Estonia

The Republic of Estonia is a relatively small country in northeastern Europe and one of the three Baltic states. It borders Latvia and Russia, covers 45,339 km² and has 1,374,687 inhabitants. Its capital is Tallinn and the official language is Estonian, related to Finnish and Hungarian. The currency is the euro, which replaced the Estonian kroon in 2011.

Estonia is a low-lying, marshy country with many flat-topped hills. Its highest point, Suur Munamägi (literally “the great egg mountain”) in the southeast, rises to just 318 metres above sea level! Estonia’s many rivers flow north to the Gulf of Finland, east to Lake Peipus or west to the Gulf of Riga. Lake Peipus is one of the largest in Europe and forms a large part of the border with Russia. The country also has more than 1,500 islands, the largest being Saaremaa and Hiiumaa off the west coast, a true paradise for lovers of nature and tranquillity.

Estonia’s temperate, humid climate is very different from that of regions to the east (in Russia) at the same latitude. The northern and western coasts are generally milder than the interior, while the east and southeast have a more continental climate. Average temperatures are -8 to -5 °C in January and 16 to 17 °C in July. Annual rainfall is close to that of Greece, so there is no need to worry about rain any more than on an everyday walk.