In Rummu, the ruins of a prison and a diary protrude from the lake. Today this “Lost Place” is a popular rescue target.
Back in Rigain of the waiting time we played “City, Country, Crime”, on April 2004 at the police station in Riga: V for Venice, Venezuela and VW theft. Shortly before, a friend’s car had been stolen, including our luggage. The old Passat Variant with a German license plate was in the back yard of a house. When the interpreters arrived in the guard, we were led into a barren basement, past moldy walls and stacked typewriter. The hours after that we were interrogated if vehicle documents and car keys should also hand in. We protested, called the German message, but the police insisted on their Latvian laws. The commissioner was not interested in the fact that her country would become an EU member a few weeks later and that this would be handled differently internationally differently. In the end he raised the concentrated fist to a kind of socialist greeting and said mildly with a smile: “Bye. Take Care.” Around 20 years later we are back in front of the building in the Stabu Iela. It has decayed and is currently being renovated, the faded police -image can be seen on the wall of the unadorned stone construction. At that time, the commissioner said that slide gangs prefer to steal German cars and bring them to Russia. In fact, 15 years later, the friend received a letter that the Passat appeared in Moscow.
These days we go on a new road trip, review the time and explore the change. In 2004 the Baltic States were still visible everywhere. A third of the population was Russian -stem, almost half in Riga. You saw women in fur coats stroll through the Latvian capital and paid with LATS, meanwhile nerze are out and the euro. The previous day the local guide Andra Brice led through the renovated center with the cobblestone streets, past the three brothers, the oldest preserved residential complex from the 1490s, and the magnificent Art Nouveau houses. From the highest point of the city, the tower of the St. Petri Church, we looked over the metropolis and the Daugava river, which shares it. The Rigaern we meet is important to demonstrate their distance from the Russian regime. A huge protest poster that Putin shows with a skull shows opposite the message of Russia on the museum facade. And the city council has officially renamed the path section, after the beginning of Russia against Ukraine, to the Ukrainian independence street.
Riga from above: The Daugava River shares the largest city of Latvia with 600,000 inhabitants.
Look ahead: In the trendy bar Ezītis Miglā in Riga, furniture mix meets DIY art.
The former border post from Latvia to Estonia has long been orphaned. No vehicle had to stop here for a long time.
On May 1, 2004, the Baltic states of the EU and NATO joined. Lithuania, Latvia and Estonia combines fate of being suppressed again and again – in the case of Latvia, for example by German, Sweden and Russian rulers. The three nations have been free since 1991 and do not want to be referred to as ex-Soviet republics. Finally, they have their own cultures and languages. But the fear of being taken up again is back. Despite NATO. At the same time, the nations plan their upcoming festivals. If we go north, there is still time for a coffee stop in the trendy bar Ezītis Miglā. It is reminiscent of Berlin clubs from the nineties, inside there is colorful furniture, on the wall there is the saying “The Past is Over” glued with a neon lighting tape. The car ride from Riga to the Estonian capital Tallinn takes four hours. A few kilometers before the border is the beach of Vidzeme, it is wilder than the popular beach baths – and completely lonely. On the other hand, the Superalko shop and next door are well attended by the Alko Market, whose stylized advertisement shows a busty woman with a deep cleavage as well as the Finnish, Estonian and Latvian state flag in butterfly shape.
The alcohol shop on the Latvian side is popular-at Finns and Esten. Because here the prices are even cheaper than in their respective homeland.
Limitless width: the rough beach of Vidzeme on the Latvian side.
In 2004, the public bus still had to continue visionary in Tallinname. A policeman checked the passports that we luckily had with us. The European Spirit already blew through the bus. “Your Bad Luck wants gymnast into Good Luck Now”, promised a Spaniard from Barcelona when he found out about our experience. His job was to sell Baltic companies refrigerators. Spontaneously he invited us to dinner in Tallinn. The Estonians also watched that despite the theft, we collected many positive memories. This is also the case with later trips in the country that sees itself as a Northern European nation due to the proximity to Finland.
Tourists once ran through the medieval old town in summer. Today Tallinn has been filled all year round, the metropolis has changed a lot beyond the thick stone walls. Settlements were demolished and former shipyard site was built into a marina with popular restaurants like in Nolessner. Be it the Lore bistro in a former factory hall or the chic restaurant 180 ° in the multi -colored new building.
Beyond the old town, Tallinn continues to change: In the Noblessner port district, new buildings meet on discarded rails.
The Põhjala creative center is now located in former factories in the Kopli district.
The Lore bistro in Nolessner
In Telliskivi, visitors discover Street Art of Edward von Lõngus.
“My mission is to present Estonian pop art to a wider audience.”
Linnar VIIK
Due to the Tiger Leap program, the targeted promotion of computers and IT in education, Estonia turned to a modern state. As early as 2005, they were the first people worldwide to vote online in national elections. Esten designed the software for Skype, Bolt and other start-ups were founded here. “We are start-up world champions via capita,” says IT visionary Linnar VIIK. His current project is the Pop & Contemporary Art Museum (Poco) in the Rotermann district. It leads through the exhibition, which, in addition to Andy Warhol, Roy Lichtenstein and Banksy, also shows works by local artists. “My mission is to present Estonian pop art to a wider audience,” says VIIK. In the end we stand in front of a meter -long Mural of Edward from Lõngus. The anonymous street artist works with stencil technology and has made this socially critical collage especially for the Poco. Individual sequences of this can also be discovered on Tallinn’s facades. For example, at the creative center Telliskivi the smiling hipster who makes selfies with death. Diving in Rummuam next day we drive out for an hour to Rummu. The former quarry and lake, from which the ruins of a prison look out, is a popular destination. In summer you can do diving trips there and walk over the site all year round. It seems strange to us to go swimming where inmates once did forced labor in the quarry. But then there is also the question of how to deal with all the factories in which people were exploited 100 years ago. The Estonians market Rummu as “Lost Place”, and in Tartu a disused Soviet factory serves as a cultural hotspot.
