Here's a good Estonian disco hit to bring in the New Year!
Saturday, 31 December 2016
A look inside PiparkoogiMaania / Gingerbread Mania
During my recent trip to Tallinn I made a point of stopping by the PiparkoogiMaania exhibition. This year's theme is 'The Forest' and everything on display is related to the fauna and flora of Estonia's forests. Some of the items have really intricate features and it is amazing to see that it is all made from gingerbread. While there I was pleased to discover that piparkook classes are held regularly so you can have fun making your own creations or buy some from the gift shop. PiparkoogiMaania is definitely worth a visit!
I wonder what the theme will be for next year ...
Wednesday, 28 December 2016
New milestone! 250,000 pageviews!
Yesterday this blog reached a new milestone. 250,000 pageviews! Thank you so much for reading!
Sunday, 25 December 2016
European Christmas Cakes - Estonians love their gingerbread!
The website 'Europe's Not Dead' recently compiled a list of Christmas cakes from around Europe. As you scroll through the list of countries you will see that the list is quite diverse. In Estonia, people absolutely love to eat gingerbread biscuits (piparkoogid) at Christmas time and if they don't have time to make them themselves, they can be bought almost everywhere!
Here's an excerpt from the article:
Estonia.
Christmas and New Year without Piparkoogid just doesn't feel right. Piparkoogid actually translates as pepper cakes, and they’re a must-have in Estonia. Mums and dads across the country are rolling and cutting and baking gingerbread cookies with their delighted offspring. Coffee shops replace the traditional chocolate-with-your-cuppa with piparkook-with-your-cuppa. Piparkoogid are actually made with lots of different spices, cinnamon, ginger, clove, cardamom, nutmeg, orange peel, black pepper. The most important part of the preparation of the dough is burning the sugar. The burnt sugar gives the piparkoogid the brown colour. It is good to let the dough rest for at least 24 hours and it can stay in the fridge even for a month.
To read the full article, please click here: European Christmas Cakes
Christmas Day in Tallinn 2016
I spent a lovely Christmas Day in Tallinn this year. The sky was blue and the weather wasn't too chilly, a perfect day to be out and about. After last night's Christmas celebrations, Estonians and visitors began to re-emerge in the streets again and were busy enjoying themselves in nearby restaurants and cafes. Yesterday when I visited Maiasmokk Cafe it was virtually empty but today it was hard to find a table. It's such a charming old cafe that it's no wonder why customers keep flowing through its doors.
Tallinn's Christmas market was buzzing with activity today. At noon children were queuing to visit Santa (Jõuluvana) in his cottage, and on the nearby stage Estonian children dressed in national costumes were dancing to folk songs. It was such a delightful sight with a wonderful atmosphere.
One of the highlights of the day was the Christmas concert held in St. Nicholas Church. Even though I was staying only metres from the location, I watched the live broadcast on ETV. I particularly liked the traditional songs that are usually sung in English but the lyrics were changed to Estonian. The concert was part of a fundraising event and by 10pm I was delighted to see that the amount raised had climbed to 189,000 €.
Part of the concert can be watched here: Jõulutunnel. Kontsert - ülekanne Nigulistest
Saturday, 24 December 2016
Häid Jõule! Merry Christmas from Estonia!
It's Christmas Eve in Tallinn and although it's not snowing this year, the atmosphere in the Old Town is still amazing with all its sparkling lights and festivities. I really do love the Christmas markets in Tallinn as they offer everything you need - food, drinks, gifts, games, rides and music. The reindeer pen and Santa's house are nice features of the market as well as the stage for live performances. Few countries in the world have such a complete Christmas market which is no wonder why Tallinn's is often voted as one of the best!
The Viru Gate always looks stunning at Christmas time.
The Tallinn Christmas Market.
The world's first Christmas tree was erected here by German merchants in 1441.
Christmas stage
Many delights can be found here!
Beautiful!
Each year that I visit the Tallinn Christmas market, I notice all the subtle differences and I must admit, I think the market keeps getting better and better!
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