Saku Travel - Tallinn Private Tours

04/06/2024

Today, Estonia celebrates Flag Day. The very first blue, black, and white flag was handmade in the spring of 1884 and blessed as the flag of the Estonian Students Association on June 4th the same year - 140 years ago! 💙🖤🤍

18/05/2024

Museum Night started in 2009 - for one evening in May, museums keep their doors open late.
Tonight, the Banned Books Museum participated for the first time. A unique place to learn about banned, burned, and censored books (and what´s behind them) from around the world.

10/05/2024

Blossoms, hugs and kisses. Spring has settled in.

30/04/2024

Today 160 years ago, Juhan Liiv (1864 - 1913) one of Estonia's most famous poets, was born.
His poem “She Flies to A Beehive” has become a well-known choral song (composed by Miina Härma, as well as Peep Sarapik) and has found its way into the hearts of nearly every Estonian.

The poem begins like this:

Flower to flower she flies,
and she flies to a beehive;
and should a thunder cloud rise,
she flies to a beehive.
And thousands will fall,
but thousands will reach home,
they won’t let sorrows abide,
for they fly to a beehive!

Beehive is an image of a homeland… and the poem, written in 1905, was prophetic.
At Maarjamägi in Tallinn, there is a monument to the victims of Communist regime, dedicated to the memory of all those who lost their lives or suffered cruelties under the yoke of Soviet occupation.
The monument consists of two parts, a long dark corridor of stone plates with the names of the deceased, and at the end of it, a little open valley. Here, the wall carries a quotation from Juhan Liiv’s poem “Ta lendab mesipuu poole” / “She Flies To A Beehive”…

19/07/2023

Beautiful Estonia. This time we explored Vooremaa (Jõgeva county).

21/02/2023

These delicious, sweet buns- the treat of the day- can be picked up at most cafes and bakeries in February.
Shrove Tuesday or Vastlapäev is related to entertainment and anticipation of spring in Estonia. Traditionally, people went sledging and so did we. 🛷❄️☃️ The longer the slide, the more luck for the coming summer.🤍

28/08/2022

The last Saturday of August, the end of summer is celebrated annually by the lighting of bonfires at hundreds of places on the coasts of the Baltic Sea. This tradition is known as The Night of Ancient Bonfires. Enjoying a walk along the sea and then sitting by a fire is always great, but yesterday at Keila-Joa & Suurupi it was sublime. Beautiful sunset, many cosy bonfires, some fireworks, the most incredible clear sky with shooting stars 💫✨, and….the northern lights.

18/08/2022

Old Town Community Garden.🍀🌻🐛 Gain a personalized insight into the quiet corners of Tallinn´s oldest district on a private walking tour: https://sakutravel.ee/private-tallinn-walking-tour/

12/07/2022

Our trip to Keila-Joa couple of days ago. Come and see the beautiful landscape and more on a tour with us: https://sakutravel.ee/day-trip-from-tallinn/

13/06/2022

The last few days have been sunny, so I took a family trip to Tartu with one of my brothers, Karl. We strolled around Toome Hill and had a really great time at the museum of Tartu University, learning about the history of the university (established in 1632) and the story of Tartu Cathedral (the construction began in the 13th century). Well worth a visit- the museum building, the exhibitions and the ruins of the cathedral are amazing.

04/06/2022

Four incredible concert venues to visit in Tallinn (to name just a few):
🎼Pirita Convent
🎻House of the Blackheads
🎹Town Hall
🎺Short Leg Gate Tower

23/05/2022

Some of the decorated entrances.🌿 Today, in Old Town.

16/05/2022

Raeapteek (Town Hall Pharmacy) was first mentioned in the town book 600 years ago, in 1422, when it had its third owner. This makes it the oldest pharmacy in Europe that has continuously been in business in the same building.
Among the many unique historical things on display, my favourite is the artwork painted next to the window: a lady holding writing tools. She can be recognized as Calliope, the muse of eloquence and epic poetry.
Visit the Town Hall Pharmacy with us or on your own:
https://sakutravel.ee/private-tallinn-walking-tour/
http://raeapteek.ee/en/

10/05/2022

Spring has settled in.
Two of the many beautiful parks in Tallinn:
Kalamaja Park- a former cemetery, the first written records date back to 1561.
&
Tammsaare Park- named after a famous Estonian writer Anton Hansen Tammsaare.

