10 Things NOT to Do in Estonia
Get more Tips here!
From its historical museums to the medieval castles in the capital of Tallinn, you will find a lot of reasons why you should plan a visit, but here are 10 things to keep in mind when traveling to this Northern Europe country.
1. Don’t Get Easily Offended
Estonians have a great sense of humor, but they tend to be more dry and sar-castic when it comes to cracking a joke. If you find yourself the target of an off-hand pun, take it as a compliment and learn to laugh at yourself.
2. Don’t Talk About History
In the 1940s, Estonian Jews were massacred by German police units and Es-tonian auxiliaries by the thousands. These events may have occurred decades ago, but the memories of the death and destruction are still fresh in their minds.
3. Don’t Forget to Wear Reflectors
If you plan on renting a bike and going for a ride after dark, small reflectors are required during the winter months. If you’re caught riding around without them, you’ll be subjected to a fine ranging from $50 to $500 USD.
4. Don’t Ignore Drink Prices
When ordering a drink in a bar, play close attention to the drink prices. Many people have noticed that some bartenders mark up the price of liquor for for-eign tourists.
5. Don’t Keep Your Shoes On
If you happen to meet a kind Estonian who invites you to their home, respect is required at all times. They also expect you to take off your shoes when you step inside, so make sure you’re wearing some presentable socks!
6. Don’t Expect Friendliness Right Away
Many people define Estonians as cold and standoffish. You’ll probably feel a bit of tension, but it won’t last long. When they become more comfortable with you, their demeanor and communication will lighten up drastically.
7. Don’t Travel Without Insect Repellent
Tick-borne encephalitis and Lyme-disease is widespread, especially in the parks in Tallinn. Bites from ticks and other insects are more common in forest-ed areas, so be sure to protect yourself before venturing out into nature.
8. Don’t Expect Help When Traveling With Kids
Estonia is definitely a children-friendly destination, but public transportation isn’t equipped to provide assistance for those with strollers, and a lot of the streets in Old Town are cobbled roads, making it difficult to push strollers with ease.
9. Don’t Use Your Cell Phone While Driving
Talking on your cell phone while driving is prohibited, but you can use a hands-free system, of course. Seat belts are always required, and your head-lights must be turned on at all times – whether it’s daytime or nighttime.
10. Don’t Ask Them to Speak Russian
Many people assume Estonians speak Russian since the neighboring country is close by. But they have their own language, Estonian, which they’re really proud of. However, many Estonians prefer to speak English.
Where do you want to know what not to do in next?
Comment Below!
Klooga concentration camp, Estonia
7.9.2015 Klooga Memorial, Estonia (32)
“If nothing else is left, one must scream. Silence is the real crime against humanity.
- Nadezhda Mandelstam”
_______________________________
Here is information from wikipedia:
Klooga concentration camp was a Nazi forced labor subcamp of the Vaivara concentration camp complex established in September 1943 in Harju County, during World War II, in German-occupied Estonia near the village of Klooga. The Vaivara camp complex was commanded by German officers Hans Aumeier, Otto Brennais and Franz von Bodmann and consisted of 20 field camps, some of which existed only for short periods. It is estimated that 1,800–2,000 prisoners perished at Klooga from wanton killings, epidemics and working conditions. Most of them were Jews. Those who survived were transported to the Stutthof concentration camp in occupied Poland ahead of the Soviet advance.
_________________________
Klooga concentration camp - Kloogan keskitysleiri.
Kloogan keskitysleiri perustettiin syyskuussa 1943 Vaivaran keskitysleirin alaisuuteen. Vangit olivat Liettuan Vilnasta ja Kaunasista sekä Latvian Salaspilsista tuotuja juutalaisia. Neuvostoliiton joukkojen hyökätessä Viron alueelle elokuussa 1944 osa vangeista siirrettiin Puolaan. Syyskuun 17. päivänä 1944 leiri määrättiin tyhjennettäväksi. Syyskuun 19. päivänä noin 2 000 leiriläistä ammuttiin ja osa poltettiin ennen leirin johdon pakenemista Saksaan. 80 vankia pelastui piilottelemalla lähialueella.
