Happy Estonian Independence Day! Head Eesti Vabariigi Aastapäeva!

Today the Republic of Estonia celebrates its 103rd birthday. On this day we honour the brave men who fought for Estonia's independence.  One of those men was my grandfather's uncle Paul Lesthal. He was a machine gunner in the armoured train division.  The armoured trains were the backbone of the war effort. Happy Independence Day everyone! Head EV103 iseseisvuspäevä!

Sportsman Andrei Nazarov makes Independence Day honours list

I am very proud that my cousin Andrei Nazarov received a state decoration today on the eve of Estonia's Independence Day. Andrei was awarded The Order of the White Star, 4th Class from President Kaljulaid.  Congratulations!

Andrei with his wife Ksenija Balta

In total, 152 people were recognised for their outstanding work this year. The full awards list can be found here: President awards 152 state decorations

Estonian recipe: Potato salad with red beet

It's Sunday, the day of the week I spend longest in the kitchen. It's always nice to cook Estonian dishes and I haven't made this one in a while. Potato salad with red beet is a traditional Estonian dish. It's good to eat with either lunch or dinner.

Learning Estonian: Numbers, Greetings & Phrases

Here's good video to learn some basic Estonian words and phrases. 

Video: About the Estonian language

I enjoy watching these overview videos about Estonia. Even though they feature similar facts and figures it's how it's all put together that makes the difference. One thing is for certain, Estonian is a beautiful sounding melodic language! 

New documentary by Helga Merits - The paradox of Seabrook Farms

More information can be found here: Merits Productions

The new look Estonian passport

On 1st January 2021 a new biometric passport was released in Estonia. The new passport contains several new security features and has a stunning design that seems to come to life under UV light.  The new passport design is inspired by Estonian national motifs of flora and fauna. The inner passport pages are decorated with illustrations of national symbols of Estonia: including the wolf, the swallow and the oak tree. Take a closer look and you will see microprinted Estonian poetic phrases with the animals. For example, on the page with the wolf it says "Listen, dear, how the trees rustle", and the page with the bear says "The Estonian forest is beautiful". Since June 2009, all Estonian passport holders are required to have their fingerprints stored on the biometric chip in their passports.

Estonian passports have a validity of ten years. In 2017 the law was changed extending passport life from five years to ten.