We can customise your tour to suit your interests, so do let us know if you would like to visit some of the green areas of the city: https://sakutravel.ee

16/03/2022

Last weekend we went to Estonian Open Air Museum, one of my favourite places for travelling back in time. Lots of original farm buildings, but also a wooden chapel, a village shop, tavern and a school. The newest addition is the apartment house built in 1960s and transported to Tallinn in 2019.
Plan your visit: https://evm.ee/visitors

01/02/2022

That’s why Tallinn is such a beautiful travel destination- also during winter.
Hope you enjoy these pictures in the meantime, until you can come for a visit yourself to explore these historical, photogenic streets...
www.sakutravel.ee

24/01/2022

I really do love discovering new places. On Sunday, we went to Anija Manor with Jüri. At this time of year everywhere is quiet, so we had the wonderful manor and the exhibition for ourselves. The cafe was also an amazing find, very warm service and delicious dishes.
Anija Manor is about a 30min journey from the centre of Tallinn and makes a great half day trip.

21/01/2022

One park, three great art museums. Kadriorg is the place to go for art lovers. Plan your visit:
Kadriorg Art Museum: https://kadriorumuuseum.ekm.ee/en/
Mikkel Museum: https://mikkelimuuseum.ekm.ee/en/
Kumu Art Museum: https://kumu.ekm.ee/en/

18/01/2022

The Monastery Gate, known also as the New Nun’s Gate. It was broken through into the city wall in late 19th century, so the traffic between Baltic Station (opened in 1870) and the Old Town would flow more freely.
www.sakutravel.ee

13/01/2022

Toompea Castle, the seat of the Parliament of Estonia, on a chilly winter night.
Make the most of the darkness and experience the highlights of Old Town after the sun sets (which happens around 4pm in January...) 🌙
https://sakutravel.ee/tallinn-walking-tour/

11/01/2022

Work on Tallinn's defence system began in mid 13th century.
To this day, 26 towers and around 1.85 km of the defensive wall have survived.
Explore Tallinn Old Town with us: https://sakutravel.ee/tallinn-walking-tour/

20/11/2021

Today is the Universal Children's Day. Here's our pick of places to visit with kids in Tallinn, any time of the year: https://sakutravel.ee/in-tallinn-with-kids/

16/11/2021

Recalling our weekend trip to Saaremaa island in October: Kaali, the site of a giant meteorite crater.
A few thousand years ago, a huge rock from space came hurtling toward the Earth. Several kilometers above the Earth’s surface, it broke into pieces. The biggest piece created a crater with a diameter of 110 m and a depth of 22 m. The damage caused by the collision has been compared to the explosion of a small nuclear bomb.

Archaeological evidence reveals that Kaali Lake, also known as Pühajärv (Holy Lake) was a place of offerings for many centuries. Surrounding the crater are the remains of an immense stone wall. Some silver jewelry from the 3rd-5th centuries AD and large quantity of domestic animal bones have been found within the wall’s borders. Offerings continued to be made as late as 1600s, long after the Church forbade such rituals as "pagan" practices.

Some believe that ancient offerings still remain undiscovered at the bottom of the lake.

28/09/2021

Between the autumn showers we're getting some sunshine. Today in Old Town.
https://sakutravel.ee/

25/09/2021

This beautiful carved relief dates back to the early 16th century and was initally used to decorate a window. Today, it is displayed in one of the courtyards in lower Old Town.
Explore the treasures of medieval Tallinn with us:
https://sakutravel.ee/tallinn-walking-tour/

21/09/2021

Fat Margaret: originally an artillery tower, part of the medieval defence system of Tallinn. Now, a thrilling museum and visitor centre that has been given several awards: https://meremuuseum.ee/paksmargareeta/en/for-history-and-maritime-buffs/the-development-project/

18/08/2021