- Few months ago, I've done a sensational trip
to the Baltics.
In this video, I'm not just going to explain
why we should visit this area,
but also I'm going to share three reasons why
we should extend our trip a few days longer.
Welcome to the beautiful Tallinn in Estonia.
(calm music)
Hey guys, welcome back to the channel.
If you're new here, my name is Alejandro.
I'm an engineer based in the UK,
and on this channel, we'll explore the engine
that help us live a more purposeful life.
So I was in Tallinn, the capital of Estonia,
when we were still allowed to travel a few months ago.
I expected to see a cultural city
with mainly Russian influence
and relatively something to see in 24 hours.
Fortunately, I was very, very wrong.
I stayed five days and it was absolutely stunning.
Bear in mind, I'm not the same guy, like 10 years ago,
doing five countries in a week.
These days I'm a slow traveler.
Perhaps the older I get,
the more I enjoy chewing the places I visit.
I feel like sometimes it's worth spending extra time
to get a better flavor.
Yes, I get it.
We have a full-time job,
and we don't have much time, but hey,
these are just thoughts and how I enjoyed
my trips these days.
So let's talk about these three reasons why
we should stay longer in Tallinn.
I want to save your time, so I'm leaving timestamps below.
Feel free to skip and watch the one you actually care.
Before starting, I need to offer my apologies
to the Estonian people watching as
many of the places I'll pronounce during the video
might not be in line with Estonian language pronunciation
so sorry about that.
Number one, Old Town.
Let's recap.
Estonia was once a socialist republic, but in reality,
the Estonian culture takes little influence
from Russian culture and instead positions itself
closer to its Nordic neighbors like Finland.
Since gaining independence in 1981,
the country's joined the EU
and has firmly positioned itself as politically,
economically, and culturally Western.
From my perspective, this is the best preserved
medieval city in Northern Europe.
It looks like a fairy tale
with unbelievable Gothic spires, cobblestone streets,
bars, outstanding architecture.
In fact, it's been a UNESCO world heritage site since 1997.
To me, the old town feels mystical,
mesmerizing and addictive.
It was once a home to wealthy merchants
settling from Germany and Denmark.
But today, hey, it's a different story.
It has plenty of restaurants, bars, museums
and galleries putting in so much life
to this historical city center.
In terms of accommodation,
we stayed at the Hotel Telegraaf
and it was super, super well located.
There's absolutely no need to stay there,
but just because I had some extra points,
I decided to use them
and they have been a really good deal.
Actually, let me know in the comments below
if you want to know why and how
I managed to consistently get these perks.
From the airport, we could have definitely taken the tram.
But because we were two and it was quite late,
we got a Bolt.
We paid like five euros or six euros to the Old Town.
Remember, Estonia's the house of Bolt.
We're going to talk about Estonian startups a bit later.
Getting lost in the alleys of Tallinn Old Town
is a great idea.
There are passages everywhere.
One particularly interesting is St Catherine's Passage.
It was built by monks back in the 13th century,
so it's absolutely great.
Nowadays, the medieval park is still there,
an atmosphere with artisans and exhibitions
gives it a little bit more of a modern look
while still preserving the ambience.
This is actually a great place to see Tallinn from the top.
This place is called Kohtuotsa
in the northern side of Toompea Hill.
This is a viewing platform where we can see the red roofs
and the towers of the Old Town.
In fact, if we have good eyes, we can see in the background
the gulf of Finland and the port.
There's so many other places to see
such as the big Hermann Tower,
Toompea Castle, Šnelli park,
and the Town Hall square, the Alexander Nevsky.
Nesky, Newsky, Nevsky?
All right, let's talk about food.
The Old Town has some amazing places for dining too.
The one we enjoy a few times is called Olde Hansa,
perhaps the most authentic
medieval dining experience in town.
Waiters and waitresses are dressed
in the traditional costume as if it was 700 years ago.
And they have dishes with centuries of history.
All beers are handcrafted according to the medieval recipes
and they served in the old traditional style, ceramic char.
The place is full of candles, benches, tables
and really gives you that medieval vibe.
I personally loved their mushroom soup
and the golden lentil pot.
For vegans, there's many places in town
but the one we enjoy a lot is called Vegan Restoran Five
or Number Five.
They opened like seven years ago.
It's small, but super cozy.
