Tuesday, 17 April 2012

Kalev confectionery restored its historical business name AS Kalev

Kalev confectionery, which has been operating under the business name “AS Kalev Chocolate Factory” in recent years, re-adopted its historical name “AS Kalev”.

“We have dropped the foreign words from Kalev’s business name in order to simplify the name and make it easier to pronounce in the Estonian language. For Estonians, Kalev is still “Kalev” and abroad we are also known primarily by the name “Kalev”. The change has to do only with the official business name; Estonia’s most appreciated trademark “Kalev” will remain with the products in its existing form,” said Kaido Kaare, CEO of AS Kalev.
The undertaking, which has been using the trademark “Kalev” since 1962, operated as AS Kalev Chocolate Factory from 2006, when the divisions producing chocolate and sugar confectionery were separated from the parent company.
According to AS Nielsen, a market research company, AS Kalev’s market share from December 2011 to January 2012 was 40.5 percent, having thus increased by 2.1 percentage points during one year.

Saturday, 24 March 2012

Tallinn Tourism Video

I just received this via a friend on Facebook. It's always great to see Tallinn. Check it out!


Monday, 12 March 2012

Saturday, 10 March 2012

To Move to Estonia or Not to Move to Estonia - That is the Question

I've been spending a lot of time in Estonia recently, more so than I've ever done in my life. Lately I've been thinking about perhaps spending a year or two living there as it's something I've always wanted to do. But when is the right time? When should I uproot myself and follow my dream? I've actually already started that process. I've achieved a lot of small feats recently which has pleased me immensely but I want to achieve more - of course! I believe in living a full and eventful life and as we don't know how much time we have, we really should make the most of it. I do try my best but like everyone else it's easy to get bogged down by other things along the way. Estonia is a wonderful place in which to live and I'm sure I'll be residing there in the not too distant future. It won't be this year or the next year but very possibly the one after!

Wednesday, 29 February 2012

Estonian Independence Day 2012

This year I experienced my first Estonian Independence Day in Tallinn. Usually I celebrate at my local Eesti Maja but this year I thought I'll go direct to the source - Tallinn. My great great uncle Paul Lestal fought in the War of Independence and I thank him and his fellow soldiers for giving the Estonian people the gift of freedom. Sadly 5000 Estonian men lost their lives during this war; every soldier was a volunteer with a deep love of their homeland.

This year a dawn service was held at Freedom Square and celebrations continued throughout the day. It was great seeing people carrying Estonian flags with pride. I guess on this day we can forgive young men walking the streets drunk at 9am - after all it's Independence Day!!!




Below is a photo taken from the first ever Independence Day celebration in Tallinn in 1919.


Wednesday, 8 February 2012

The Best Estonian Songs at Eurovision

I love Eurovision, I watch it every year. People in the UK think it's a bit of joke but I appreciate it for what it is, a bit of light entertainment. Estonia's had some great entries over the years and these are my favourites.