European Stars and Stripes (Newspaper) - February 17, 1994, Darmstadt, Hesse                                E s t a a i Freedom. For a amps Harold Mcconnell some of the buildings in the old town Plaza Date to the medieval period and Are now shops and offices. Continued from Page 3 a raid killed 463 and destroyed half the City. One of the interesting old buildings is the Raenoda or town Hall Tallinn s oldest civic Structure built between1371 and 1404. A commercial Center among other things in historical times it now serves As a concert Hall. It forms part of town Hall Square which is surrounded by other medieval buildings that Are now used As offices or shops. The viru Cate to old town is on viru Street. As you take a photo of the Gate your camera frames the modern 20-Story-High hotel viru in the background. The hotel was built by a finnish company in 1969 and has several restaurants. Not far from the hotel is a Little Park from which you can pay a visit to the performing arts Center the concert Hall or the opera House. As you drive along a Boulevard on Tallinn s waterfront you will see a striking statue of an Angel. It commemorates the sinking of a russian warship in 1893 during a storm in the Harbor. A total of 165 people died including 146 sailors and 12 officers. In the waterfront area you also will find the song festival Amphitheater a semicircular Shell built in 1960 that can accommodate 30,000 singers and seat an audience of 100,000. The estonian song festivals Are said to be thrilling events. One moving event occurred when we visited the Home of two musicians in Tallinn a me elis and Marika Punder. He is a member of the five piece band Karavan. As he played the guitar the group Sang love hurts and country Rose easy Bridges for any cultural gaps. Our introduction to Tallin took place at the 22-Story-High to Tower built in 1980, on the outskirts of the City. We Rode an elevator to the top where one has a Beautiful View of the City and Harbor. In the distance we saw Lake Ulemise a one of More than a thousand lakes in Estonia a a Large Cluster of hundreds of apartment buildings which the estonians Call Quot Stone City Quot and the older areas of Tallinn. There also were a number of forests a about 40 percent of Estonia is covered with forests. In the foreground were botanical gardens once the. Summer Home of a former president. Finland is Only 50 Miles away and when the weather is Nice you can see a finnish Lighthouse across the Gulf of Finland said our guide planets Galina a Young woman of russian descent. A for those who wish to travel outside Tallinn a trip to Saaremaa one of the largest of Estonia s 800 islands is worthwhile. It is about 85 Miles from Tallinn on a Road system that is generally in Good condition. A ferry at Virtus takes cars across a Short stretch of sea to the Small Island of Muhu. Be sure you have your passport with you because you need it to Cross on the ferry then drive across a causeway to Saaremaa. The town of Kuressaare lies at one end of the Island. The 13th-Century Castle there was closed for cleaning on the Day we visited but it was something to conjure with in its storybook setting. For lunch we ate at the Kozvik Veski restaurant built in the shape of a Windmill. Perhaps it was one in times past. The tables hugged the Stone Walls on four Levels. The rather dark Interior was lighted As we ate a Plain but satisfying meal of roast beef baked potatoes a Cucumber salad Plum juice and Tea. Tallinn is filled with medieval towers and signs. La. Times we stopped atone grocery store to make a Purchase and found that it stocked perhaps Only a dozen items including Jam milk cheese potatoes Root vegetables and cleansers. On the Way Back from Kuressaare not far from leis i we stopped at Angla to have a closer look at a Cluster of five windmills. Heading Back toward the Mainland we paused at the medieval Village of Kouva on the Island of Muhu. The 105 houses in Kouva some of which Date to 1532, Are being protected As a prime example of peasant architecture. They Are made of logs and stones and have roofs of Reeds. On our return to Polli in Southern Estonia a farm Community that was our base for this tour of Estonia we stopped at the port City of Parnu. This resort City founded in 1256, is Well known for its mud Baths. There we took a photo of a statue of Lydia Koidula 1843-1886 one of Estonia s first women poets. We did t have time to visit her Home now preserved As a museum. But later we did take time to visit two other cities Viljandi and Tartu in Southern Estonia. In Viljandi population 21,000 we strolled through a Park where a Marble Monument has been erected in memory of the thousands of estonians who were deported to forced labor Camps by the former soviet rulers. The estonians have bitter memories of cruelty and oppression during the nearly 50 years of soviet occupation. In the same Park we viewed the crumbling ruins of an ancient Castle and walked across a deep Ravine on a suspension footbridge. Tartu founded in 1248 population 106,000 offered a variety of experiences. A tour of the University and its grounds was stimulating. With a student body of 7,500, the University has Long been one of Estonia s chief cultural centers. On Campus we saw a newly unveiled statue of King Gustav ii Adolph who founded the University in 1632. Inside we spoke with Anu Laa Salu of the museum of classical archaeology in rooms crowded with sculptures of figures. She said the russians still have Many valuable pieces of sculpture and other artefacts that were taken from the University Many years ago. The University still Hopes to get them Back someday. Nearby is the Gunpowder cellar a restaurant built originally As a Stone Structure in 1768 to store Gunpowder and later used As a potato cellar. Unmajuna959nnel1 w33 3 state member of stars and stripes from april 1946 stripes Magazine february 17, 1994