♪ ♪ Could you take me to the parliament building, please?

♪ ♪ I'm on my way to meet Mart Laar the former prime minister many say turned this nation into a powerhouse.

They call it the little country that could--Estonia.

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♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ (Rudy) Eesti, Estonia, from the medieval splendor of its cities to the mystical calm of its islands, there's a great enduring spirit here.

For thousands of years, Estonians have lived under the yoke of foreign invaders, most recently, 50 grim years under Soviet occupation.

The joy of newfound freedom is palpable here.

This is a young European democracy that's riding high.

Estonia's economy has rocketed to become one of the fastest-growing in Europe, and tourists from around the globe are coming to taste this particularly intoxicating blend of modern life, but heartfelt tradition.

Set on the Baltic Sea, Estonia is a prime piece of real estate.

The country lies just a hop, skip, and a jump from Finland and is bordered by little Latvia and colossal Russia.

More than half the country's population lives in the capital Tallinn, and it's easy to see why.

Tallinn is a tourist's dream with winding cobblestone streets and hopelessly romantic turrets and towers.

It's wildly high tech, and English is commonly spoken.

Estonians are an old people some 5 to 8000 years, and their language is their bond, an ancient tongue related to Finnish.

Reserved, but with generous warm souls, the people have endured much.

Throughout centuries of occupation by Germans, Danes, Swedes, Poles, and Russians, Estonians fought to keep their culture.

I'm about to meet former Prime Minister Mart Laar who helped shepherd in Estonia's independence from Soviet rule.

How did you do it?

[laughs] A lot of people have asked me this.

Did you do any polling of the public before you made big decisions?

♪ ♪ (Rudy) Tallinn knew another glory age before independence.

The city was part of a medieval trading confederation known as the Hanseatic League.

From the 13th to the 16th century, the town went from a wooden stronghold to a fortified town of towers and walls, merchants houses and cobbled lanes.

During the Middle Ages, all kinds of goods were traded here-- timber, amber, furs, and beeswax that Russia exported to fill the demand for candles in European churches.

♪ ♪ Tallinn miraculously escaped the destruction inflicted by the centuries.

One of the first acts of the new government was to restore the medieval heart of Tallinn.

When people aren't surfing the Web at any number of cool cafes, they lose themselves in the old streets.

Spires and courtyards, merchant houses with their elaborate doors, weather vanes-- the details of medieval Tallinn punctuate its allure.

In 2003, Estonia joined NATO and in '04 of the European Union.

Now, some Estonians worried they were throwing off one superpower for another, but in fact, the economy flourished.

Unemployment in Tallinn is virtually nonexistent.

Young people fill the government, and 20-something entrepreneurs are everywhere.

I asked Mart Laar what Estonia was like in the early 90's.

(Rudy) How big inflation?

1000 percent!

(Rudy) This is in the early '90's, food was being rationed?

(Mart) '92.

(Rudy) Food was being rationed in Estonia.

You couldn't get gas.

♪ ♪ (Rudy) In 1920, Estonia wriggled free from its dominance by Germans and Russians for 20 years of independence.

But the Second World War ended that, and the country was invaded by Russia, Germany, and then Russia again.

In one night, June 14, 1941, 10,000 Estonians were arrested and exiled to Siberia, most never to return.

But in the late 1980's when Gorbachev's policy of Glasnost opened a crack in the door, the Estonians pushed their way through and never looked back.

Estonians resisted Soviet occupation not with guns, but with folk songs.

[singing in Estonian] ♪ ♪ (Rudy) The folk band Virre carries on the tradition of folk songs.

Estonia's freedom is inextricably linked to music.

In the late 1980's, people gathered in increasingly large numbers to sing folks songs forbidden by the Soviets.

In one event in 1988, 300,000 people-- that's 20% of the entire population--showed up to sing!

(Rudy) Singing the anthem could get you sent to Siberia?

