Summertime brings many visitors to Estonia and no doubt a few romances blossom as a result. Estonian women are renowned for their beauty, both inside and out which makes them very appealing. Estonian women have gentle natures and are reserved but they love men who make them laugh. If you manage to crack an Estonian girl's exterior and get her to smile then you've succeeded where many others have not.
Dating an Estonian woman can broaden your horizons and teach you many new things. Here are 12 things to expect when dating one:
1. Dating an Estonian woman requires you to understand her communication style. She will most likely be very polite and well-mannered and use only a few words to convey her message while most others require at least a dozen. Estonians typically don’t like to engage in small talk or state the obvious and they are very comfortable with silence.
2. Estonian women value traditions. Handicrafts and cooking skills are passed down from one generation to the next therefore an Estonian woman who can't cook is usually unheard of!
3. You will be shown how black bread ought to taste.
4. New words will enter your vocabulary and you will learn that saying ‘terviseks’ (cheers) is not something to be laughed at.
5. Don't be surprised if an Estonian woman affectionately alters your name. If your name is Matthew she might call you 'Mattike', Jaanus - 'Jansu', Indrek - 'Ints' or Markus 'Marx'.
6. Estonian women are not religious so you won’t be expected to attend church on Sundays unlike her grandparents’ or great-grandparents’ generations.
7. You will be introduced to Estonian foods such as kama (Estonian cereal), kefir (buttermilk) and kohuke (a curd snack). Estonians also love to put jam and butter in their porridge.
8. A country house is not complete without a sauna.
9. It's perfectly normal to have funeral photos in a family’s photograph collection.
10. Estonian women are tall, slim and known to be fast walkers. Despite their frames they are often stronger than you think. Carrying 10-15 kg is usually no problem at all.
11. If you don’t like meals consisting of sour cream, dill, herrings, cabbage or potatoes then you might need to adjust your taste buds as you will most certainly be served these foods when you visit her family.
12. An Estonian birthday is not complete without a kringle being eaten.