My two weeks in Tallinn have gone by rather quickly. It’s been productive (I had at least one interview every day, sometimes two or three), and I even scored an interview with Mart Laar, the former prime minister of Estonia! It was his economic and political policies in the 1990s that paved the way for its thriving success today. Today, he’s an MP and an active historian — he told me about an awesome little-known story that saved the nascent Estonian republic in 1924 that involves Soviet agents who infiltrated Tallinn, the Red Army and Navy poised for invasion, a telegraph office, and a drunk Estonian military officer who saved the country.
Just like Veljo, almost all of Tallinn (and heck, most of the country too) has become my office. I’ve taken meetings and responded to emails in the Savoy Boutique hotel, Kohvik Harju Oru, Mauruse Pubi, and assorted other sites. They all, including this airport, have FREE WiFi.
Heck, even the President of Estonia, Toomas Hendrik Ilves has taken note, when he was recently asked by Postimees, the major Estonian daily, on the differences between old and new EU countries.
Kui Eestis saad sa igal pool oma arvuti lahti lüüa ja sul on tasuta Wifi, halvimal juhul maksate 24 tunni eest ühe euro, siis enamikes kohtades mujal Euroopas maksab pool tundi 8 eurot.
I’ll let my Estonian friends do a direct translation, but the gist of it, as I understand it is that in Estonia, you can get free WiFi or 24 hours of access for one euro, whereas in old Europe it’ll cost eight euros. Ha! Suck on that, Old Europe!
I’m looking forward to an off day tomorrow in Berlin, a few hours work in Rotterdam on Thursday (Giselle’s meeting me for lunch! Yay!), some work and the night in London Gatwick, and then home late Friday night.
Thanks to everyone who I’ve interviewed and met on this trip for your time and support. I’ll be contacting you all again soon. I look forward to returning to Tallinn sometime, and to returning the favor in California!
Also, fun fact of the day: Siim Teller informed me that the Persian pronunciation of my name is really similar to an Estonian word “Siirus”, is an adjective meaning candor, sincerity, or frankness. I’d like to think that I live up to that.
Until next time, Eesti!
The translation of the quote
You can get free WiFi or 24 hours of access for one euro, whereas in old Europe it’ll cost eight euros for half an hour.
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