Opening memory gallery Jewish Community of Estonia
Gentle Tallinn - Tallinn Lieve (2002) - Alberto Cima Film Maker
The city of Tallinn, capital of Estonia, offers the rare possibility of observing freely, without tricks of the eye nor violence. People welcome the watching eye naturally, they do not feel offended nor do they withdraw, they participate willingly, discreetly. In every place: in bars, on streetcars, along the street. And they never cease to convey messages, even when their voice goes off and they start to stare into space with embarrassment. All the images of Gentle Tallinn belong to reality as do its sounds. Caught in a relationship of tenderness with every living being and thing, in common fate. With eyes wide open and the sweetness of temporary enchantments.
Tallinn, città di mezzo milione di abitanti, è la capitale dell'Estonia. Il film TALLINN LIEVE non è un film sull'Estonia, è piuttosto una riflessione sull'uomo, sulla condizione umana. Tallinn offre la possibilità rara di osservare liberamente, senza ricorrere a trucchi o violenze dell'occhio. Le persone accolgono lo sguardo, con naturalezza, non si sentono offese e non si ritraggono. Al contrario, volentieri partecipano, con discrezione. In ogni luogo: nei bar, sui tram, per strada. Nasce così l'incanto di fronte al mistero che siamo. L'uomo che si muove, si esprime, parla, canta, sussurra, suona. E non cessa di trasmettere messaggi, anche quando la voce si spegne e guarda con imbarazzo il vuoto. Al di là della protezione delle note convenzioni, per un attimo è perduto. Allora ci interessa anche di più, ci commuove: è lui, disarmato, vivo, vero. C'è chi accenna alle sofferenze di un popolo che s'è liberato da soli dieci anni da una feroce dominazione. Soffriamo con loro. La bella e giovane sposa, il barbone, l'alcolista e il genio al pianoforte fanno parte di un'unica realtà. Una unità che si mostra in milioni di forme, come fiori di campo: tutti essenziali. Tutte le immagini di TALLINN LIEVE sono della realtà, come tutti i suoni.
Anno: 2002
Durata: 89 min
Copyright: Alberto Cima
Regia: Alberto Cima
Aiuto regia: Paola Ratti
Soggetto, fotografia, montaggio: Alberto Cima
Consulenza editing digitale: Matteo Cima
Suono: Presa diretta
Sottotitoli: Italiano, Inglese e Francese
Interpreti:
Ain Talihärm, Vello Salo, Anto Pett, Ursula Saal, Tamara Harutyunyan, Kati Lehemets, Hannes Kivi, Lagle Parek, Arne Vaik, Maria Talihärm, Erki Evestus, Boris Kivi, Enn Suve.
Estonia Occupation Museums
KGB Cells Museum (Tartu), Museum of Occupations and Independence (Tallinn).
An Estonian Holocaust Exhibition and Celebration.
It would be appropriate at this time, while the savage attacks against Muslims in Palestine continues apace, for the Wiesenthal Centre, famous for the tracking down of war criminals, to keep their mouths shut to avoid cries of hypocrisy and to consider the position of Jews across the world who are coming under attack at this moment because of events in Gaza, would it not? And does the spokesman for Israel consider what happened to the Jews during WW2 to be a greater crime than that carried out by the Jewish Bolsheviks in Russia, which saw to the slaughter of 65 million Christians?
Read more on Enochered's blog.
Dr. Anu Põldsam (University of Tartu) - Jewish Studies in Estonia - past and present
Dr. Anu Põldsam (University of Tartu) - Jewish Studies in Estonia - past and present
Interested lecture, taken place in the Beit Hatfutsot (Jewish Diaspora Museum), Tel Aviv, Israel.
Her lecture was very interesting and involved many interesting details about Jewish Studies in Estonia - past and present. She has researched the history of the Chair of Jewish Studies at pre-war University of Tartu.
Her lecture was one of the lectures, in the History conference, Exceptional Estonia:
Jewish Academic Life and Cultural Autonomy in the Republic of Estonia between the two World Wars (1918-1940)
This History Conference, 'Exceptional Estonia', was sponsored by the Estonian Embassy in Tel Aviv, Israel.
History of the Jews in Estonia | Wikipedia audio article
This is an audio version of the Wikipedia Article:
History of the Jews in Estonia
Listening is a more natural way of learning, when compared to reading. Written language only began at around 3200 BC, but spoken language has existed long ago.
