THE BALTICS: STOCKHOLM, HELSINKI, AND TALLINN

“You should tell the truth, but all truths don’t need to be told.” – Queen Katarina of Sweden

This segment of our cruise has taken us through some of the major cities along the Baltic Sea. St. Petersburg was certainly the highlight, but the other cities were no slouches either. St. Petersburg will be treated in its own entry, but as for the others:

STOCKHOLM, SWEDEN

Ice Bar, Stockholm

Having spent some time here several years ago on a land trip, my expectation for this visit included one thing I found still to be true: Stockholm is one of the loveliest cities in the world. Spread across 14 islands where Lake Malaran flows into the Baltic Sea, Stockholm was settled by the Vikings around the year 1000 on sites that had been settled since 6000 BC.

Rune stone, circa 1000, on a street corner
in Stockholm's Gamla Stan

My time in Stockholm was divided into two pieces: a walking tour around Gamla Stan (the old city), which is a warren of alleys and walking streets fronted by lovely older buildings, some of which date back some 900 years, and a visit to the Ice Bar.

The Ice Bar in Stockholm is one of only three permanent ones in the world (there’s another one in northern Sweden that is part of an ice hotel, and is rebuilt every year). Everything inside is made of ice—the tables, the chairs, even the glasses that you drink from. It is on the ground level of a regular hotel. You enter through a transitional room, and are given a warm cape and mittens before entering the bar itself. 

Beth and our friend Cris, bundled up in the Ice Bar

The decor is, of course, ice sculptures. I’m told the theme changes from time to time, but during our visit it was a Viking theme. In the bar, you are served a vodka drink in a glass made of ice. Of course, all of us had to do the Christmas Story trick, and put our tongues on the glasses. No, the tongues did not stick.

Ice Bar glasses

 Yes, it was a hokey touristy thing to do. Yes, I loved it.

On my Viking throne

 HELSINKI, FINLAND

"O to be in finland/ now that russia's here" - e. e. cummings

 This year, Finland is celebrating its 100^th year of independence, though that independence was shaky through a large part of the twentieth century. Long dominated by Sweden, Finland came under Russian rule in 1809 as a result of Russia’s defeat of Sweden in the Finnish War. In 1918, Russia, distracted by its own revolution, granted Finland independence.

Something I had not realized is that, at the outbreak of WWII, Finland had allied with Germany. Soon thereafter, however, it realized its mistake and entered into a treaty with Russia for assistance in driving the Germans out. As a result, Finland was never occupied during the war. . However, as another result, Russia’s influence once again loomed large during the years that followed, until the breakup of the Soviet Union and Finland’s entry into the EU.

As for the city of Helsinki, its populace was decimated by the plague in 1710, and one quarter of the structures of the city were destroyed by fire in 1808 during the Finnish War.

The troubles of those years seem well behind Finland now, with a thriving economy and a well-educated populace that enjoys leisure time. The day we were in Helsinki was the hottest in the memory of the local people, with a high temperature in the neighborhood of 90 degrees F. So, despite it being a weekday, many people were out enjoying a stroll through lovely Senate Square, a dip in the public swimming pool built (literally) inside the harbor, or having a picnic on the massive and beautiful Suomenlinna island, home of a long-time military fortress and still the home of a naval college.

Viking monument on Suomenlinna island,
Helsinki

Helsinki harbor, complete with
swimming pool

TALLINN, ESTONIA

“Not many know where Estonia is, but everyone knows Skype. So now I say I’m the president of the country where Skype is.” - Toomas Hendrik Ilves, President of Estonia

Strategically located at the entry into the Gulf of Finland from the Baltic Sea, Tallinn is the capital of Estonia and the subject of many tugs of war over the years. First settled about 5,000 years ago, with a fortress constructed in 1050, Tallinn was long an important port for Baltic trade and the northernmost member of the Hanseatic League. Ruled by Denmark from the early 1200s, Tallinn came under German influence during the Protestant reformation, and then was ruled by Sweden until 1710, when Russia captured the Estonian territory.

Estonia declared its independence from Russia in 1918. Russia resisted, but WWI intervened, and Germany occupied Estonia for a period.  Estonia then managed to drive out both the Germans and the Russians, and obtain its independence, but it was occupied by the Soviet Union during the early part of WWII, and then Germany in the later part of the war. By the end of the war, it was re-occupied by the Soviet Union, and afterward annexed as part of the USSR.

As the Soviet Union was starting to crumble, Estonia, like other Baltic states, engaged in a series of steps to push for independence. Among these steps was 1988’s “singing revolution,” in which 300,000 Estonians, fully 20% of the country’s population at the time, gathered at the Song Festival Grounds in Tallinn to sing six songs that had become anthems of patriotism.

Today, Estonia is a thriving democracy and a member of the European Union. Tallinn has a strong artisan community, and Estonia a growing technology sector.

Artisans' street in Tallinn, with
buildings from 1200s