About Estonia

• Population: 1.4 millions, almost third of them are speaking Russian as their mother tongue (exact statistics at http://www.stat.ee/statistics)
• Currency: Estonian kroon, EEK (fixed currency rate 15,646 kroons = 1 euro). Monetary system and banks have been a strong side of Estonian economy in 1990-ties. Internet banking is commonly used, you can pay with your Maestro, Visa or Euro/Master card almost everywhere (incl taxis). American Express and Diners Club are accepted only in few places.
• Capital city: Tallinn (about 400 000 inhabitants) on the Northern coast, 80 km-s from the Finnish Southern coast - voyage takes only 1,5 hours by fast boat and 4 hours to Helsinki by a slow ferrys (see the schedules of Tallink, Silja Line and Eckerö Lines). Fast boats are in use only from May until November.

Estonia is small, but fast developing country, recently joined both NATO and EU. We like to think and speak of us as a Nordic country ;-). Estonian language is close to Finnish, but very different form Russian, Latvian and Lithuanian.

Thre are six public higher education institutions in Estonia, three largest are: University of Tartu (15 000 students), Tallinn Technical University (10 000 students), Tallinn Pedagogical University (currently in the process of merging with two other institutes, after which will be renamed as University of Tallinn, number of students is growing with merger from 7500 to 8500).

Weather conditions: most likely, the temperature in July will be around 22-24 degrees Celsius. The temperature of the water in lake Viljandi will be hopefully around 20 degrees Celsius. You can check yourself most reliable 5-days forecast at http://www.ilm.ee

Time zone: the same as in Finland, +2 hours to Greenwich Meridian Time.

Shopping: in Tallinn you could visit the brand new shopping mall Ülemiste (largest in Estonia, very close to the airport) or Sikupilli Center (halfway from airport to city center). See detailed shopping information at http://www.balticsww.com/tourist/estonia/shopping.htm There are some shopping centes in Viljandi as well (Anttila, Seppälä, Maksimarket etc.)

Dining: in Tallinn (see http://www.ttw.ee/ , http://www.balticsww.com/tourist/estonia/shopping.htm and http://www.inyourpocket.com/estonia/en/). In Viljandi: about 30 bars, pubs, restaurants, cafes, incl the ones with Chinese, Irish, Italian and Armenian cuisines (http://www.viljandi.ee/index.php?id=1451).