Learning by listening is a great way to:
- increases imagination and understanding
- improves your listening skills
- improves your own spoken accent
- learn while on the move
- reduce eye strain
Now learn the vast amount of general knowledge available on Wikipedia through audio (audio article). You could even learn subconsciously by playing the audio while you are sleeping! If you are planning to listen a lot, you could try using a bone conduction headphone, or a standard speaker instead of an earphone.
You can find other Wikipedia audio articles too at:
You can upload your own Wikipedia articles through:
The only true wisdom is in knowing you know nothing.
- Socrates
SUMMARY
=======
The history of the Jews in Estonia starts with individual reports of Jews in what is now Estonia from as early as the 14th century. However, the process of permanent Jewish settlement in Estonia began in the 19th century, especially after they were granted the official right to enter the region by a statute of Russian Tsar Alexander II in 1865. This allowed the so-called Jewish Nicholas soldiers (often former cantonists) and their descendants, First Guild merchants, artisans, and Jews with higher education to settle in Estonia and other parts of the Russian Empire outside their Pale of Settlement. The Nicholas soldiers and their descendants, and artisans were, basically, the ones who founded the first Jewish congregations in Estonia. The Tallinn congregation, the largest in Estonia, was founded in 1830. The Tartu congregation was established in 1866 when the first fifty families settled there. Synagogues were built, the largest of which were constructed in Tallinn in 1883 and Tartu in 1901. Both of these were subsequently destroyed by fire in World War II.
The Jewish population spread to other Estonian cities where houses of prayer (at Valga, Pärnu and Viljandi) were erected and cemeteries were established. Schools were opened to teach Talmud, and elementary schools were organised in Tallinn in the 1880s. The majority of the Jewish population at that time consisted of small tradesmen and artisans; very few knew science, hence Jewish cultural life lagged. This began to change at the end of the 19th century when several Jews entered the University of Tartu and later contributed significantly to enliven Jewish culture and education. 1917 even saw the founding of the Jewish Drama Club in Tartu.
Estonian Maritime Museum
Beautifull Wreck collection and information at Estonia Maritime museum, Tallin.
Researcher Vello Mäss presenting museum.
Seder Pesach Tallinn Synagogue 2012
Estonian contemporary architecture: Tallinn´s Synagogue
Architects: Lembit-Kaur Stöör, Tõnis Kimmel
creative director: Andrus Kõresaar
Inderior architects: Liis Lindvere, Raili Paling
Object and interior design prize 2007
Clip from architectural documentary MAJA 2007
Contact: info@arhitektuurikeskus.ee
Pope receives warm welcome as he returns to Vilnius
(24 Sep 2018) Some two hundred faithful lined the street in front of the Apostolic Nunciature in Vilnius to welcome Pope Francis back to the Lithuanian capital during his trip to the Baltics on Monday.
On the third day of his Baltic pilgrimage, Francis traveled to Latvia but returned in the evening to Vilnius.
After entering the Nunciature building, he went to the balcony to greet the crowd.
Many thanks for this warm welcome. Today I was all day in Latvia, and I was very happy to see the faith of those people, he said from the balcony.
Throughout his visit to the Baltics, the Pope has returned to stay overnight in the Nunciature in Vilnius, the only Nunciature in the three countries of his trip.
Lithuania is 80 percent Catholic; Lutherans and Russian Orthodox count more followers in Latvia and Estonia.
Francis is visiting Lithuania, Latvia and Estonia to mark their 100th anniversaries of independence and to encourage the faith in the Baltics, which saw five decades of Soviet-imposed religious repression and state-sponsored atheism.
In addition, the Nazi occupation nearly exterminated their Jewish populations.
The Pope leaves Tuesday for Rome from Tallinn in Estonia.
Find out more about AP Archive:
Twitter:
Facebook:
Google+:
Tumblr:
Instagram:
You can license this story through AP Archive:
Patarei and City Walls in Tallinn - Estonia 4K Travel Channel
On the way from the Tallin seaplane port back to the old town, a huge building complex in a rather desolate condition catches our eye. It is Patarei. We decide to take a closer look. In 1828, Nikolai I. ordered to build the fortress Patarei. As a rule, it housed 2000 soldiers. With the independence of Estonia 1918, Patarei became the central city prison of Tallinn. Later, the Nazis used Patarei as a working and concentration camp. In 1943, they shot 200 Estonian Jews in the court. In 1945, the site became a Soviet military prison. As of 1991, it was again an Estonian state prison before it was finally closed in 2002.
