News and features about Estonia and Estonians
Summer is about to arrive in Tallinn, and the sudden leap to high season brings thousands of tourists every day to the old town, drinking in its sights, hearing its legends and battling with the capricious weather. Six months after arriving, a British expat Claire Millard occupies a no man’s land between the scratched surface of […]
Expat in Tallinn: how not to blend in Read More »
A Tallinn-based British expat Claire Millard learned to appreciate bogs and boulders in Estonia. I admit it, I underestimated bogs. When I first researched Estonia I was somewhat taken aback by the tourist information efforts to sell bogs and boulders as highlights of the country. Bogs conjure images of muddy Welshmen snorkelling through drainage ditches as
Nature’s silence speaks volumes in Estonia – spring in Soomaa Read More »
About 4,300 miles (7,000 km) separate Lakewood, New Jersey, from Tallinn, Estonia. But on Friday nights the distance is closer to zero. Not literally, of course. No matter the day of the week, Lakewood is still located along the Atlantic seaboard in the United States while Tallinn faces the Gulf of Finland in northern Europe.
On the map – Lakewood Estonian House Read More »
Most people believe that for security, Estonia must always look to the United States, not to Europe. And so, with Russia flexing its muscles again, now would be a good time to look at the US Ambassador, to find out what kind of person he is and what forces have shaped him. The good news, for
US Ambassador to Estonia Jeffrey Levine: I really, really like Estonia Read More »
Lisa Trei, the daughter of the late Alan Trei – one of the translators of Estonian writer Anton Hansen Tammsaare’s book Truth and Justice into English – explains how the translation came to life. Since regaining independence in 1991, Estonia has attracted international acclaim in many spheres, but notably in high-tech with the invention of
The story behind the translation of Tammsaare’s Truth and Justice Read More »
Have you ever wondered what is behind that mysterious door that takes you into the cockpit of an aircraft? One man who certainly was, is Estonian photographer Gen Vagula. So much so that he asked Estonian Air, Estonia’s national flag carrier, to permit him to fly in the cockpit of Tallinn-Oslo flight. “I thought some
Onboard Tallinn-Oslo flight – pictures from the cockpit Read More »
Using crowdsourcing, the Estonian-founded Sightsmap.com lists the most photographed places in any country of the world. Based on the number of Panoramio photos taken at each place in the world and Foursquare check-ins, it estimates the sightseeing popularity of each spot. These are the top 10 most photographed places in Estonia, according to Sightsmap (click
The 10 most photographed spots in Estonia (pictures) Read More »
Claire Millard, a Brit living in Tallinn, is trying to crack the code – learn Estonian in Estonia. As a teenager I travelled and lived abroad with nothing more than a fifty-five-litre backpack and the invincible confidence of youth. The desire to explore and experience never left, and when, fifteen years, one husband and two
Cracking the code – learning Estonian in Estonia Read More »
In a boon to Estonia’s chances for capturing Olympic gold, the International Olympic Committee (IOC) has announced the addition of wife-carrying to the 2016 summer Olympics schedule. The backbreaking race will join other time-honoured events, including water polo, badminton and trampoline. A team sport, wife-carrying simply consists of a male competitor carrying a female competitor
A proverb is a simple and concrete saying, popularly known and repeated, that expresses a truth based on common sense or the practical experience, often metaphorically. Proverbs also encapsulate society’s values and beliefs. We have collected 25 Estonian proverbs and sayings and have also included the original expression in Estonian. Most of these are traditional, going back in
Estonian wisdom – 25 proverbs and sayings Read More »
