flag and is the longest continually used flag in the world and they
are still rocking it today.
And this happened the like the late 1200s.
1219.
Early 1200s.
Yeah.
Either way. A long time ago.
Alright so next part of history, Tallinn enters what I think is the super interesting phase,
the Hanseatic League, which was a precursor to the European Union, a city-state alliance
of people from across the Baltic.
Here they would trade furs and amber for salt, wines and spices from the west and it got
the city rich.
Alright guys well we learned a little bit of history today but now it's time for lunch.
We're heading to a place called The Olde Hansa. Hansa like the old Hanseatic League.
It's in a fifteenth century building and it's kinda like the Estonian version of Medieval
Times. Things could get weird right now.
Strong honey beer. Lots of really good food on the menu. It's pretty awesome.
Yeah, but I wonder what it was like in medieval times...
Reval, also known as Tallinn. The year, 1543.
'Scuse me, sir. Some strong ale for ya.
I just came in from London on a trading mission and I'm famish. What would you recommend from
the menu?
Well…I can't really read, sir, but if I was to reckon my opinion, I think Sir von
Ulrich's melted game pot looks lovely.
Bloody knave! It's so hard to get decent service.
I have recently came off a small bout of gout. So I want something relatively healthy.
So the game pot it is? Comin' right up!
Peasants! Ugh! Well at least the ale is strong.
Knave? Peasant? Oh I'll show you!
Hold your horses love. A little bit of local flavour for our foreign friend.
Ah, a hearty feast.
It's spicy!
Extremely spicy.
I must excuse myself.
[Dramatic Medieval Music]
I think I have merchant's belly!
Not so noble now is ya? Pooping on the throne.
Probably better nowadays.
Yeah.
[Wink}
Well that was a great medieval meal, but...
Now it's back to more recent times.
And finally we arrive back into the 20th century.
We are at the Seaplane Harbor. This was built one hundred years when Tallinn was part of
Tsarist Russia and this was part of a system of naval fortifications to defend nearby St.
Petersburg.
So they have some cool exhibits inside and they have some simulators that we're gonna
go play around on.
You ready?
Oh yes! For sure.
All aboard!
So this submarine was built in the 1930s for the New Republic of Estonia. Estonia got its
independence right after this whole Seaplane Harbour was built in 1920.
Um, but it was only independent for 19 years until the Nazis and Stalinist Russia divided
Europe in the Molotov-Ribbentrop Pact and Estonia was invaded by the USSR. It was then
and re-invaded by the Nazis… then “liberated” [i.e. invaded] a second time by the Soviets,
where it stayed until the end of the cold war.
But to learn more about that history we're going to go across town to a very symbolic
place in Estonian history.
Ssh!
[Ridiculously loud bell ringing]
Oh my God!
Run! Run away!
[Alarm ringing]
Okay, so
now we are on top of the Estonian TV tower, which played a crucial role in Estonian's
second struggle for independence.
In the late 1980s during perestroika and glastnost Estonians began civil disobedience against
the USSR's rule.
There was a lot of singing of patriotic songs that were banned during Soviet times.
And the final cultivation of everything to declare independence.
In 1991, there was a stand off for the Soviet military here
Some policeman stayed here defending the tower which was the only connection to the outside
world, and eventually the Soviets backed down and Estonia became independent.
So this TV station plays a huge role in Estonia's story, their history, and now we are going
to walk on the top of it!
We are a couple hundred feet up in the air and it's kinda windy outside.
Should have a good view!
And depending on how crazy we are feeling we might take a little lean over the edge.
No smoking. No throwing stuff.
No dancing!
Sorry Marko!
We're literally at the top of this thing and that is the shadow. A couple of hundred feet
down there.
This place casts a long shadow in Estonian history.
[Bad joke]
It's time to take the step towards the edge.
Oh my God.
Whoo hoo hoo hoo!
[Music]
[Thunder clap]
Dramatic exit from the TV tower!
It's starting to rain!!! Ahh!
Well guys it's the last stop of the day and we're transitioning to the most modern, the
best restaurant in Estonia.
So we're at NOA, which does a modern interpretation of traditional Estonian food. So it should
be really good meal.
In a very scenic location.
Well guys today we brought you from past to present but tomorrow we're switching gears.
We are going to go from traditional to the trendy. Showing you all the cool new things
going on here in Tallinn.
If you guys enjoy the video, then make sure you give a thumbs up, share it with your friends,
and subscribe to Vagabrothers for new travel videos every week.
Every Tuesday and Thursday. Let's be specific here!
In the meantime stay curious, keep exploring, and we'll see you guys on the road.
Peace!
[Chewbacca noise]
Let me fly!
Take it easy, Chewbacca.
[Laughter]