Already under the Nazis, up to 4500 prisoners were corralled here. Under the Soviets, there were up to 5000. The cells were designed for 6 to 8 prisoners, but in some cases, up to 20 prisoners shared in one cell.
During the Olympic summer Games 1980, Patarei experienced the most macabre chapter. The Olympic sailing competitions took place in the bay in front of the prison. The windows were bricked up to or locked with steel plates to the sea so that the prisoners could not communicate with the athletes in any form. After the Olympic Games, one didn't take away the shields. Since that time the prisoners in these cells spent the time in darkness.
The building piqued our curiosity and we want to visit the museum. After paying a small entrance fee, you can move freely in and around the building. We notice a door to the right of the entrance, where some visitors come out. so we decided to start our tour there.
Through a narrow corridor with ventilating or heating pipes, we reach a small room with a pit in the middle. It was the execution room where prisoners were hanged. It's a gruesome feeling, when we think, that this room was the last sight on this planet for some prisoners. While the Soviets reigned here, the prisoners spent only the first weeks or months of their captivity here, before disappeared in Siberian Gulags.
We go quickly into the main wing. Everything looks like one had left the building almost hasty. Nothing is restored, but everything is exposed to weathering.
......
please read more:
Auf dem Weg vom Tallinner Wasserflugzeughafen zurück in die Altstadt, fällt unser Blick auf einen mächtigen Gebäudekomplex, der in einem ziemlich desolatem Zustand erscheint. Es ist Patarei. Wir beschließen, uns das Gemäuer etwas näher anzusehen.
1828 gab Nikolai I den Auftrag die Festung Patarei zu errichten. In der Regel waren hier 2000 Soldaten stationiert. Mit der Unabhängigkeit Estlands 1918 wurde Pararei das zentrale Stadtgefängnis von Tallinn. Später nutzten die Nazis Patarei als Arbeits- und Konzentrationslager. 1943 erschossen sie hier im Hof 200 estnische Juden. 1945 wurde das Gelände sowjetisches Militärgefängnis. Ab 1991 war es wieder estnisches Staatsgefängnis, bevor es 2002 endgültig geschlossen wurde.
Bereits unter den Nazis wurden bis zu 4500 Gefangene hier eingepfercht. Unter den Sowjets waren es bis zu 5000. Die Zellen waren für 6 bis 8 Gefangene ausgelegt, teilweise waren aber darin bis zu 20 untergebracht.
Das makaberste Kapitel erlebte Patarei während der Olympischen Sommerspiele 1980. In der Bucht vor dem Gefängnis fanden die olympischen Segelwettbewerbe statt. Damit die Gefangen nicht mit den Sportlern in irgendeiner Form kommunizieren konnten wurden die Fenster zum Meer hin zugemauert oder mit Stahlplatten verschlossen. Nach den olympischen Spielen ließ man diesen Sichtschutz einfach bestehen. Seit diesem Zeitpunkt verbrachten die Gefangenen in diesen Zellen die Zeit in Dunkelheit.
Unsere Neugierde ist nun geweckt und wir wollen „das Museum“ besuchen. Nach dem Entrichten eines geringen Eintrittspreises darf man sich im Gebäude frei bewegen. Uns fällt rechts vom Eingang eine Tür auf, aus der Besucher kommen. Wir beschließen hier unsere Rundgang zu beginnen.
Durch einen schmalen Gang mit Lüftungs- oder Heizungsrohren erreichen wir einen kleinen Raum, in dem sich eine Grube in der Mitte befindet. Es war der Hinrichtungsraum, in dem Gefangene gehängt wurden. Die Grube war die Fallgrube. Es beschleicht uns ein schauriges Gefühl, als wir uns überlegen, dass dieser Raum für manche Gefangene der letzte Anblick auf diesem Planeten war. Während die Sowjets hier herrschten, verbrachten die Gefangenen nur die ersten Wochen oder Monate ihrer Gefangenschaft hier, bevor sie in sibirischen Gulags verschwanden.
