Tallinn, Estonia

Melanie and I have spent the past few days in Tallinn, Estonia to attend the joint meeting of the Finnish and Estonian Societies of Toxicology meeting. The meeting was held at the Hotel Viru which was constructed in 1972. At the time it was built it was used primarily by foreign visitors to Estonia. Since Estonia was part of the Soviet Union the hotel was used extensively by the KGB to eavesdrop and photograph conversations. Each room was equipped with listening devices and others had small portholes to allow photographs to be taken. The hotel provides guided tours of the portion of the hotel (e.g., the 23rd floor of a hotel with 22 floors) that was used by the KGB. Doors leading to the KGB areas were marked with Russian text stating “There is nothing here”.

The Estonians are hosting Ukranian refugees on a cruise ship (the Isabelle) moored in the harbor. Over 1500 refugees have spent time on the ship. About 40% of the people on board the ship are children. Over 37,000 Ukranian refugees have arrived in Estonia and flags signifying solidarity are commonly seen. The juxtaposition of today’s events with those of the 1970s while Estonia was part of the Soviet Union are hard to escape. We also visited Freedom Square which contains the Cross of Liberty and the Monument to the War of Independence (1918-1920).

Tallinn has an old town and city wall that date back to medieval times. A Russian orthodox cathedral (Aleksander Nevski Katedraali) was built in 1900.

A highlight of the visit was a dinner and reception held at the Estonian Maritime Museum which is housed in a renovated seaplane hangar built in the 1910s. We enjoyed a brief tour of the museum followed by a dinner with a small brass band that played traditional Estonian music.