(Mart) Yes.

But when the whole country sang the anthem...

The Soviets didn't know what to do or...?

♪ ♪ Virre plays folk with a modern twist.

For more traditional music, the Tallinn Open Air Museum features concerts on weekends.

♪ ♪ Singers dress in traditional costume from various regions, and the setting is evocative with farmhouse buildings and a windmill.

♪ ♪ For Estonians, preserving their culture has been a battle fought fiercely for centuries.

Estonia regained its independence in '90, '91, but the troops left 3 years later so this was actually the celebration day.

All the people were out in the street and drinking champagne, feeling happy congratulating because then we were sure that this freedom is somehow secure, that we are a free country.

(Rudy) The struggle against Soviet occupation manifested in the local visual art as well.

The dazzling new art museum Kumu, just outside of the old town, includes a collection called "Difficult Choices."

Soviet-sponsored art with titles like "Grain for the State" or "Estonia Red Army with Stalin and Lenin" is pure propaganda.

An adjacent room shows a blossoming of ideas and influences in the 1950's and '60's including the work of Ulo Sooster, a surrealist painter who survived the horrors of a Siberian prison camp.

Artists were always under suspicion.

Fear and anxiety pervade many of these later works.

Now, normally I'd peruse the local paper at breakfast, but that would be so Stone Age here so I called up "The Baltic Times" online.

Some of the headlines-- a big debate on limiting the sale of alcohol from 8 AM to 8 PM, hybrid car owners are upset because they no longer get free parking.

Oh, and a feature on how the local dark bread, which is terrific by the way-- keeps you beautiful.

They don't call this E-stonia for nothing.

From gas stations to cafes all over town, this place is wired.

Internet pioneers Kazaa and Skype were cultivated here.

Some local dairies even track their cows electronically.

The young Estonian government stimulated the new economy by instituting a 25% flat tax for all citizens.

That rate's going to 18% and keeps getting lower.

I'm trying hard to imagine that!

(Rudy) Foreign investment is encouraged, and according to locals growing a business here is very easy.

A great variety of local crafts are sold throughout the old town in a myriad of souvenir shops and galleries.

Tallinn's little blacksmith shops keep alive an Estonian craft tradition.

Sepp means smith, and the goods at Sepa Ari evoke an age gone by.

Estonia was a country of farmsteads, and the farmer used to do everything himself including shoeing horses and foraging spoons in his own smithy.

[resonant high-pitched ring] Dinner bell!

An, an Estonian dinner bell.

[loud ringing] Boy, that's loud!

[ringing] (Rudy) In the heart of the old town on a street that once led from the central market to the harbor, a medieval merchant's house is now the Schlossle Hotel.

It was the first to earn 5 stars in Tallinn and the first boutique hotel in Estonia.

The stone walls, rough-hewn beams, and rooms with irregular corners and wall nitches all belong to classic limestone architecture from medieval times.

Fortunately, funds were scarce during Soviet occupation so there was no incentive to tear down old buildings to build new ones.

During that Soviet occupation, hundreds of thousands of Russians moved to Estonia.

This Russification threatened Estonians as much as the troops did.

Many Russians remained after independence, and today they make up more than a quarter of the population.

The orthodox churches in town are vestiges of Russian rule.

Estonians were by and large Lutherans, and the Lutheran emphasis on learning gave Estonia an astonishing 90% literacy rate in the late 1800's, 3 times that of neighboring Russia.

Today Estonia is one of Europe's best-educated countries.

Beyond the flat tax, high-tech businesses, and smart growth there's another engine that drives the Estonian economy-- beer.

Tallinn nightlife is legendary.

The city is now "the" party scene in Europe.

Helsinki's only 80 kilometers away by boat, and the Finns come in droves to purchase alcohol because it isn't taxed as heavily here.

Lately, low-cost flights from European cities have brought in tons of party seekers, and there are plenty of clubs for dancing the Tallinn night away.

