Travelsmartplanet

Johann Voldemar Jannsen was an Estonian journalist and poet who wrote the words of the Estonian national anthem, Mu isamaa, mu õnn ja rõõm, (My Fatherland). In 1864, Jannsen also managed to persuade the Imperial censors to allow him to publish the first national Estonian language newspaper Postimees (The Courier) which is still published today in an online version.

As the leader of the choral society which organized the first nationwide Song Festival in Tartu in 1869, Jannsen played a crucial role in the Estonian National Awakening (every festival closed with his song, My Fatherland. Look for the blog called “Estonia Sings for Freedom” about this.)

Jannsen was the father of the poet Lydia Emilie Florentine Jannsen, who had to use the pen name of Lydia Koidula. Lydia wrote for her father’s newspapers, but had to use a different name because in the mid nineteenth century (in Estonia and in Europe) it was not considered suitable for a lady to be a writer.

The Singing Revolution from 1987 to 1991 was  a series of mass demonstrations featuring spontaneous singing.

Estonia is a singing nation: every town has a choir, and their boys’ choirs are well known. Every 5 years there is a major singing event in all the parks where people dress in native costumes and sing their little hearts out.

On May 14, 1988, the first expression of national feeling occurred during the Tartu Pop Music Festival. Five patriotic songs were first performed here and people linked their hands together, and a tradition began. In June in Tallinn people at the Old Town Festival moved to the Song Festival Grounds and similarly started to spontaneously sing patriotic songs together.

On September 11, 1988, a massive song festival, “Song of Estonia”, was held at the Tallinn Song Festival Arena where 300,000 people came  (more than a quarter of all Estonians); even  political leaders were participating actively, and were for the first time insisting on the restoration of independence. On November 16, 1988, the legislative body of Estonia issued the Estonian Sovereignty Declaration.

The Singing Revolution lasted over four years, with various protests and acts of defiance. In 1991, as Soviet tanks attempted to stop the progress towards independence, the Estonian Supreme Soviet together with the Congress of Estonia proclaimed the restoration of the independent state of Estonia and repudiated Soviet legislation. People acted as human shields to protect radio and TV stations from the Soviet tanks. Amazingly, through these actions Estonia regained its independence without any bloodshed.

Since Finland is so close to Estonia, it was possible to catch some non-Soviet, free world TV on the northern shores. More truth was learned here than what was permitted on Soviet television.

Perhaps this window on the free world helped set off the “Singing Revolution” where 200,00 Estonians sang patriotic songs and it was broadcast. This eventually led to independence from the Soviet Union.

Estonia was the most prosperous part of the Soviet Union.

Mart Laar Estonian became Estonia’s Prime Minister at the tender age of 32 in Oct 1992 and held the office twice. He is credited with successful major economic reforms transforming Estonia from a Soviet way of life to a free economy.

He abolished subsidies and import duties, created a flat income tax of 26% and started social security. He made it easy to do business there. A new company could be up and running in 2 weeks. Ericsson, Nokia phones are produced here and Skype was invented in Tallinn.

His leadership helped rank Estonia as the least corrupt country in the post-communist region and the Heritage Foundation / Wall Street Journal index qualified Estonia as the most economically free in all of Europe.

Guilds were formed back in the Middle Ages to bring like-minded tradesmen together and to form a teaching method for continuity of the trade. In Riga, Latvia, there are 19th century guild buildings still standing – one for big companies and one for the small merchants.

The guilds set the standards of hours, quality, number of masters, apprentices, etc. Each apprentice had to prove his competence to become a master by creating a “masterpiece” which was judged. Sometimes apprentices faked their credentials by just marrying the widow of their master and continuing his work.

In 1839, composer  Richard Wagner was a conductor at the Court Theatre in Riga, Latvia. His extravagant lifestyle and his wife Minna’s retirement from the stage led him to run up huge debts. He devised a plan to flee his creditors by escaping to Paris (via London) where he could make some money by getting Rienzi performed at the Paris Opéra.

Unfortunately, his plan turned to disaster when his passport was seized by the authorities on behalf of his creditors. Undeterred, he and Minna made a dangerous and illegal crossing over the Prussian border, during which Minna suffered a miscarriage. A ship’s (Thetis) captain agreed to take them without passports. Traveling through storms (the ship at one point took refuge in the Norwegian fjords at Tvedestrand), the 8-day trip plunked them in London 3 weeks after leaving Riga.

In Old Town of Riga, Latvia there are food market pavilions that have been open since the 1930’s. In Soviet times they were important because it was the only place a free economy existed. Farmers were allowed to come here and sell excess vegetables.

Nowadays it is full of butchers, groceries, cheeses, fish, pickled condiments, baked goods and some cooked food. We loved the meat dumplings in the tiny booth just to the left of the main door so much that we bought one and then turned around and came back for more. They were only about $.50 and I wish I could have one right now.

When you want that perfect vacation that combines calm rejuvenation with the rev of action, then head for Holland. Make Hotel Okura (www.okura.nl) in Amsterdam your home base oasis. Its modernity and cool decor belies the fact that it has been here for forty years and brought high end five-star luxury along with Japanese cuisine to Amsterdam. You can start off  by taking advantage of their jet lag program and then wind down in the pool, Japanese sauna, Turkish bath and health club.

Reaching for the stars, the family grabbed a few Michelin ones – half the ones in the whole city. The two-star Ciel Bleu perches appropriately on the 23rd floor, up in the blue sky with walls of glass, so every seat and every bite is a delightful wonder. Winding down is easy to achieve at the one-star serene Yamazato, set in 15th and 16th-century Sukiya style decor and with views of the Japanese garden to complement the Japanese culinary arts.

We dined at the new canal-facing Serre where some of those Michelin-trained cooks drifted. So for only 34 Euros you can taste the same heavenly cooking with simpler versions of last year’s Ciel Bleu’s signature dishes and more. Our bento box lunch was an artist’s palate of tastes and textures filled with 9 tiny delights (guinea hen in garlic sauce, crispy crab, steak tartare, bulghur, smoked salmon, roasted artichoke, all in sauces, foams and powders. Yum!

There is a 1 mile beach on the river Spree in the heart of Berlin.