BONJOUR L'ESTONIE

Estonian islands : where time just rests!

AS I rolled off the ferry in the back of a rented people carrier onto the tiny island of Muhu, I was reminded of Caithness.

Today as the fog rolled around the house and closed down the view and opened the imagination, I recalled Muhu.

"Muhu," our guide Maarika explained, "is the island where time rests." I let the words roll around in my brain as I wonder what exactly that means. It might refer to a more leisurely way of life or a nostalgic look at village values or a part of Estonia where the influences of freedom and the west have not reached. It means, I came to believe in my brief visit, all of those.

Muhu reminded me of Caithness in three ways. First, when Maarika said that all too often people drove through Muhu without stopping on their way to the more famous, larger island of Saarema, I thought of all the times I had heard folks complain about visitors who lingered perhaps for a night here on their way to Orkney.

Secondly, both Muhu and Caithness have a handful of dedicated people committed to preserving and sharing the treasures of Caithness. The last connection was the most compelling personally, though hardly as profound as the others. Fish soup.

As a child of the prairies, fresh fish is a treat still associated first in my mind with exotic holidays. In an Indiana childhood, fish was all too often the deep fried, breaded squares dished out on Fridays at the school cafeteria. I think those squares are the American equivalent of fish fingers, but I am not curious enough to try tasting them.

Estonian Air to benefit from airlines going bankrupt

Estonian national carrier Estonian Air may benefit from the recent bankruptcies of Skyways, Sweden’s regional airline, and its subsidiary City Airlines.

Estonian Air’s CEO Tero Taskila says that also the bankruptcy of Cimber Sterling, a Danish-owned airline, in May means that there are passengers in Scandinavia who still need to fly, and who are now looking for alternatives

Taskila admitted that the airline was holding taks with several Swedish airlines on how Estonian Air could start flying also to other towns than Stockholm.

„We are talking about towns that are geographically positioned so that it would make sense for their residents to fly to Brussels through Tallinn, for instance, and not Copenhagen,” said Taskila.
He added that the Estonian airline was hodlign talks with at least three Swedish airports, but declined to name any names.

However, during the interview he several times mentions the name of Sundsvall, a Swedish town on the Baltic Sea coast.
Some time ago Skyways also operated Tallinn-Gothenburg and Kuressaare-Stockholm routes.

Turkish Airlines announces new service to Tallinn

TALLINN - Turkey's national airline announced today, during a meeting with Routes Europe 2012 host, Tallinn Airport that they will be commencing a three times weekly service to the Estonian capital.

The first meeting of the day for Routes Europe2012 host, Tallinn Airport proved to be extra special, not only have the airport team been working hard on preparing to host the 7th Routes Europe event, and largest to date, but they have also been working on attracting Turkish Airlines to service Tallinn.

Erik Sakkov, Member of the Management Board at Tallinn Airport explained "After many years of negotiations at Routes events, and after visiting them at their home base in Istanbul, we are delighted that Turkish Airlines have informed us this morning of their intention to commence services to Tallinn. This new service will allow Estonians to travel to Asia, Africa and beyond from Tallinn Airport. What a fantastic surprise on our first day of meetings as host of Routes Europe 2012."

Estonia to spend five million on promoting itself in Russia, Latvia and Finland

Enterprise Estonia is going to spend about five million euros, targeting mainly tourists from Russia, Latvia and Finland, promoting Estonia as a tourism destination, writes Postimees.

While last year the tourism promotion campaign was focusing on Tallinn that was the European Capital of Culture, this year’s objective is to attract foreign tourists also to visit sights outside Tallinn.

“Nature tourism does not mean that people should be arriving in camouflage suits and in Wellingtons. We want to reduce the importance of Tallinn among foreign tourists and get tourists to, for instance, Lahemaa,” says Tarmo Mutso, head of Enterprise Estonia’s tourism promotion centre.

Mutso says that while all three countries – Russia, Latvia and Finland - remain important for incoming tourism, they all require different approach.

As for Russians, they are now being offered holidays in luxury historic mansion houses that “make them feel themselves like the Russian Emperor Peter I or Chaikovski”.

