Spring recommendations for what to do in Estonia #5: Nicole

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Estonian Institute in collaboration with podcast “Found in Estonia” brings you a series of recommendations from English-speaking local foreigners. Estonian Institute is presently developing its web environment at Culture.ee to make integration and cultural exchange more accessible.

Nicole Tan (32) is from Singapore and has been living in Estonia for three years. She moved here for work in 2018 and in her own words, “can never get enough of the amazing air here”. You can hear her episode on “Found in Estonia” here. Hopefully it is the last week of strict pandemic restrictions and everything will be better in May; however, for the lockdown times, let’s go forward with Nicole’s recommendations for what to do in Estonia. Surely you’ve heard some before, but maybe there are some you haven’t?

The Ö/Õ statue in Saaremaa (it’s located right after the Väike Strait, or just before Muhu island depending on which direction you’re going) is certainly a fun monument to visit, especially if you’re learning Estonian like me!

The Ö/Õ statue marks the dialect border between Estonians from the mainland who can pronounce “õ” and the islanders from Saaremaa who don’t have “õ” in their dialect. Instead, they use “ö”.

If you want to know more about the Estonian startup scene, then Chasing Unicorns sure is the movie to watch! Written and directed by Rain Rannu – an Estonian filmmaker and technology entrepreneur, Chasing Unicorns is based on real-life stories of European startups and told from a fun, semi-satirical perspective of a female startup founder.

As I’m learning Estonian right now, I highly recommend Keeleklikk as a learning resource! Created by the Ministry of Education and Research, it features fun videos and interactive exercises that have helped me to learn more alongside my classes.

  • Enjoy a sauna – and its culture

While public saunas may not be open right now, you can get yourself ready for when they do by learning about the Estonian sauna culture! From sauna hats to “leil” and the hangout room, they all play a part in the local sauna culture. Here’s a great resource to check out!

Tune in to Attic Bass on Saturdays where awesome local DJs serve up some mean beats! Attic bass is a sound and video recording studio that live broadcasts DJ performances and gives local DJs a platform to showcase their talent to the world.

From techno to drum and bass, it’s a great way to show your support for our local Estonian DJs and electronic dance culture while grooving from your bedroom to the living room

Interested in quizzes or simply some live TV entertainment? Then Heldeke is the channel to tune into! Previously a theatre-bar-sauna, Heldeke is temporarily a TV studio right now. The owner, Dan, is often coming up with fun live streams, a great way to help us through these lockdown times.

Who has ended up on the shores of Estonia? Well, you can find out and listen to their stories at Found in Estonia! Tiina and Kaisa share stories of foreigners who have made Estonia their home and it sure is worth a listen.