Tallinn

31 July- managed to get ourselves upgraded to a suite. Only after a sleepless night however due to being on 3rd floor- highest floor in a small room with a non functioning air conditioner. We must have sounded pretty crabby last night. Forgave them no safe in the room when they said could hold valuables downstairs, forgave the lack of a little mini bar to keep water in but when aircon stopped working we did get a bit techy. We thought nothing could be done but for day 2 they offered us a bigger room with more Windows and a fan. Still no aircon but is also lower down and it is mid afternoon and feels much cooler. The bathroom even has a sauna in it- will pass on that. Had another interesting morning walking tour. The city is similar to Riga but better preserved as has never really been invaded as such- occupied but only really under attack once during WW2 by the Russians. Tour guide said this but then again when went to upper old town- were shown Russian cannons embedded in a tower. The guide was also keen to make clear that Estonia has essentially been part of Western Europe for most of its existence. Russia has not been the predominant influence. Was also keen to say how important the EU and NATO were for them- no brexit for Estonia. What else? Well Estonians while Lutherans like Latvia, are not generally religious people. They see themselves as more pragmatic or less romantic than the Latvians or Lithuanians. Also culturally their most defining feature is their language. Oh and marzipan. Most of the tourist stuff on sale is not really traditionally Estonian- definitely not the amber apparently. They don't even really have a defining food ( other than marzipan). Like the other Baltic states- was pagan until around 1200s. Still a few churches around but a number are now used for other purposes- museums and the like. A number of the old Soviet factories are being repurposed for other uses such as an art academy. The old KGB building is now luxury apartments. I liked her way of describing their history- very pragmatic. Probably a mixture of Tallinn being very used to western tourists and their proximity to Finland, but found this guide the most relatable.Its city walls and towers leave Gotlands for dead we thought- but maybe we are just getting a bit too picky- too many Unesco world heritage sites and are all starting to blur into one.