Tiina Kärsna, head of the Russian section of Enterprise Estonia, says that the key strengths that are being offered to Russian tourists are peace quiet and greenery, things that residents of Moscow or St. Petersburg may have lost already.

Going Baltic over Tallinn

It had been 15 years since I last stepped foot on Tallinn’s soil. Estonia’s capital back then was still trying to find its long, lost identity having only recently cast off the oppressive clutches of Mother Russia. I remembered my first glimpse of Tallinn back in December 1997 with the unmistakable sight of the huge chimney of the old power plant acting as a beacon for our creaky Viking Line ferry as we made our way through the early morning mist. Tallinn was cold, dark and sinister and immediately appealing to explore.

Fast forward to the current day and Tallinn is now a leading European tourist destination, promising and delivering on a captivating historical past and a few pleasantly surprising additions as well. According to popular opinion, the quality of food and restaurants has improved tenfold since communist days. Sampling the culinary delights of Tallinn with some Finnish friends was the perfect way to reacquaint myself with this fascinating city. Helsinki’s locals often pop over for a day trip (think of a visit out of London to Oxford followed by a pub lunch, this is Helsinki’s equivalent). I could not believe what a make-over Tallinn has done to itself…..once you get away from the old port terminal, where we docked, which sadly dates back to the grey, concrete ways of the Russians. The city today is alive with hipster locals and happy tourists.

Leave touristy Tallinn behind
It pays to leave the tourist maps at home and deliberately get lost in the old town as aimless wandering around these beautiful cobbled streets reaps rich rewards.

Light up your life

P&O Cruises World Cruising's latest Europe program features seven new ports of call and the chance to experience the Northern Lights onboard Oriana.

The 2013-14 program has seven ships embarking on more than 200 cruises, including calls to Saaremaa Island in the West Estonian archipelago, the Swedish port town of Karlskrona and Albania's Sarande.

As part of an expanded program to Iceland and beyond, Oriana will make a special two-day visit to the Norwegian town of Alta, known as The Town of the Northern Lights. Prices for the cruise to the North Cape in March 2014 start at $1849 a person, twin share.

Estonian Air to start code-sharing with SAS

The Estonian national airline Estonian Air will start a code-share partnership with Scandinavian Airlines on Trondheim route from May 2, 2012, the company said in a statement.

"We are glad about extension of the cooperation with SAS. This will significantly improve Estonian Air visibility at foreign markets, which in turn increases the number of potential passengers," said Rauno Parras, CCO of Estonian Air.

"Possibility to buy flight tickets through SAS website will definitely increase interest in Tallinn and Estonia. Hopefully this will lead to many more Norwegians entering into Tallinn Airport," said Katrin Luhaäär, SAS District Manager in Estonia and Latvia.

Estonian Air opened the route to Trondheim on September 5, 2011.

According to Rauno Parras the route has seen activity especially coming from Trondheim side, writes LETA. "We see that Norwegians use this route both for flying to Tallinn as well as for connecting flights via Tallinn, for example to Helsinki, Moscow and Hannover," said Parras.

The ticket prices from Trondheim to Tallinn start at 58.08 euros and from Tallinn to Trondheim at 49.90 euros. The price includes all fees, taxes, baggage, snacks and soft drinks. Estonian Air is the National Partner of the 2012 IIHF Ice Hockey World Championship in Finland.

Juhan Tere

Estonian Air tickets sales abroad up 30% in Q1

The Estonian national carrier Estonian Air's ticket sales at foreign markets has increased by 30% within the first quarter of 2012, the company said in a statement.

For the first time in the company's history, more tickets have been purchased from abroad than from Estonia, writes LETA.

Most of the tickets are purchased from Russia, Finland and Scandinavian countries. Tickets are purchased both for visiting Estonia as well as flying further via Tallinn to other destinations in Estonian Air network.

"Transit traffic shows strong growth trend which means that our new business strategy is working," said Enn Lamp, the Head of Sales Department at Estonian Air.

Foreclosed property of Three Sisters hotel to be auctioned

Court bailiff is selling foreclosed property of the Three Sisters hotel in Tallinn Old Town in an auction, according to an announcement published on Friday.