[dance music with a heavy bass & drum beat] ♪ ♪ When it comes to food, Estonian cuisine is traditionally homestead cooking.

The specialities are cold marinated eel, tongue, boiled pork in jelly, blood sausage, and sauerkraut stew.

But these days vegetarian fare can be had as well and lots of delicious bread.

Some of the best bread I've had in the world is here in Estonia.

They take their bread really seriously.

In this bread booth in the market, there are 500 varieties alone.

Could I have your best dark bread?

Perfect!

Whoa!

this is heavy.

This is chewy and sort of oatsy, slightly sweet, and said to be very, very good for you.

♪ ♪ Tallinn is certainly no longer a secret, but the lovely countryside of Estonia still is.

♪ ♪ Here windmills, stone churches, and saunas outnumber tourists.

♪ ♪ One of Estonia's big attractions is mud, and I'm here to tell you that the gorgeous resort town of Haapsalu has some of the best mud around.

West of Tallinn some 100 kilometers is the little spa town of Haapsalu set in a bay on the Baltic.

Enthused by the Haapsalu mud, the Russians built a train route direct from St. Petersburg to the town in 1907.

Czars came for the mud baths, and Tchaikovsky liked to compose here.

[a saxophone plays softly] Haapsalu's many charms include the ruins of a medieval castle.

Inside a long eroded staircase leads to the bell tower and views to the coast.

[saxophone plays; bells ring] ♪ ♪ The Haapsalu mud treatment is surprisingly clinical, and patients need a doctor's note.

I gotta say the thought of being shellacked in mud, then wrapped in a plastic sheet makes me a little uptight, but the treatment is said to have just the opposite effect.

A ferry connects the mainland with the islands of Muhu and Saaremaa.

The main town in Saaremaa is Kuressaare.

♪ ♪ During Soviet occupation, Estonia's pristine islands were off limits even to locals.

That isolation kept the towns and coastline preserved, a little microcosm of how Estonia once was.

Old churches and ruined manors kick in extra romance and evoke the days of folklore, farming, and fishing, a simple life in a harsh climate.

[accordion plays in staccato style; sax plays liltingly] ♪ ♪ Two Estonians musicians formed the group Nordic Sounds.

They travel the islands incorporating local folk songs into their unique sound.

♪ ♪ On the island of Muhu, a working historic village, Koguva, gives a keen sense of the old life.

Thick roofs made from reeds hang low on cottages.

Reeds from the marshy shore are dried, then bundled, and fastened to the rafters.

A well-made reed roof will last a lifetime.

Koguva is not simply a museum.

Locals live and work in this 19th-century village.

♪ ♪ On the other side of Muhu, a 16th century manor turned hotel and spa, Padaste Manor, is the property of a young entrepreneur, Imre Sooaar.

It's emblematic of the renovations and revitalization taking place all over Estonia.

Imre, tell me how you created a resort in the middle of the countryside like this?

I think you have to have a lot of fantasy and a lot of courage in the beginning to do something that crazy in the middle of nowhere.

(Rudy) When Imre first bought the property, it was an overgrown field.

(Imre) I would say Estonia has made a giant leap towards a better future, and I think it has been the people's determination.

We can build it up from the ruins under Communism if we look at longevity of Estonians and how we have survived over all these occupations.

It was 700 years of so-called foreign rule in Estonia.

We're still alive and kicking!

With only 24 rooms, 7 restored 19th-century buildings, a gourmet restaurant, and a private marina, Padaste is an island paradise.

In the town of Kuressaare is the only medieval castle to have survived time and tumult in Estonia.

Saaremaa was the last of Estonia to surrender to the Teutonic Knights, a group of crusaders who conquered and christianized the area.

Until that time, the people living here were animists worshipping nature and spirits.

♪ ♪ Estonians consider the people of Saaremaa to be the toughest in the nation.

