Our trip to Estonia started out in our typical style, with a 4am start to catch our bargain price flights. After a 3 hour flight (which is long by Europe's standards!) we landed in the capital of Tallinn. It was a chilly 4 degrees when we emerged from the airport, so we were quick to find a seat on a shuttlebus heading to the city. After a stroll through Old Town and a bite to eat we checked into our hotel. It was a gorgeous building full of character and wonderful double glazing to keep out the cold! We dropped off our bags and headed out to explore. We spent hours wandering the streets of Tallinn's Old Town, which resembled a fairy tale with it's red rooves, towers and city walls. With tired feet we finished the day by climbing the city wall. We found a tiny cafe at the top of the wall (up some seriously steep steps) and enjoyed some local beer and hot wine, and Vana Tallinn- a liquer made in Tallinn and enjoyed across the Baltic states. The locals say it resembles a cross between rum and jagermiester. Mix it with champagne and they say it will put hairs on your chest!

After a good night's sleep and a hotel breakfast of cheese, meat and black bread, we made our way to the notorious Hotel Viru. Hotel Viru was famous in the 70's and 80's during the latter part of the Soviet occupation in Estonia. It was known for being the place that the KGB spied on foreigner visiters. Rooms were fitted out with microphones hidden in the walls, in plates and even in ashtrays! The KGB were the security agency of the Soviet Union. Hotel Viru was the only hotel that the Soviets allowed visitors to stay in in Estonia. They did this so that the KGB could control how the rest of the world viewed the country, as visitors were not even allowed to leave the hotel complex. Only a selected few hotel staff were even allowed to talk to guests. We joined a tour which took us to floor 23, the very top of the hotel. The hotel lifts have always stopped at floor 22. During Soviet times guests were always told that the floor was under renovation, however it was a badly kept secret amongst locals that floor 23 was in fact the base for the KGB to receive surveillance information and forward it on to Moscow. On our tour we were lucky enough to be shown floor 23. We were taken to several rooms that have been kept exactly as they were left in 1991, when the KGB fled in the night as the Soviet regime was facing it's downfall. We even saw the secret recording and transmission equipment (large grey 80's style radios that took up half the room) that were discovered by hotel staff the morning after the KGB fled.

Following this amazing tour we wandered around the nearby market and sea front. We then climbed St. Olaf's Church, which was the tallest church in the world from 1549-1625. The views were amazing although the viewing platform got quite narrow as we wound our way around the steeple!

After a stop off for some afternoon tea we paid a visit to the Museum of Occupation. Here we learnt about the German and Soviet occupation of Estonia.

That evening as we wandered through Old Town we stumbled across a candle lit entrance below the town hall. We had accidently found ourselves in the Krugg Inn, a medieval style restaurant serving only Elk Soup and pies all for one euro each. We were served our food in terracotta bowls which customers need to clear away after eating! The food here was unexpectedly some of the best we have found in Europe.

On our last day in Tallinn we went on a two hour walking tour of the city. We got to hear lots of interesting about the different landmarks from local students who run these free tours.

We spent our last night exploring Old Town, enjoying amazing views of the city, more Elk soup and of course some Vana Tallinn!

We are writing this blog as we make our way to Latvia on a bus. We have loved every second of our time in the beautiful Estonia. We were struck most by the amazing way that the people have managed to preserve their language, food, culture and identity despite having struggled for freedom and independence for over 800 years.