Viljandi in Autumn

On Thursday Sirli and I went down to Viljandi, as we were seeing a theatre show on Friday. During the day on Friday we took a walk around the old castle ruins. The weather was very strange, and it was quite beautiful with the trees full of Autumn colour. Some pictures here, with others on My flickr page. I've also put up some crappy little videos taken with the digital camera on you tube.

Playing Cricket for Estonia

I told a few people that I was going to play cricket a few weeks ago, but I've never blogged it, so here it is. My performance with the bat wasn't what I was hoping for, I was out LBW for a duck in the last over of our innings. However I opened the bowling and managed to take 1 for 3 from four overs. I would have had a second wicket but I dropped a catch off my own bowling. Anyway, the picture id of me being presented with the Baggy Blue cap by the captain.

The Queen in Talinn

Queen Elizabeth and Phillip have been in Tallinn yesterday and today. There was a big public reception for her in the Town Hall Square earlier today. I went along to see, and surprisingly so did a few thousand Estonians! The crowd was so big that I didn't manage to get a photo of here. She didn't say anything today, but they played part of her speech on the news here last night and I must say she spoke really well. Some insightful comments about Estonia.



You can see the show they put on for the queen in the picture on the right. By the time she arrived the whole square had filled and they stopped letting people in. They did have a concert on which I'm sure attracted lots of people, but it was clear to see that the Queen is fairly popular in Estonia.

Tallinn = Danish Town

The name Tallinn supposedly comes from the Estonian for Danish Town (Tani Linn). The Danes were the first foreign occupiers of Estonia in 1219 until they sold it to a German religious order in 1346 because the Estonians were constantly uprising and giving them the shits. Now there is a garden in Tallinn known as the Danish Garden. The picture on the right is a representation of a Danish knight. According to legend the danish got their flag during a battle on Estonian soil. The legend says that they were looking at a terrible defeat when this flag dropped from the sky. They then went on to win the battle, and have used the flag ever since. Walking around Tallinn, you can see flag in all sorts of different places. I find it amazing that history from such a long time ago can still be seen today.

Tallinn Town Walls

A fair while ago I visited the town walls of Talinn. I just posted the photos.

Estonian Politics

I love a bit of grass roots politics. Recently the incumbent Estonian president was beaten in a vote for the presidency by a younger, more 'western' candidate. The three gentlemen on the banner on top of the car are from the left of Estonian politics, and basically the occupants of this car were protesting that if the incumbent won then it would be a massive backwards step for Estonia, hence "stop communism". To cut a very long story short, the left used some pretty dodgy methods to get there man across the line, but because 70% of Estonians hated him he lost anyway. George W Bush and Queen Elizabeth are due here soon, and now they will get to meet a president who speaks English, though I'm still unsure if Dubya actually speaks English!!! 

Shameless plug

A bit of shameless self promotion here. I've started my little tour company here in Tallinn. Not much is happening at the moment, I'm trying to get some customers, which is taking some time, though that was expected. Added to the fact that I have a brand new company its getting cold here and the tourist numbers are really dwindling. Anyway whatever happens I'm looking the next few months as a bit of a test period, a way to find out what works and what doesn't, and to really get the company name out there. Hopefully I'll be making my fortune by the time the summer peak rolls around. So if you know anyone going to Tallinn, send them my way!!!!!

Saaremaa

I've been a bit slack with my posting of late, so this one is actually about something that happened a while ago. Sirli organises a trip for all of the International Students where she studies to a place called Saaremaa, which is Estonia's biggest Island, lying just of the west coast of the mainland.

Saaremaa has a pretty small population, even by Estonian standards. It's mostly just forests, lakes and empty space. being an Island it also has plenty of great ocean views. Some of these coastal areas were the final defensive point for both the Soviet and Nazi armies when they were trading occupation of Estonia. You can still see the remnants of Military structures such as bunkers all over the place.


Further back in history Saaremaa was also an important political/military location. As a result there is a fantastic castle in Kuresaare, the main town on Saaremaa. Kuresaare is now a big spa town, and a really popular holiday spot for Estonians, and increasingly for foreigners. The town is extremely beautiful, and very well maintained, which sets it apart from the rest of Estonia. It's a great example of the power of tourism to improve the aesthetics of a place. It really feels more like Scandinavia than Estonia.

I'll put some more photos up on my Flickr page.