Eesti.

I've realised that my trip to Estonia happened over a month ago, but I haven't shared any pictures or thoughts from that adventure! So here you are, have a look at mostly Tallinn.

Estonia is a small country in Northern Europe with a population of 1.3 million. Below you can see the size of Estonia compared to the UK. Estonian is the main language spoken, but for historical reasons, there is a big Russian-speaking minority there as well. Some parts of the country are mainly Russian-speaking: essentially, the more East you go, the more Russian speakers you meet. In some places people speak Russian only.

Source: http://www.ifitweremyhome.com/compare/GB/EE

Estonia welcomed us with snow and some seriously cold temperatures. But that wouldn't stop us from exploring the city centre which turned out to be absolutely charming with its little cobbled streets.

We've made three amazing discoveries in Estonia, two culinary and one cultural. First one was Rukis, a cafe in the Old Town with an amazing selection of cakes, tasty light bites and really classy decor. If I could, I would spend hours there, such a cosy place, with nice staff and those cakes!

The second culinary discovery was rather sketchy at first... Really sketchy.

But the reviews on the internet said not to be put off by the entrance, so in we went and discovered most delicious pancakes for about 5 euros each. It was absolutely perfect and is definitely a place that I will visit again if I come to Tallinn again.

The third discovery was Seaplane Museum. On entry, I thought I was transported to the depths of the sea.

I'm not a maritime enthusiasm, but there was so much to do there! There was a shooting simulator (7% accuracy), a submarine simulator, an actual submarine that you could enter, a plane simulator (which I managed to crash twice), a place to take picture in various uniforms and, most importantly, some longboats, which was the real reason I wanted to go there.

I don't think Estonia is a place that comes to people's mind as a trip destination, but definitely go there if you get a chance. A couple of days would be sufficient for Tallinn itself, maybe couple it with a trip to Helsinki (you can easily get a ferry across the water) or St Petersburg if you sort your visa out beforehand. And maybe avoid Estonia in the middle of February, unless you like cold or are a fan of wearing thermal clothing. As charming as all the snowy landscape was, I think I would appreciate  everything even more in positive temperatures.