Wir gehen rasch weiter in den Haupttrakt. Alles sieht so aus, wie das Gebäude (fast fluchtartig) verlassen wurde. Es wird nichts restauriert, sondern alles ist der Verwitterung preisgegeben. Dennoch wirken die Räumlichkeiten noch sehr lebendig.
.....
weitere Infos im Reisevideoblog:
Midsummer day Kose Estonia 2018
Midsummer day Kose Estonia 2018
Latvian and Estonian Jews 70 years Yizkor.wmv
יותר מ-400 יוצאי לטביה ואסטוניה וביניהם ניצולי שואה וצאצאיהם מכל קצוות הארץ התכנסו ב-6 בדצמבר 2011, י' בכסלו תשעב ביד ושם בירושלים לעצרת זיכרון לציון 70 שנה לתחילת רצח היהודים בארצות אלה עי הכובשים הגרמניים ועוזריהם המקומיים.
6 декабря 2011 года, в Иерусалиме, в мемориальном институте катастрофы и героизма Яд ва-Шем более 400 выходцев из Латвии и Эстонии отметили 70 лет начала массового уничтожения евреев в этих странах немецкими нацистами и их добровольными местными пособниками.
December 6, 2011, more than 400 Israelis of Latvian and Estonian origin, among them Holocaust survivors and their descendants, arrived from all over Israel to an IZKOR Assembly held at Yad Vashem - in Jerusalem to mark 70th anniversary of the beginning of the massacre of Latvian & Estonian Jews.
Anton Weiss-Wendt about Estonian Holocaust 1941-1944
LARUSSIA TALLINN ESTONIA BASHKIN
TALLINN ESTONIA LARUSSIA Башкин гуляем
History of the Jews in Estonia | Wikipedia audio article
This is an audio version of the Wikipedia Article:
History of the Jews in Estonia
Listening is a more natural way of learning, when compared to reading. Written
language only began at around 3200 BC, but spoken language has existed long ago.
Learning by listening is a great way to:
- increases imagination and understanding
- improves your listening skills
- improves your own spoken accent
- learn while on the move
- reduce eye strain
Now learn the vast amount of general knowledge available on Wikipedia through
audio (audio article). You could even learn subconsciously by playing the audio
while you are sleeping! If you are planning to listen a lot, you could try using
a bone conduction headphone, or a standard speaker instead of an earphone.
You can find other Wikipedia audio articles too at:
In case you don't find one that you were looking for, put a comment.
This video uses Google TTS en-US-Standard-D voice.
SUMMARY
=======
The history of the Jews in Estonia starts with individual reports of Jews in what is now Estonia from as early as the 14th century. However, the process of permanent Jewish settlement in Estonia began in the 19th century, especially after they were granted the official right to enter the region by a statute of Russian Tsar Alexander II in 1865. This allowed the so-called Jewish Nicholas soldiers (often former cantonists) and their descendants, First Guild merchants, artisans, and Jews with higher education to settle in Estonia and other parts of the Russian Empire outside their Pale of Settlement. The Nicholas soldiers and their descendants, and artisans were, basically, the ones who founded the first Jewish congregations in Estonia. The Tallinn congregation, the largest in Estonia, was founded in 1830. The Tartu congregation was established in 1866 when the first fifty families settled there. Synagogues were built, the largest of which were constructed in Tallinn in 1883 and Tartu in 1901. Both of these were subsequently destroyed by fire in World War II.
The Jewish population spread to other Estonian cities where houses of prayer (at Valga, Pärnu and Viljandi) were erected and cemeteries were established. Schools were opened to teach Talmud, and elementary schools were organised in Tallinn in the 1880s. The majority of the Jewish population at that time consisted of small tradesmen and artisans; very few knew science, hence Jewish cultural life lagged. This began to change at the end of the 19th century when several Jews entered the University of Tartu and later contributed significantly to enliven Jewish culture and education. 1917 even saw the founding of the Jewish Drama Club in Tartu.
180429 KGB kopitti Vilnan vihapuhujat
KGB-museo Liettuan pääkaupungissa Vilnassa muistuttaa ajasta, jolloin valtaapitävien arvostelusta saattoi vapauden lisäksi menettää myös henkensä. Toivottavasti ne ajat eivät enää palaa.