Singing Revolution

Tallinn - the capital of Estonia. A country who's entire population is less than Los Angeles, Phoenix, Indianapolis. At roughly 1.4 million inhabitants, it has a population just a little smaller than Milwakee. I only planned on staying in Tallinn for two days, but it turned into six. I always said that during this journey I wasn't going to stick to a solid timeline; that I was going to allow myself the flexibility to come and go as I wish. If I desired to stay longer, I would, and if I wanted to leave sooner, I would do that as well. It started in a bookstore: the day before my original proposed departure I went to the bookstore to get some new reading material for the four hour train ride I had. There I met an Argentinian/Swedish guy with whom I exchanged numbers and met up with later that night.

Shots in Tallinn

 I met his friends, one Spanish, one Estonian, and spent the night on the town. I met some American basketball players that are in the European league who invited me to a game the next day, I met some locals and other travelers, and was convinced to stay at least another night. It continued to unfold and turned into a great week; all of which was made possible by my generous host allowing me to stay with her some extra nights. But alas, I tore myself away and went to Tartu, which is where I learned about The Singing Revolution!



I had what I would consider a pretty typical 11th year of life -  I had a crush my 5th grade teacher, Miss Franz. I was preparing to perform Billy Jean at the talent show (which I was doing to recover from the humiliation of playing the accordion in the previous year's talent show!) and was sporting the ever popular parachute pants and turtle necks. Oh, 1991 - what a great year! On the other side of the world from me though, something was happening that impacted millions of lives. And like most 11 year olds of the time, something to which I was completely oblivious: the fall of the Soviet empire.

Host in Tartu

It had been in the happenings for years, and I'm sure I learned about it in school. I'm sure my parents watched it on TV, but for me, it was something too abstract to grasp. My last host in Tartu, Estonia, (we share the same great birthyear) told me of her experiences as a child and growing up under Soviet rule and being pushed out by the KGB. Because her parents had refused to cooperate and spy on their friends, they lost everything - their jobs and their house literally overnight. She shared her experience of the year when they finally had "freedom"! She recommended a documentary to me which she downloaded and put on my computer: The Singing Revolution. It is a powerful film which gives the modern history of Estonia and it's struggle for indepenence. How it was all won without bloodshed, and rather, won by SINGING. Here is a link to the trailer of the documentary. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CVYqFPq88VU

It is likely that most Americans would have trouble saying, yet it's access to the Baltic sea makes it very prime real estate in Eastern Europe and previously for the Russians. If you like nice people, flat lands, cheap drink and old buildings, I can recommend Estonia!

Panorama of Old Town Tallinn