They resisted invaders harder than anyone else, and their traditions and fierce pride persist today.

Many still speak in dialect and keep their national costume tucked away for special occasions.

That's nice too.

Hmm, really nice!

(Rudy) The islands are the place to pick up Estonian handicrafts-- gloriously woven sweaters or any number of objects carved from the local juniper tree.

Fresh honey, fruits, and fish are spread out in the morning sunshine in Kuressaare.

[playing the Jew's harp] ♪ ♪ (Rudy) There it is!

Hmm!

Ummm!!

Good?

Yeah, good!

[pipe organ plays] (Rudy) Northeast of Kuressaare, the last pagan stronghold on the island was Valjala.

The 13th-century church dates from the very beginnings of Christianity in Estonia when paganism and animism mixed with the new religion.

♪ ♪ In times of trouble, the locals often hid in the loft where the organ is today.

♪ ♪ Another strange old church at Karja evokes the pagan past.

Many of the old churches are crafted out of the local white limestone known as Saaremaa dolomite.

The surprise here is the dome with its pagan symbols-- a pentagram, a triskelion, and ancient symbol later adapted to represent the Trinity, as well as a devilish figure appearing from between his legs.

♪ ♪ Windmills once whirled on all the hills here, grinding flour from farmers crops of wheat and rye.

The windmills are built on pivots so they can be rotated to catch the breeze.

Five windmills survive at Angla on the last remaining windmill hill on the island.

Way out in the middle of nowhere on the western side of Saaremaa, romantic Loode farm offers guests the chance to experience a smoke sauna.

This is the oldest type of sauna.

A fire is lit in a hut, and smoke billows out of a hole under the roof.

The fire burns for hours, then the sauna is ventilated.

The result-- a diffused deep heat and a deliciously smoked aroma.

Birch branch to beat yourself with?

Oh, it's provided.

[fiddle plays in bright rhythm] Tradition has it that the sauna is followed by a feast of fresh fish and homemade beer.

Ideally, how often would one have a sauna like this, a smoke sauna-- once a week, once a day?

Once a week.

Once a week.

Once a week.

Tradition is to have a sauna on every Saturday evening.

So saunas are an evening thing?

Evening thing, yes.

This is very different than a Finnish sauna which is stones only and steam.

And this is half as hot again right, as a Finnish sauna?

Yes, it's not so hot.

I smell like a smoked ham right now.

Yes.

I like that smell!

[laughs] ♪ ♪ Fully pointed west, this tiny Baltic state has worked miracles.

Challenges remain.

Per capita income hasn't caught up with the European average, and troubles still flare up with Estonia's powerful neighbor to the east.

But the calm, resolute citizens forge ahead making the most of their newfound freedom and democracy.

♪ ♪ In the rural beauty of the countryside or in the medieval corners of the capital, the spirit and energy of the people portend more good things to come.

♪ ♪ Need Wi-Fi in a 13th-century castle?

Not a problem in this modern country.

Reporting from Estonia, I'm Rudy Maxa!

Nagesmiseni!

(woman) For information on the places featured in "Rudy Maxa's World," along with other savvy traveling tips, visit... To order DVDs of "Rudy Maxa's World" or the CD of world music from the series, call or visit... ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ CC--Armour Captioning & Twin Cities Public Television "Rudy Maxa's World," proudly sponsored by The Leading Hotels of the World.

Quests for travel begin at LHW.com, where you'll discover a collection of nearly 450 unique hotels worldwide, Including the distinctive family of Taj hotels, resorts, and palaces.

Every quest has a beginning, online at LHW.com.

Additional funding for Rudy Maxa's World provided by Medjet.com, medical evacuation membership protection for travelers.

Take trips, not chances.

And by... Yokoso!

Or "Welcome to Japan."

And by Delta--serving hundreds of destinations worldwide.

Information to plan your next trip available at delta.com.

[orchestral fanfare] ♪ ♪