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Estonia Travel Blogs

The most northerly of the chilly Baltics, member of Nato since April 2004 and the European Union since May 2004 Estonia is making great strides with rediscovering their culture and revelling in their newly acquired relative wealth.

Estonian society is however tainted with the aftermath of Soviet occupation with ethnic tension and the ex Soviet style womens liberation making Estonias women reluctant to pursue more rights.

Being sparsly populated, Estonia has wide expanses of forest and lakes.

Visit Estonia and stay warm in one of medieval Tallinns candlelit cellars with the delicious Estonian speciality hot chocolate and truffles or take an Estonian style weekend get away to the Islands of Saaremaa and Hiiumaa on any day of the week.

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By travelsincognito
June 10th 2008

Cycling through the countryside Europe » Estonia » Saaremaa

Stone cellar, village of Pähkla
When I asked a worker, finishing a modern log guesthouse next door, if this structure was old, he said, "No, not very old," and pointed to the mid-19th century date engraved above the door.

10 June: IT'S OVERCAST with winds gusting SSW to force 9 and no let-up forecast for tomorrow. Yachts are tucked in at the docks rather than venturing out into a blustery head sea. I decide on an inland route for my bicycle tour, hoping it will be more sheltered there. I take one of the so-called EuroVelo routes -- a paved road with little traffic that suits me just fine (although, later I veer off to thread my way through farmland on a dusty gravel road). I pass farmsteads with the inevitable old stone buildings utilized as a shed, barn or [View Full Entry]

By travelsincognito
June 9th 2008

Castle keep Europe » Estonia » Saaremaa

Perfect timing, eh?
"Suur Töll and Piret" sclpture depicts the mythological giants of Saaremaa's history. Sorry, but I couldn't resist this one!

9 June: THIS IS A SLEEPY TOWN, quaint and laid back. Not the resort town I expected. I discover a supermarket away from the town square, discretely tucked into a cluster of old buildings, and can't resist buying a smoked herring (prepared the way I used to eat it in my youth) from the fresh fish counter. It tastes even better than I remember -- tender as a rainbow trout. I rent a 24-speed bicycle at Bivarix, a local bicycle shop. Don't ask me why anyone would need that many gears in this flat country! Sure nice, though, to be able [View Full Entry]

By travelsincognito
June 8th 2008

Island holiday Europe » Estonia » Saaremaa

Wheat fields along the highway
on the island of Saaremaa near Kuressaare.

8 June: THE TIME HAS COME for my first break from the cultural journey I am undertaking these six weeks. I'm heading for the island of Saaremaa, a weekend and summer vacation spot for residents of Tallinn. I pack up my belongings, pull the hidden shoulder straps out of the convertible 22-pound carry-on case, attach the smaller backpack and, voila (or whatever the local word is), I'm off on the trolley bus heading for the central bus depot. Only I make a mistake. I end up at the Balti jaam (central train station). A kindly cobbler shop owner tells me to [View Full Entry]

By travelsincognito
June 7th 2008

I'm playing culture vulture for a couple of days Europe » Estonia » Tallinn

Tram
No advertising on this one, but others look as wildly colourful as Tour de France cyclists.

I HAVE TRAVELLED by trolley bus and tram to the city centre and then walked for miles every street in the enchanted old town of Tallinn. I enjoy stepping off the tiled sidewalks onto the uneven cobblestone streets, imagining that it gets me in touch with my roots in a more immediate way. While there is some residential car traffic, as well as taxis and delivery vans, you can hear them approaching from quite far away, their tires padding across the bumpy pavement; so no danger of getting run over (touch wood... except everything is built out of rock and stone [View Full Entry]

By travelsincognito
June 5th 2008

A grand discovery! Europe » Estonia » Tallinn

View from Oleviste Church
30 Krooni ($3) and 257 steps to the tower, but the view was worth it.

5 June: THIS HAS BEEN A STRANGE DAY. At the tourist information centre I ask where I may find out about my grandparents' residence from the 1920s to '40s. They direct me to the Ministry of the Interior. I'm not admitted to see anyone in person, but the security officer in the lobby gives me a number and points to a wall phone. The woman on the other end speaks English in a halting Russian accent. She keeps asking, "Why do you want to know where your mother lived?" Don't these people have any mothers to understand my motive? Or are [View Full Entry]

By travelsincognito
June 4th 2008

A city steeped in history Europe » Estonia » Tallinn

Pikk Street
A long and winding road.

4 June: FIRST FULL DAY in Tallinn, my mother's hometown. I buy a book of bus tickets at the local supermarket, then pile onto one of the trolley buses going the 3 km into "Old Town." And I do take my verbs seriously -- in spite of the busy car traffic (I have already seen one thoroughfare with six lanes each way!) the buses and trams are packed, and not just during rush hour but at 11 am and 9 pm! When I immigrated to Canada 41 years ago, my arrival in Montreal happened to coincide with Expo 67. This time [View Full Entry]

By LisaCJ
June 1st 2008

A mark on the map for Estonia! Europe » Estonia » Tallinn

Absolutely beautiful. A real surprise for me. The city was almost divided by a main road so the modern & historic were kept apart. I had lunch here which was home-made pasta with fresh salmon, & a cold beer as the weather was so sunny! Visited a 'medieval torture device' museum which was surprisingly interesting, took some pictures & thanked god that I wasn't alive in them days!!!! [View Full Entry]

By Chrisby
June 1st 2008

Tallinn - The New Prague Europe » Estonia » Tallinn

Tallinn
A view of the town from the ship as we pulled into port.

When I told people that I would be visiting Tallinn on this trip, nearly everyone said the same thing. "You will love it. It is what Prague was five years ago before the tourists discovered it." Having loved Prague when I was there a few years ago, this certainly put me in the mood to see this town. I was not disappointed. The entire town is UNESCO protected and for good reason. It has mostly been spared from the ravages of many other Soviet holdings and I got a real sense of what life was like for the Eastern Europeans before [View Full Entry]

By EmilyZ
May 31st 2008

Kuressaare Europe » Estonia » Saaremaa » Kuressaare

Kuressaare
Castle

Early in the morning we left our hostel, backpacks on, as we made our way out of Old Town to the #2 bus stop once again. We had to wait for a bit before the bus came and we ended up having a conversation with an Estonian man who claimed to be an ex sharp shooter and was quite clearly drunk. He wished us farewell with a God Bless America as we boarded the bus. I actually managed to sleep a bit on the way to Kuressaare, waking up shortly before we boarded the ferry. The ride wasn't very long, but [View Full Entry]

By GMulvey
May 30th 2008

Final Day Europe » Estonia » Tallinn

Kindergarten
This should have been included in yesterday's blog.

Work finished so this is a short text entry. Today was spent looking around Tallinn and its immediate area. Some of the group went down to the habour, some went to an open air village to see how Estonian dwellings have changed over the ages. I have brought together the pictures staff took during the day and a few from the previous evening. Need to get to bed early tonight as we have to be up at 3.30am to start our journey home. My opologies for any type errors, my proof readers are elsewhere. [View Full Entry]

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