I have abundant facts and trivia about Estonia for you that I thought was interesting. First, the facts:

- Skype, the free internet calling software was primarily invented here;

- Ferries come and go all day from Tallinn to Helsinki. The fastest ones, either the STAR or SUPERSTAR, take two hours and cost approximately $37-45 dollars one way. Check Tallink for the ferry schedule between Tallinn and Stockholm. The ships depart Tallinn at 6:00 p.m. and arrive in Stockholm at 9:00 a.m. the next day. They only sail between May through August and have different class staterooms;

- There is a plaque in front of every historical building in English and Estonian with detailed information;

- Tallinn’s population is 1.4 million;

- Estonians speak a Finno-Ugric language that was totally beyond our comprehension;

- Tallinn Ulemiste Airport has direct flights from all large European capitals, served 1.8 million passengers in 2008 and is only 10 minutes from the center of Tallinn;

steeple on Tallinn’s City Hall, Estonia
- Tallinn is midway between St. Petersburg and Stockholm;

- Estonia was one of Europe’s liveliest points of trade in the Middle Ages;

Old Town Square, Tallinn, Estonia
- Tallinn has the world’s oldest continually operating pharmacy first mentioned in 1422;

Raeapteek Pharmacy on the Town Hall Square, Tallinn, Estonia
- St. Olafs church was the tallest building in the world in the Middle Ages, first mentioned in 1267;

- Tallinn’s old town was first mentioned in 1154 and is northern Europe’s best preserved medieval town;

view of Old Tallinn from Toompea Hill, Estonia
- Estonia has 1,521 islands and approximately 1,450 lakes;

flying into Tallinn, Estonia
And, now the trivia:

- It is common for all Estonians to go to the sauna on Saturday night;

- The Top 10 souvenirs according to the Estonian Tourist Bureau are – something from a blacksmith, a bottle of vana-Tallinn liqueur, hand knitted sweater, something from linen, original Estonian art, a book about Estonia, ceramic model of an old town landmark, something from crystal, something from juniper and a bottle of vodka;

- If you don’t eat in a restaurant, they will not let you use their toilets;

- Are you up for a “porkuni” barrel race where two people sit in a large wooden vat and use kayak paddles?;

- Credit cards are accepted everywhere and don’t even get me started about the plethora of ATM’s;

- Estonia became part of the EU in 2004 and loans were given freely to the relatively unsophisticated people who set about buying houses, apartments and cars with a fervor. Two years later, it was a rude awakening to discover they had to pay the loans back. Especially when you don’t have the money. Sounds familiar…;

- The Baltic Sea is composed of melted glaciers, ice water and is brackish. Not many species of fish can survive since it isn’t salty enough;

- Estonia’s closest ties are to Finland. The country was seized by the Swedes in 1561 and held for 150 years until the Russians took over. There is a strong Russian feel to all of the Baltic States although they certainly don’t like to hear that;

- Prices were much higher then we expected; and

- Estonian cuisine is really a mixture of Russian and German with potatoes, sauerkraut, pork, beef and mutton.

Enough?…

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