San_Marino - San Marino
Foto: The tunnel system under the old center of Tallinn (bron: Ronald van der Veer)
Estonia - Through the large open Independence Square, we arrive at the ‘Kiek in de Kök’ (‘Peek into the Kitchen’). This tower was the strongest tower in the defensive ring. Today, a museum is housed in the tower. As I ascend higher in the tower, I literally look into the surrounding houses and understand the tower’s name. Beneath the tower lies the bastion: an underground tunnel system hundreds of meters long between the various towers. Part of it has been restored. The bastion is closed to visitors on Mondays and Tuesdays, but after some persuasion, we are allowed inside as a special group together with a Swedish family. The guide wears a thick coat and advises me to bring a blanket. As I walk down the stairs, I quickly understand why. It is about five degrees Celsius inside the tunnels. Wrapped in the warm blanket, I follow the guide through the tunnel complex. Besides being a route for troop transport, it was also used as a shelter and command post. We walk about five hundred meters beneath Tallinn. Sometimes screens with cameras above ground are hung. The tour ends with a futuristic little train. While the train takes us through the tunnel, a film about the history of Estonia is shown.
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The lighthouse of Saare on the island of Saaremaa
Estonia - At the tip of the peninsula stands the tall lighthouse of Saare. This striking black tower marks the entrance to the Gulf of Riga for ships. We walk along the lighthouse over the peninsula to the very tip. The peninsula is less than five meters wide, ...