The property is 705 square metres in size and the starting price at the auction is 393,000 euros. The price does not include movable furniture of the hotel.

The property has a two-million-euro mortgage for Tallinn Business Bank (Tallinna Äripäev), plus a 384,000-euro mortgage for Petramark OÜ and a 217,000-euro mortgage for the state.

At the start of April, the company owed 86,315 euros in tax. The bailiff said in the announcement that the auction is organized on the request of Petramark OÜ, a real estate company owned by Veiko Kulla.

The auction will be held on May 8.

The main owner of Three Sisters is Masle Onroerend B. V. and manager Johannes Hendrikus Wientjes. In 2010, the company had sales of about a million euros and ended the year with a loss of 388,000 euros.

The hotel employs 47 people.

Toomas Hõbemägi

Estonian Air gets its fourth Embraer from Finnair

Estonian Air’s fourth 76-seater Embraer 170 with register number ES-AED landed at Tallinn Airport on Monday, said the airline.

The aircraft carrying the new livery of Estonian Air is delivered to Estonian Air under a lease agreement with Finnair.

Estonian Air has selected Embraer E-Jet family to support its long-term strategy. Embraer is the largest producer of regional aircraft.

Estonian Air and Embraer have signed a contract for the purchase of three E175s and one E190. Estonian Air takes eight additional aircraft, four E170s and four E190s, under a combination of lease agreements with third parties and leasing companies.

Customer angry at luggage problems in Estonian Air

National carrier Estonian Air is facing customer criticism over new Embraer aircraft that the company has recently taken into service.

According to a passenger who was flying from Tallinn to Kyiv, the airline left his luggage in Tallinn because of weight restrictions, reports Delfi.

Ryanair launches routes from Tallinn to Manchester and Frankfurt

Ryanair has opened a new route from Tallinn to Manchester with two weekly flights on Mondays and Fridays.

The second new route to Frankfurt will commence March 27 with three weekly flights on Tuesdays, Thursdays and Saturdays.

In addition to the two new routes Ryanair will continue to fly from Tallinn to Bremen, Dublin, Dusseldorf, Barcelona, London, Milan, Oslo and Stockholm.

In total Ryanair will operate 10 routes to and from Tallinn, expects to carry up to 400,000 passengers a year and generate around 400 jobs in the tourism sector in the Tallinn region.

Ryanair’s Nordic & Baltic Sales & Marketing Executive Elina Hakkarainen said in comment: “2011 was our first full year at Tallinn Airport and clearly a success in terms of passenger/tourist numbers for Ryanair, Tallinn Airport and the city of Tallinn. We are looking forward to our cooperation with Tallinn Airport."

Toomas Höbemägi

Lufthansa celebrates 20th anniversary in Tallinn

This weekend German airline Lufthansa celebrated its 20th anniversary flying from Tallinn to Germany and beyond. It was on 29th March 1992 when a Lufthansa jet landed for the first time in Tallinn – a Boeing 737 flew three times a week from Frankfurt to Tallinn and then via Minsk back to Germany, the Tallinn Airport reported.

Tallinn was on of the first capitals which Lufthansa chose for its expansion to Eastern Europe in the 1990s, writes LETA.

With Sunday's midday take-off to Munich Lufthansa will double its daily frequencies from Tallinn to Munich and will connect the two cities twice a day with its most modern short-haul airplane, the Embraer 195 jet.

The new midday flight connects seamlessly into many destinations in Europe and Asia – the existing morning flight especially to the United States.

The frequencies will be increased from seven times a week to fourteen. With more than 35 million passengers a year, Munich is one of Europe's fastest growing hubs.

The originally launched Frankfurt route is operated daily with an evening departure and a modern Airbus A320 aircraft.

Juhan Tere

How to get there, where to stay in Tallinn, what to do and more ....

GETTING THERE

Air France and KLM offer connecting flights from Washington Dulles to Tallinn, Estonia, with early May fares currently starting at $820 round trip.

WHERE TO STAY

Scandic Palace - Vabaduse Valjak 3 - 00372-640-73-00 - www.scandichotels.ee - Well-located Soviet-era hotel on the edge of the old city. Double rooms start at about $75.

Radisson Blu Hotel Olumpia - Liivalaia 33 - 00372-669-06-90 - www.radissonblu.com/olumpiahotel-tallinn - Top of the line, built for the 1980 Olympics (sailing events were held in Tallinn). Double rooms from about $120.

Meriton Old Town Garden Hotel - Pikk 29/Lai 24 - 00372-667-71-11 - www.meritonhotels.com - Small and delightful three-year-old hotel in the heart of the Old Town. Double rooms from about $105.

WHERE TO EAT

Peppersack - Viru 2 - 00372-646-68-00 - www.peppersack.ee - Eat on the deck, and don’t miss the pork and sauerkraut. Entrees from about $16, three-course meals from about $32.

Singing the praises of Tallinn

Why does tiny Estonia always do so well in the Eurovision song contest? Only when I went to Tallinn, its capital, did I realise the significance of music in the history of this brave little country.

In the Eighties, as the Soviet occupation dragged on, the Singing Revolution began and hundreds of thousands of citizens joined together to belt out patriotic songs, expressing their desire for freedom from the USSR. Liberation came just a few years after.

Twenty years since gaining independence, the feeling of a new beginning is still in the air. Music remains a big craze, and I watched the latest teen heartthrobs Jedward getting mobbed by girls in our hotel lobby.

Our base, the Nordic Forum Hotel, a new building just outside the Viru gates to the old town, was perfectly placed to explore this European Capital of Culture 2011.

Tallinn has an amazing medieval old town, now a UNESCO World Heritage site, and it's easy to imagine the spies of East and West flitting through the shadows and scurrying along cobbled alleyways in the Cold War years.

In contrast, Tallinn's modern city buzzes with newness and Western freedom rediscovered; the city that invented Skype has boutique hotels, bars, shops and clubs that heave late into the night.

Another attraction, although Estonia joined the EU in 2004, is low living costs. Cheap drink, food and accommodation explain why so many Brits come here for their noisy Hen and Stag parties.

With Tallinn barely 80km from the border of Finland, Estonia has been occupied down the centuries by Scandinavian, Russian and German neighbours - all of whom clearly influenced the architecture of its cathedrals, manor houses and palaces.

A fairytale trip to Soviet state

Be it fairytale-like charm or a rich Soviet lineage, surrender to Tallinn's magic and lose track of time.

Estonia had never featured on my 'must-see countries' list. Why then, would I go to this far-flung, erstwhile Soviet state? Well, my aunt had a conference in Tallinn and she asked me if I would like to free-load. So I said yes. Shamelessly. Never mind the fact that I wasn't expecting much from the city. I mean, how different could it be from the cliche of a struggling Soviet offshoot, fraught by the shadows of its past? But a free ride is a free ride. And so, in Tallinn, I promptly landed.

I slowly scanned the view of the city from our hotel window. Grey skies. Grey buildings. Desolate streets. So far, the city was living up to my preconceived notions. Then suddenly, as my gaze shifted to the right, a burst of colour dotted my view. I could see vibrant, red-tiled spires soaring in stark contrast to the rest of the city's modern landscape. I was told later that I had been staring at the city's Old Town.

The old town
The next morning, while my aunt toiled away at the conference, I set out on foot to explore Tallinn's fairytale like Old Town, one of the most well preserved gothic towns in the world. As I passed between a pair of imposing, ivy-covered towers at the beginning of Viru Street - the main archway into Old Town, I got the distinct impression that I had dived from the 21st century straight into the heart of a bygone era. I ambled through winding cobbled streets towards the Town Hall, which was flanked by a large market square and many charming open-air cafes. I shuffled within earshot of a tourist guide and overheard him tell his group that the site had witnessed a memorable execution centuries ago. "A priest was beheaded here for killing a waitress in the late 1600s," the guide bellowed. "What was his crime?" he was asked. "She brought him a really bad omelette," he said solemnly.

** Tallinn **

ESTONIA may be one of the smallest countries in Europe, but right now its 1.3 million citizens are among the continent’s most cheerful people. Last year the country celebrated 20 years of independence from Russia and dropped the kroon in favor of the euro, and its capital, Tallinn, was celebrated as a European Capital of Culture.

Unlike many other places in Europe, unemployment is down, and there’s a sense of optimism in the air, helped by companies like Skype that have their main offices here. And there’s a full schedule of cultural highlights for 2012.

The list includes many music festivals — this is, after all, the country that paved the way to independence with a Singing Revolution — and the premiere in May of a ballet at the Estonian National Opera, “Modigliani, the Cursed Artist.” Throughout Tallinn, remnants of the Soviet era are being repackaged as tourist attractions, while many of the city’s chefs, inspired by the “new Nordic” movement, are busily creating a Baltic cuisine that takes traditional ingredients — from beet root to wild boar — and uses them in inventive ways.

Bright future for Estonian tourism

"I’ve lived in 70 countries and this is the best” a tour guide tells me with a perfectly straight face, as we wander round the streets of Tallinn. Now that is a bold claim to make, especially of a country as small as Estonia. But as we continue through the narrow winding streets of the capital, I begin to see where she is coming from.

The problem with city breaks now is that many of the great metropolises all seem to blur into each other, with the same shops and a McDonalds on every corner. But Tallinn really does offer something different, with these trappings of a modern city melting seamlessly into the old town – what feels like a medieval a time warp. After being ruled by the Germans before the Soviet Union until the fall of communism, this a city steeped in history. It even spreads to the food, with a medieval banquet of fish, bread and beer being served by a team of ‘surfs’ in full costume being a favourite with the locals.

It certainly made our first night meal a memorable one. Our hotel is situated just five minutes from the grand walls of the old town. But seeing one half of Jedward (don’t ask me which one!) surrounded by a gang of screaming of girls in the lobby was proof that this city has well and truly entered the 21st century. From outside the old town, you can catch a hop-on and off tour bus, complete with an audio guide, which provides good introduction to the rest of the manageably sized city.

Estonian Airlines to start flights to Georgia

Estonian Airlines will start the Tbilisi-Tallinn air service on April 9, 2012. Flights will be carried out four times a week via the CRJ planes. Ticket prices will be set at about $112, Business Georgia reports.

Estonian Airlines has 6 planes, it organizes flights to Amsterdam, Barcelona, Brussels, Copenhagen, Hannover, Helsinki, London, Milan, Nice, Oslo, Paris, Riga, Stockholm, Vienne and Tartu.

Estonian Airlines has links with Scandinavian Airlines SAS, organizing regular flights to Copenhagen, Oslo and Stockholm.

The Tbilisi International Airport has been using third states to arrive in Estonia.

Estonian Airlines is public joint-stock company under state ownership. It was founded on December 1, 1991. 90% of the company belongs to Estonia and 10% to SAS.

Estonian Air to add flights on Tallinn-Paris route

Starting from 16 March, Estonian Air will start to serve the Tallinn-Paris route with three weekly flights. During the peak season, starting from 4 June until 31 August, the airline serves the route with six weekly flights, by adding to the existing flight schedule Monday, Wednesday and Friday flights.

“We decided to offer enhanced flight schedule to even more successfully implement our strategy – to offer the best possible choice of destinations and at the same time to increase connecting flight opportunities via Tallinn by connecting different destinations in Estonian Air network. In addition, by adding flights, we wish to meet the peak-season demand,” said Rauno Parras, the CCO of Estonian Air.

AS Estonian Air, Estonia’s national carrier, provides both business travellers and tourists direct air link from Estonia to European cities. Estonian Air is the biggest operator at Tallinn Airport.

Estonian Air flies to 24 destinations in Europe Scandinavia and CIS countries. Estonian Air focuses on improving the connection between Estonia and the rest of the world with the aim of increasing competitiveness as a network carrier hub.

The airline has recently announced new destinations for spring 2012, such as Helsinki, Riga, Jyvaskyla, Hanover, Vienna, Venice, Joensuu, Kajaani and Tbilisi. Estonian Air also increased significantly the flight frequencies to Amsterdam, Brussels, Copenhagen, Stockholm, Vilnius, Moscow and St. Petersburg.

Theodore Koumelis

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