Plastic surgery abroad - Estonia
http://www.plastic-surgery-estonia.com
Estonia
The Republic of Estonia is one of the three Baltic countries, situated by the Baltic Sea. The Gulf of Finland borders Estonia from the North, Russia from the East, Latvia from the south, the Gulf of Riga borders Estonia from the Southwest and the Baltic Sea from the West. Estonia is a small country, the area being 45 225 km2 with the islands. Estonia has about 1500 islands, the largest are Hiiumaa and Saaremaa.
Nature
The landscape in Estonia is plain and boggy. The main geological formations in Northern Estonia are plains; Southern Estonia is hillier, the highest mountain in Estonia is there - Mountain Suur Munamägi with its 318 metres. The virgin forests in Estonia have mostly been preserved, compared to the rest of Europe, wild animals are still in the forests and running free - the nature is still mostly untouched by humans and genuine. National parks have been created to protect the landscape, wildlife and rare species: Lahemaa, Karula, Matsalu, Soomaa and Vilsandi national parks. There are many lakes on the mainland, the biggest being Lake Peipsi (3555 km2, fourth biggest lake in Europe) and Lake Võrtsjärv. The deepest lake is Lake Rõuge Suurjärv (38 m).
Although Estonia is in general plain and boggy, our nature is still rather varied. The coastal plain makes Northern Estonia look peculiar, being gentle in some places, and then elsewhere there are limestone cliffs rising high out of the water. For example, one of the highest is Ontika limestone cliff with 56 metres. Western Estonia is particularly low and boggy. Saaremaa and Hiiumaa are also situated in Western Estonia and are among other things known by their juniper landscape, which you cannot find anywhere else in Estonia.
The climate is mild and this is mainly caused by the Baltic Sea. Weathers are rather humid, windy and chilly. It usually rains the most in August, but the autumn is also rather rainy. The summers are warm and winters usually wet. The days are long in the summer (up to 18 hours), but short in the winter - there is daylight only for six hours.
There are four clearly contrasting seasons in Estonia. June, July and August are the summer months. Then comes autumn, the time leaves start falling from the trees, which smoothly turns into winter in November. The first snow will usually come down sooner, but it mostly melts. March celebrates the beginning of spring.
The Animal Kingdom
There are 64 mammals and 340 species of birds registered in Estonia. The most common mammals are roe deer, moose, bears, fox, hare, wolves and lynx. Lynx is the only feline living in Estonia, by the way. You can see (and hear) mostly birds such as thrushes, titmice, starlings, sparrows, swallows (the barn swallow is the Estonian national bird), larks, chaffinches, crows, pigeons, seagulls, geese and ducks.
Animal Photos by Jürgen Joost
Tallinn Old Town
Tallinn is the biggest city in Estonia and also our capital; other big cities include Tartu, Pärnu, Narva, Haapsalu, Kuressaare, Viljandi and others. Tallinn was first marked on the world map on 1154 by an Arabian geographer. Tallinn got its town charter in 1248 according to the Lübeck Law and started to gain fame as one of the most important Hanseatic Cities by the Baltic Sea during the Middle Ages. Tallinn is distinguished by its architecture. Old Town is the oldest part of the city and it was also inscribed to the UNESCO World Heritage List in 1997. The Medieval milieu has been retained until today and is its particular value. The Medieval network of streets is almost entirely preserved, also the most important public and sacral buildings, not to mention the houses of citizens and merchants and other buildings. Most of the Gothic buildings are from the 14th and 15th century, when the economy was booming. The oldest buildings come from the 13th century - Toompea castle (Tall Hermann tower, Pikk Hermann, the main tower) and Dome Church (Toomkirik). There are also the Town Hall Pharmacy (Raeapteek, from 1422), which is still working as a pharmacy, the Town Hall (Raekoda, 1404) and the Great Guild Hall (Suurgildi hoone). Other buildings from the Middle Ages have been more or less rebuilt. There are also numerous churches, most of them from the Middle Ages: the already mentioned Dome Church, St. Olaf's Church (Oleviste kirik), St. Nicholas Church (Niguliste Kirik) and the ruins of the church of Pirita Convent, the church of the Dominican St. Catherine's Monastery
People
Estonians have gotten their blood and different characteristics from mixing with the different peoples, who have travelled through our territory or stayed here during the centuries, e.g. Germans, Swedes, Russians and others. It has been said about the native Estonians that they were as cold, reserved and unapproachable as northerners. Although Estonians are rather insensitive while talking to them, they might be hiding quite a different world under the surface. You can see true sincerity and naturalness, when an Estonian opens up. The cause for being reserved at first might be the distrust and scepticism about everything and everyone that has developed during the centuries under foreign power. You might often hear some remorseless ironical jokes that also comes with that attitude. A typical Estonian is also considered to be a tenacious and work-loving person. Although Estonians might prefer to work on their own, some holidays and big gatherings, such as the Song and Dance Celebration, are very much loved by everyone. It has been said that the Estonians are a singing nation, who also sang themselves free from the foreign power (the Singing Revolution in 1988). One of the favourite holidays among Estonians is Midsummer's Day on June 24. On the previous day there are bonfires all over Estonia, people sing, dance, jump over the fire and swing. This is also the shortest night of the year and one of the traditions is to look for the flower of the fern. St. Martin's Day (mardipäev, 10.11.) and St. Catherine's Day (kadripäev, 25.11.) are also important, when children dress up and go singing and dancing from door to door and get treats for that. Christmas is also a popular holiday when the women cook a lot (as during every holiday). Some national foods are baked potatoes, pork, sauerkraut, blood sausages and seafood.