Estonia: The Hidden Land of the North

Estonia is a small state in northern Europe, on the eastern border of the EU. Most of its territory is covered by deep forests, wetlands, and water bodies — with roughly five times fewer people per unit area than in the Czech Republic. The beaches are long and empty, bears and moose roam the forests, cities offer rich history and culture, and the country is crisscrossed by a network of small breweries. Adventure seekers are drawn to sea kayaking around islands or expeditions into the wetlands, while quieter visitors enjoy saunas and forests. Tallinn is merely the gateway — far more lies beyond.

Lecturer Jiří Kalát (Cestující pisálek) lived in Estonia for a year and has returned to the country repeatedly since, including with clients to the island of Saaremaa.

Jiří Kalát (born 1984, Havlíčkův Brod, now Pardubice) is the author of the books "Everyone Lies Here", "Chernobyl on Wheels", "Three and a Half Arabarny" and "Mosquito with Frost". He collaborates with travel magazines and portals, lectures at festivals throughout the Czech Republic, and teaches history at Prague Humanist Gymnasium while conducting tours for travel agencies.