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The official language is Estonian, though many in urban areas (especially younger people) speak English well. Russian is universally understood, and can help if you have trouble speaking in Estonian. Finnish is linguistically closely related to Estonian and, thanks to heavy tourism and TV broadcasts from the other side of the gulf, many Estonians understand it quite well. There is a large Slavic minority, particularly Russian and Ukrainians (over 25%).
Estonian food draws heavily from German and Scandinavian cuisine. The closest thing to a national dish is verivorst, blood sausage, served with mulgikapsad, which is basically sauerkraut stew. Many types of food are close to Russian and have their equivalents almost exclusively in former USSR, such as hapukoor, smetana in Russian, a sour 20%-fat milk dressing for salads, especially "kartulisalat" or "potato salad". As Estonia used to be a food mass-production powerhouse in the times of USSR, some of its foods, unknown to Westerners, are still well-recognized in the lands of the CIS. Among other everyday food, some game products are offered in food stores in Estonia, mostly wild boar, elk sausages and deer grill. Some restaurants also offer bear meat.
Like their neighbors the Finns and the Russians, the Estonians know their alcohol.
Favorite tipples include the local beer Saku [4] or A. Le Coq [5], the local vodka Viru Valge (Vironian White) [6] and the surprisingly smooth and tasty rum-like herbal liquor Vana Tallinn (Old Tallinn) [7], famous in the countries of former USSR.
The local currency is the Estonian kroon, EEK. One kroon is divided into 100 sent. Since 1993, the kroon has been fixed first to the German mark, and now to the Euro at a rate of 15.6466 to 1. ATMs and money changers (valuutavahetus) are widely available. You will get the best rates by exchanging only after arrival in Estonia. Adoption of Euro in Estonia is annually being postponed due to the higher than allowed inflation rate. (As of 2007)
Estonian food draws heavily from German and Scandinavian cuisine. The closest thing to a national dish is verivorst, blood sausage, served with mulgikapsad, which is basically sauerkraut stew. Many types of food are close to Russian and have their equivalents almost exclusively in former USSR, such as hapukoor, smetana in Russian, a sour 20%-fat milk dressing for salads, especially "kartulisalat" or "potato salad". As Estonia used to be a food mass-production powerhouse in the times of USSR, some of its foods, unknown to Westerners, are still well-recognized in the lands of the CIS. Among other everyday food, some game products are offered in food stores in Estonia, mostly wild boar, elk sausages and deer grill. Some restaurants also offer bear meat.
Like their neighbors the Finns and the Russians, the Estonians know their alcohol.
Favorite tipples include the local beer Saku [4] or A. Le Coq [5], the local vodka Viru Valge (Vironian White) [6] and the surprisingly smooth and tasty rum-like herbal liquor Vana Tallinn (Old Tallinn) [7], famous in the countries of former USSR.
The local currency is the Estonian kroon, EEK. One kroon is divided into 100 sent. Since 1993, the kroon has been fixed first to the German mark, and now to the Euro at a rate of 15.6466 to 1. ATMs and money changers (valuutavahetus) are widely available. You will get the best rates by exchanging only after arrival in Estonia. Adoption of Euro in Estonia is annually being postponed due to the higher than allowed inflation rate. (As of 2007)
Costs
It is no secret that in most post-soviet countries consumer prices are considerably lower than in Western Europe, in part due to lower taxes. This has been one of the main driving forces behind the inflow of the Nordic guests to Estonia through the 1990s, but prices are rising steadily and surely. In heavily touristed districts (say, Tallinn's Old Town) prices are already equivalent to Scandinavia.Content courtesy of Wikitravel and is updated weekly. Content is available under Creative Commons Attribution-Sharealike 1.0.
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