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Home Page > Travelogues > Estonia (a.k.a. Eesti) Quick Access for this Page -- [ Introduction ] [ Travelogues and Features ] [ Links ]
Click on the colored areas of the map to access a travelogue. The colors indicate different regions of the Estonia -- scroll down for explanation and introduction for each location. (Original map comes from the CIA World Factbook) Introduction. I traveled
to Estonia once for the purpose of watching the What I found was much of what I expected, a young nation progressing rapidly but with a long ways to go to shed its Communist image. It was the first post-Communist country to meet the standards for admission into the European Union. The center of downtown Tallinn was beautiful and clean, but the outskirts were still badly run down. The taxis were a mix of brand new Mercedes and old beaten aluminum-can cars. The street cars were vintage 1940s, or at least they looked and rode that way, along tracks that hadn't been well maintained. One sign of progress was in telecommunications, as Estonia boasts the greatest number of internet connections per capita. I hoped to visit other parts of the country, but didn't have the chance, so my "list" for Estonia is pretty long. The southeastern city of Varnu came highly recommended, as did the two islands just off the western coast. Travelogues and Features.
Links. The below links connect you to external sites in a new window. All links are official sites sanctioned by the national, state, or local governments unless otherwise indicated. These links will open to the Estonian-language home page, which will offer an icon or link to an English-language section (normally limited content). If an English language link is not available, click on the "Tourismus" section. This is for the tourism page, which should have English content available. Links updated 30 December 2005.
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EuroVision
2002 Song Contest in May of that year. Knowing that the capital city of
Tallinn was among the best 
preserved medieval cities in Europe and that the
contest was Estonia's first showcase event as an independent post-Soviet
republic, I figured the Estonians were going to put on a world-class
event. And sure enough, they did -- it was a great time, and my first real
chance to watch an live international television show.
not
the best. The ancient city wall (shown) is virtually intact
with all its towers, the castles and Orthodox cathedrals are brilliant,
and the old market square is captivating. Meanwhile, the 
watched annually by 50 million people across the continent!
In 2002 it was held in Tallinn based on Estonia winning the contest in
2001. It was fantastic! The city was decked out for the event
as it welcomed the hundreds of visitors from across Europe, and watching a
live broadcast of an event where the votes are cast by a Europe-wide video
teleconference was fascinating.
