Estonia - Paradise of the North

Ilus Eesti, beautiful Estonia. My family's homeland. Estonia's countryside and people have an endearing gentleness about them which you fall in love with slowly and imperceptibly. I have nothing but respect and admiration for Estonians' courage and determination to survive despite centuries of repression, tyranny and foreign occupation. This blog aims to promote Estonian news, history and culture and seeks to enlighten readers about everything this unique country has to offer.

Tuesday, 29 April 2025

This day in history

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30 years ago today, on 29th April 1995, the first McDonald's Restaurant opened in Estonia. It was opened in Tallinn's Viru street ne...
Sunday, 27 April 2025

Estonia achieves full democracy ranking

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For the first time in history, the Economist Democracy Index has ranked Estonia as a “full democracy”. Estonia was upgraded from 'flawed...
Saturday, 26 April 2025

Weekend art appreciation

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This painting by Ernst Hermann Schlichting is titled 'Vaade Tallinnale Narva maanteel' (view of Tallinn from Narva highway). It depi...
Tuesday, 22 April 2025

Happy World Earth Day!

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Each year on April 22, more than a billion people celebrate Earth Day to protect the planet from things such as pollution and deforestation....
Friday, 18 April 2025

Vahvat munadepüha! Happy Easter!

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Easter is known by several different names in Estonia. Munadepüha (egg holiday), kiigepüha (swing holiday, referring to playing on the tradi...

Valga sets new April heat record

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Today (18.04) April's absolute heat record was officially broken. In Southeast Estonia, the air temperature rose to nearly 28°C. The max...
Tuesday, 15 April 2025

A very pleasant surprise!

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While I was looking at the Nostalgiamuuseum page on Facebook this morning, I made a wonderful discovery. Someone had colourised one of my ol...
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About Me

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Tania Lestal
I am an Estonian-Australian with a deep love for my ancestral homeland. My family originate from Nõo county near Tartu which is located in Southern Estonia. Many members of my family left Estonia due to the Soviet occupation and have since branched out and resettled across the globe. After WWII my grandparents spent time living in a DP camp in Hamburg before emigrating to Australia. Today we are the only Lestal family in Australia. We have relatives in Germany, England, Canada, Austria and of course Estonia. This blog showcases all the things I love about Estonia and I also promote Estonia as a travel destination through my work as a freelance travel writer. My articles have been published in Explore History Magazine, Wanderlust, Estonian World, Azuria, to name but a few. If you would like to get in touch, please direct any comments, enquiries or suggestions to the following email address: estonia.paradise.of.the.north@gmail.com
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