Erik Thomas Kirkman perfectly captures Estonia's natural beauty

Feel inspired to visit Estonia by watching this breathtaking video by Norwegian filmmaker Erik Thomas Kirkman. The filmmaker visits Estonia several times each year to spend time with his wife's family who live near Haapsalu. Estonia has become his second home. 

It's hard not to fall in love with Estonia's natural, unspoilt beauty. The more you visit, the more you will want to go back.

VIDEO: Cleveron's drone delivery service at Viljandi beach

Driverless buses made Tallinn debut on Saturday

Introduced as part of the Estonian presidency of the Council of the EU, Easymile driverless buses began operating a limited route in Central Tallinn just after noon on Saturday. The buses are free to use and available between the Mere puiestee (Mere Avenue) stop and Tallinn Creative Hub. Operating hours are from 8:30 a.m - 5:30 p.m, Monday to Saturday. The trial shuttles are scheduled to remain in service through to the end of August and then will be returned to France. During the first three days of operation, the buses had a few close calls but nothing that required an emergency response.

Source: ERR News

More information can be found here: No major incidents with driverless buses in first three days

First synthetic rubber was synthesised in Estonia

Did you know that the first synthetic rubber that had commerical success was synthesised in Estonia?

Ivan Lavrentyevich Kondakov (1857–1931) took a post as pharmaceutics professor at the University of Tartu in 1895. In 1900, he became the first in the world to synthesise a product that had similar properties to natural rubber. He published his discovery in 1901 and wrote the first monograph on synthetic rubber in Tartu in 1912. The method he used, resulting in methyl rubber, is known today as the Kondakov process.

The Kondakov’s invention quickly took on commercial significance, as demand for scarce and costly natural rubber outstripped supply in the early 20th century, especially due to the booming automotive industry. The Kondakov’s invention was the first synthetic rubber that entered production on an industrial scale.

Today there are more than 200 types of synthetic rubber available. The most common products made from these materials include bicycle and automobile tyres

Source: Estonian Research on Facebook

Estonian vocabulary for your next trip to Tallinn

The Estonian language is beautiful but can be quite tricky to pronounce. To help you during your next trip to Tallinn, Visit Tallinn has put together this very useful list of Estonian phrases. They're sure to come in handy!

Short summer vocabulary

Basics

Hi  - Tere

How are you? - Kuidas läheb?

Good - Hästi

I’m on a holiday - Olen puhkusel.

I like summer. - Mulle meeldib suvi.

I like it here - Mulle meeldib siin.

Weather

Lovely weather - Ilus ilm

Sun is shining - Päike paistab.

It’s cloudy today - Täna on pilvine.

It is raining - Sajab.

I like thunder and rain - Mulle meeldib äike ja vihm.

Stormy sea is awesome! - Tormine meri on äge!

Winter is coming - Talv tuleb.

Food

Two scoops of ice-cream please - Kaks palli jäätist palun.

Chocolate - Šokolaad

Vanilla - Vanilje

Two more please - Kaks veel palun

Strawberry - Maasikas

Blueberry - Mustikas

Let's have a BBQ - Grillime

Shashlik - Šašlõkk

Burger - Burger

Beer - Õlu

Party - Pidu

Activities

I want to ride my bicycle - Tahan rattaga sõita.

Let’s rent bikes and ride by the seaside - Laenutame rattad ja sõidame mere ääres.

I’m going to the Pirita beach - Ma lähen Pirita randa.

I want to swim with the locals - Tahan kohalikega koos ujuda.

Let’s climb the towers of Old Town! - Ronime vanalinna tornides!

I’m afraid of heights - Ma kardan kõrgust.

Don’t be afraid - Ära karda.

I’ll hold your hand - Ma hoian sul käest kinni.

Let’s walk in Kadriorg park - Lähme jalutame Kadrioru pargis.

Will you come with me? - Kas sa tuled ka minuga?

We’re relaxing - Me tšillime.

We’re hanging out - Me hängime.

Source: Short summer vocabulary for your Tallinn trip

Estonia to get centenary web store - ERR NEWS

The Government Office is creating a web store for the Estonian centenary that will sell merchandise branded with the visual identity of the EV100 or Estonia 100 program.

The store will sell centenary merchandise and will have to guarantee the delivery of all the products as well as working logistics behind the scenes.

The Government Office has specified that the store needs to be available in Estonian as well as Russian and English, and that there needs to be a product search function. The web store also needs to work with all the “most common” browsers, and be adaptable for mobile display. An authentication feature for the customers is not required.

The public tender now open to bidders also includes customer service and correspondence in Estonian, Russian and English, and if needed a way to buy back goods.

What exactly they are planning to sell in the web store is not yet known. According to the tender, the list of products is open—though the state as the commissioning party retains the right to change the selection of the shop at any given time.

Source - ERR News: http://news.err.ee/609041/estonia-to-get-centenary-web-store

An Estonian in Budapest

If you live in the Northern Hemisphere then no doubt you are enjoying the summer and busy planning your next getaway. Last year I spent my summer holiday in Hungary. It's a country I've always been curious about but only recently set time aside to visit. As Estonian belongs to the Finno-Ugric  language group I wanted to see if I could detect any similarities but there are few. The only time I thought Hungariam resembled Estonian was when I heard it in the background on the TV and the melody of the language, the rising and falling of the pitch, reminded me of Estonian.

I must admit I knew very little about Hungary before my trip. In primary school I had a good friend, Suzanne, who was Hungarian and I remember she often ate desserts with lots of cinnamon. Once I arrived in Budapest I was very pleasantly surprised. It's a very popular city with tourists. I heard a lot of foreign languages spoken on the street and everyone seemed to speak English. Budapest is a very vibrant city full of intersting places to visit. Unfortunately in the three days I was there, I didn't have time to see them all. But there's always next time!

Castle Hill

Budapest is divided into two section by the Danube River - 'Buda' and 'Pest'.

I stayed in Pest.

The impressive Parliament Buildings.

 They contain the Hungarian Crown Jewels.

This underground station was the only thing I found that

vaguely resembled an Estonian word. 

Budapest has many charming old train stations. Some lines of the underground still 

use trains dating back to the 19th century. The wooden interiors and individual light 

fittings really felt like I was stepping back in time.

Chain Bridge

The stone bridge with the lion bridgeheads was the first permanent 

connection between Buda and Pest.

The Danube Promenade

60 pairs of steel sculpted shoes can be found here to commemorate 

the Jews who were shot here during WWII.

.

Heroes' Square and the Millennium Monument

This is a nice part of town featuring many interesting buildings, sculptures and gardens.

St. Stephen’s Basilica

Impressive interior. Visitors can climb to the top of the tower

 to gain an excellent view of the city.

Quaint church

Budapest has many lovely parks and gardens.

The Rubik Cube was invented in 1974 by Hungarian sculptor and professor 

of architecture Ernő Rubik.

Hungarian post box.

No trip to Budapest is complete without a cruise along the Danube river.

There are many different tours to choose from that depart regularly.

Budapest was an absolutely lovely city that surpassed my expectations.

I will defintely return one day!

This year I will spend my summer holiday in beautiful Poland. My brother has been living in Krakow for the past two years and we will hire a holiday cottage for a week. I am especially looking forward to visiting the salt mines, Zakopane and the enchanting Polish folk art village of Zalipie. Can't wait!