Artist in Tartusie is called Aparaaditehas and is our first destination in the second largest city of Estonia, which was one of three European cultural capitals in 2024. At that time, umbrellas, can openers and secret submarine parts were produced in the halls, now designers, artists or tech start-ups are tinkering with their ideas. And concerts and happings take place regularly in the courtyard. The star of the house cannot be seen on our tour. Johannes Gutenberg is probably sleeping in one of the aisles, and the black and white spotted hangover over the site for years. Aparaaditehas also include a second manual store, cafés and the Haki Galerii. At the entrance there is a feed and water bowl for Gutenberg. His name comes because there was a center for printing and paper art on the property for a long time. The hangover is rarely seen during the day. “But he usually drops by at our evening exhibition openings,” says the gallery owner.
Tartu is the most important university city in the country and is easy to explore on foot. Along the banks on the EMAJõgi river and in the parks you can see many young people. Jaak Tomberg teaches current literature and specializes in poetry, science fiction and literary utopias. We meet the lecturer in front of the university’s main building. Utopian was the idea three years ago that Putin would start a war in the middle of Europe. The crack weighs particularly heavily in Estonia because a third of the population is Russian -stem. When asked about the war, the 44-year-old says: “We are in the middle of the situation, there is new terrible news every day.” In front of the main house, Estonian and Ukrainian flags, and in the evening the facade shines in solidarity yellow-blue. “It will take longer than my lifetime to rebuild relationships.”
A national treasure at the former military airport in Tartu: In the Eesti Rahva Muuseum, modern architecture meets Estonian history. Photo: Erm
Before going south, it is worth a visit to the Eesti Rahva Muuseum. The National Museum on the property of the former military airport is noticeable through its architecture. The building becomes an expansion of the roller field, and its slightly weird roof should symbolize the departure – into the future and freedom. The innovative permanent exhibition “Encounters” tells of the everyday life of the Estonians in the course of their eventful history, and in “Echo des Urals” you get to know Finno-Ugric peoples, some lives along the Peipussees. Angela Ader lives in one of the villages that the trained teacher belonged to the Tartu2024 team. Together with her we drive along the “onion route”. The name stems because the best onions thrive on the sandy bank. At the side of the path, locals sell their harvest, the restaurants serve hearty cuisine and hang on the walls made of onions made. What also makes the region extraordinary are the old believers. Her ancestors fled from Russia in the 17th century. When the Russian Orthodox Church introduced reforms that they did not want to accept, they were tortured at home. In Estonia, their customs can still be experienced-in churches decorated in icon or in the Museum of Kolkja including VR experiences.
“Like an onion, this region also has many layers.”
Herling Mesi
The village of Varnja is just a few kilometers further, whose rustic wooden houses were partially repaired with stones in the DIY style. “Like an onion, this region also has many layers,” explains Herling Mesi, who runs the Samovar house. Before we sit on the board, the lively Estonian shows us a best of your 236 Samovare. Mesi’s man used to work nearby as a border soldier, one day there was the opportunity to buy this former house of old believers. Now she serves her freshly baked onion cake here and shows how to drink tea in a traditional way. It is gradually poured onto the saucer and soaked.
There are numerous offers along the onion route, in Varnja Herling Mesi greets the guests in their Samovar house. There she serves, how could it be otherwise, homemade onion cake.
When asked about the current political situation, Mesi says: “You can’t reproach the Samovar.” They rarely talk about the war in the village. One thing combines them all: they want peace. As a civilian, her husband volunteers in the Estonian Defense Association. In winter, when the Peipussee is frozen, it offers tours for ice fishing. The water is seven times larger than Lake Constance – so there is enough distance from the unpleasant neighbor at the end of the western world. The motto of the Capital of Culture could also be a self -diagnosis of the resilients Esten: “Arts of Survival”, survival skills.
Arrival direct flights with Airbaltic to Riga from Berlin or Frankfurt from 114 euros, Berlin -Tallinn 115 euros, Frankfurt via Riga to Tallinn from 214 euros. On the way, Lux-Busse from Riga to Tallinn (16 euros), from Tallinn to Tartu (10 euros), luxexpress.eu/. Trains from Tallinn to Tartu: from 13 euros: Elron.ee/ overnight Art Nouveau apartment Hotel Neiburg in Riga, DZ from 109 euros. Studio apartment: Neiburgs.com. 5-star Hotel Telegraaf in Tallinn, DZ from 173 euros www.telegraafhotel.com/. 4-star Hotel Lydia in Tartu, DE from 123 euros: Lydia.ee/erleben Tour with Riga-Guide Andra: www.andraguideriga.com. Rummu, admission 6 euros: rummu.ee/. From the 3rd to 6th April the popular festival Tallinn Music Week takes place, tmw.ee; In November the Film Festival Pöff: Poff.ee/. Estonian National Museum: Erm.ee/. Onion route – on your own or with locals, www.sibulatee.eemehr at latvia.travel, Visitestonia.com, Visittallinn.ee/