My beautiful little home country turned 100 today! Wow, what a milestone! Even though I live abroad I am so proud of my roots and so thankful to be a part of an exquisite and unique country as Estonia. And even though we’re a small country we’re nothing but small. We have endured so much throughout our history on this small piece of land and also accomplished a lot. For example when it comes to winning Olympic medals, Estonia really punches above its weight. Not including the 2016 Games in Rio, we have picked up a total of 25.5 medals per million residents. Only seven countries have a greater strike rate. Estonia is also one of 51 countries that receive more tourists each year than its total population. Estonia has been conquered by almost all of our neighbours, but despite all of these repressions and wars, we managed to fight back and declare independency back in 1918. And today, 100 years later, we celebrate the birthday of Estonia! Today, there are about 1.3 million people living in Estonia. A further 125,000 people with Estonian heritage live abroad, which might explain why Ernest Hemingway once said, "In every port in the world, at least two Estonians can be found."
Estonian history extends across a long and winding road through time, telling the tales of many nations from Vikings to the kings, queens and medieval merchants of German, Swedish, Danish and Russian descent. Estonia's deeply rooted pagan spirit and European mindset means that the country and its people bear close ties with nature while being a proudly independent EU and NATO member state with a growing reputation for innovation. If you still haven’t visited Estonia, then you must add it to your bucket list - our capital Tallinn is the best preserved medieval city in Northern Europe and around 50% of our territory is covered with forest. And during the month of June you can enjoy the famous White Nights of Estonia. Basically the summer days extend long into the night and there's barely any darkness in sight. Anyway, today from my home in Marbella, I'm proudly celebrating the 100th birthday of Estonia with some proper black bread and some other goodies that I got from a local Russian shop. And I will be back home soon, because it will always be my real home.. Proosit Eesti!
Cool Facts:
Estonia is also one of 51 countries that receive more tourists each year than its total population.
We invented Skype! A group of Estonians were fundamental in the invention of Skype, the online video call service, and 44 per cent of its employees are based in Tallinn and Tartu. Tallinn is sometime dubbed the Silicon Valley of Europe and has the continent’s highest number of startups per head of population.
Did you know a first century Roman writer named Tacitus mentioned the Estonians? He called us the Aesti. According to legend, the name comes from the Germanic people and means „respect“.
Did you know you can vote online and start your own business in less than half an hour in Estonia?
Estonia has one of the highest adult literacy rates in the world – 99.8 per cent, according to Unesco.
Read more of our history here:
