Estonia

The Place

Estonia is the least densely populated and most Westernised of the Baltic states. It was the first independent Soviet state to have its own currency and for many years television sets directed people's attention towards Finland and the West.

The fact that Estonian is a Finno-Ugric language, and the country's conquerors have been Danes and Swedes, has made Estonians feel more a part of Finland than of neighbouring Latvia, with whom they have shared much of their history. Finns, for their part, have long taken advantage of Estonia's relative cheapness, and have taken the ferry over from Helsinki to Tallinn, where a lot of their money is spent on alcohol.

Tallinn, the capital of Estonia, is the prettiest old town in the Baltics, a medieval enclave set on a hillock above its port. Within the remaining old walls and towers, beneath frugal Protestant church spires, are winding cobbled lanes leading to the old square. The city was a showcase in the 1980 Moscow Olympics when, just to the east of it, by Pirita Beach, a new port was built to stage the sailing events in the Games. Sailing around the country's islands is a pleasure waiting to be rediscovered.

On the Russian borders around Narva there is a high population of Russians working in the shale oil industry, the basis of the country's wealth and the cause of many environmental concerns.

The country is pocked with lakes just as the surrounding coastline is dotted with more than a thousand islands. The largest two, off the west coast, are Hiiumaa and Saaremaa, rural backwaters where the earliest stone churches in the Baltics are to be found. It is hard to imagine a quieter place in Europe.