I tried the spicy oven baked Seitan tacos
with cheese and guacamole.
Kristina tasted some incredible beetroot ravioli
with cashew cheese and basil pesto as starter,
and some vegan fish and chips,
which is tofu, deep fried potato, tartar sauce,
green pea and mash as a main course.
At the end of the Soviet times,
shops were empty and desserts were a luxury thing.
Luckily things have evolved.
For something sweet, we enjoy a place called Chocolala.
They do local handmade chocolate, and they a have wide range
of fresh assorted chocolates, bars and truffles.
They even offer us to taste some before buying.
So it's a hundred percent risk-free.
You like it, you buy it,
you don't like it, you don't buy.
Number two, coffee and art.
There's something about Tallinn and coffee,
perhaps a bit of a Finnish influence,
but there's some sensational coffee shops everywhere.
There are three that I want to quickly mention.
And again, this is not a sponsored video
but our real and humble experience.
First one is called Suur Lisanna.
It's an amazing coffee shop
with a Scandinavian vibe, candles and great deco.
Tons of alternative milk for vegetarians and vegans.
I have many coffees here,
but what I loved the most
was the berries and nuts bowl for breakfast.
The other one is Väike Lisanna.
It's the same owner, but the smaller coffee shop,
you have to be lucky to get a table
but you can do takeaway in any case.
The other one was Toormoor.
This is like having coffee in an art exhibition gallery,
it's just insane.
You will see the pictures and videos
but it's just absolutely insane.
We try some cabbage spread with local hummus
and it was super tasty and creative.
I feel like the coffee experience in Tallinn
was just so real.
When I think about coffee for me, there are two factors.
A, technical, it's about having a good balance of acidity,
sweetness, and bitterness in one sip.
And I'm by no means an expert by the way,
but that's how I like it.
B, how does the place make me feel?
And this is even more important than the technical side.
For me having coffee, it's not just to drink something hot
but it's taking a break from the reality.
It's like an open eyes meditation where I pay more attention
to what's around me while I release some stress.
So it's super important, the context or the place
I'll be buying my coffee.
In many places in Tallinn,
I found myself in the right atmosphere to enjoy coffee
which ultimately improved my state of mind.
Number three, brain expansion.
When you think about Tallinn,
I try to think about the context.
So I think about Estonia itself,
and there are so many different things
contributing to the success as a society.
And we can see a lot obviously in Tallinn
because one third of the population live there, right?
But I want to share six real examples.
First one, first female president and youngest of all time.
In October 2016, Estonia elected
its first female president,
becoming the first woman and youngest person ever
to hold the position in the country,
age 46 at the time of her election.
Number two, digital society
Estonia has also fully digitized its government services
and it was the first country in the world
to allow its citizens to vote online in 2005.
The country's often referred as the most
digitally advanced society in the world
and all government services are available online.
It's what they call e-Estonia.
From voting to signing documents online.
Number three, free public transport.
The city also rolled out free public transport
for residents in 2013
and is now making around $20 million a year in profit
from the project.
Number four, Silicon Valley of Europe.
Tallinn is often called the Silicon Valley of Europe,
as it has more startups per person
than any other European country.
Many of these small businesses
have actually grown into global companies like Skype.
In fact, Estonia's economy and culture
is heavily focused on technology.
In 2000, the country declared internet access
to be a human right and has since established
hundreds of free wifi zones.
So traveling throughout Estonia is incredibly sleek
with wifi hotspots all over the country,
even in many forests.
Number five, clean air.
Perhaps not surprising given the amount of green spaces
that they have, like 50% of the country's forest.
But Estonia has some of the cleanest air in the world.
The country ranks right up there
for clean air indexes with other sustainable countries
such as Finland and Iceland.
Six, education.
They have 99.8% literacy rate,
and most of them speak multiple languages
besides their native one.
So it's not strange to see them speaking English.
Russian, German, and Finnish.
There's no doubt Estonia is modern, progressive,
and highly developed.
The country's considered high income
and consistently ranks highly in education, press, freedom,
quality of life and overall human development.
If we forget about the challenging winters,
life in Estonia doesn't sound too bad, does it?
And Tallinn is definitely a place I love to come back.
If you like this video, you might also want to check
this video over here,
which is about my epic trip to the Scottish Highlands.
Thanks for watching and see you next time.
(calm music)