Survival Guide or how I stopped worrying and started to love Estonia

Transcription

1 Survival Guide or how I stopped worrying and started to love Estonia Estonia is a place of many legends and epic stories, spanning from tall people crossing gulfs, fighting the Devil, origins of the beauty of Estonian women and many, many more. The most popular of them, has to do with the location of Estonia. Many scholars throughout history have argued over where this country might be located. Some say it s somewhere between Finland, Sweden, Norway and Denmark. Some argue that it s the long lost land of Atlantis. Some think that Estonia is just a scary legend that parents tell their children to behave well. In reality, Estonia is situated right under Finland over the Gulf of Finland, next to Russia and above Latvia. The area is 45,228 km 2. The land is relatively flat, except for the southern part where the main mountains of Estonia are. The longest rivers are Kasari river (112 km), the Great- and Little Emajõgi (100 km & 82 km). The largest rivers are Võrtsjärv (270 km²) and Lake Peipus (3,555 km 2 ). When you arrive in Tallinn and exit the airport, you will notice a huge lake right across the road. This is lake Ülemiste, which according to a legend, was created by a woman called Linda who, while mourning the death of her husband, started crying and cried so long that a lake formed. There is also a legend that a man exits the lake once in a while and asks the town keeper whether the city is finished or not. If told yes, Tallinn will be flooded, if told no, he leaves and comes back another time. During winter the lake turns into an emergency landing strip for the airport. Tallinn is not only about crazy legends, lakes, crying women and strange men coming out of lakes (we also had a mummy for a very long time in a church!), it s also known for its rich history, breathtaking buildings and views everywhere the Old Town and vibrant night life. By day you can visit dozens of cafés, restaurants and museums but by night, the sexy side of Tallinn shows up and you can party from dusk til dawn.

2 Language One of the things foreigners will notice about Estonian language is that Estonians are constantly talking about sex. 'Terviseks' (a common toast which is sometimes translated as "for health" but which actually means "let's do it, you know what I mean"), 'varastamiseks' (to steal while having sex), 'põletamiseks' (to burn while having sex), 'seksimiseks' (to have sex while having sex), 'kastreerimiseks' (to castrate while having sex), 'soomuutmiseks' (to change your sex while having sex) are just a few of the verbs that can be ended with the suffix "seks". This makes Estonians reluctant to engage in any sexual activities, sociologists speculate. There is also a good sentence to remember "Tule mulle naiseks", lets go and have frantic sex, we don t have to be married to do it. Useful sentences: Hello! Mine persse Goodbye Mine persse Good morning! Tere hommikust! (or just Hommik ) Good night Head ööd! Cheers! TerviSEKS! Yes Jah No Mine persse Sorry Vabandust Thank you! Aitäh! Maybe Võib-olla... My name is... Minu nimi on.../ma olen... What is your name? Mis sinu nimi on? Help! APPI! I don t know Ma ei tea One ticket, please! Üks pilet palun! A beer please! Üks õlu palun Lets have a drink! Joome! You re beautiful Sa oled imeilus What are you doing tonight? Mida sa õhtul teed? ;) I like this feeling! Mulle meeldib see tunne! Blue Peacock Feather Tail Paabulinnu sulesaba sinine Bus stop Bussi peatus Tallinn University of Technology Tallinna Tehnika Ülikool (or just TTÜ)

3 What you need to survive: Passport or ID-card Travel Insurance o You should have European Health Insurance card in case someone works too hard or drinks too much (actually we re serious!) Money for extra alcohol, extra food, shopping etc Big towel (and slippers) for sauna Photo camera and the cable for it to download your photos to computer (we want to have them all ) For international Evening: Typical alcohol and food of your country (make sure it's enough!). Something to present your country with (a flag or something) Musical instrument if you're good at playing any:) Good mood and BEST spirit!

4 How to reach the University if you are coming...by airplane: from Tallinn Airport to the centre All airplanes to Estonia arrive at the Tallinn Airport. From this airport you can easily reach the centre of Tallinn by bus nr 2. Airport bus stop is located in front of the departure hall. The downtown bus stop is called A.Laikmaa and is right next to Tallink Hotel and across the street to Viru Keskus. One-way bus fare is ~1-2, tickets are sold by the driver in the bus. You have to go to the opposite side of the department store and there will be the station of the trolley-bus nr 3 and get off at either Ehitajate tee or Keemia....By train: the main railway station You have to find trolley-bus stop in the railway station and then take trolley-bus number 4 to go to Mustamäe. Our train station is also located very close to the centre of the city, if you want to go through the centre, you can go by foot. If you are carrying big and heavy bags and there is no way you would agree to go by foot, you can take a tram nr 1 or nr 2. You have to pass by only 3 stops and there you are in the middle of Tallinn. You will see a high building called Viru Hotel, you have to go to the opposite side of it and there you'll find another large building major department store (Kaubamaja). On the side of it you'll find a station of the trolley-bus nr 3.

5 ...By Boat: Port of Tallinn First of all if you are coming through Finland or Sweden there are some useful links about ferries: The Port of Tallinn is also located in the centre. You need to reach the trolley-bus station located near the main departure store (Kaubamaja). You can get there on foot, by bus nr.2 or by taxi....by Bus There is only one bus station here in Tallinn and it's quite near to the centre. From here You can come directly to the University or go to the city centre before. You may follow directions below. 1. One way to TUT, is to go on bus nr 17 or 17A (they re the same) and get off in the stop Liivaku. The ride is approximately ~32min, so sit back and relax. When you get out of the bus you have 3 options. You can: a) walk ~950m, b) wait for (any nr: 3,4,9) trolley, ride 1 stop and walk ~350m c) wait for the bus nr 10 and ride 2 stops and you re in front of our University. 2. A more easier way is to sit on the bus nr 36 (which is a bit further from Laikmaa stop) and get off at the stop (surprise, surprise) Tehnikaülikool. You can find the instructions on the next page. 3. If you want to go to the city centre then you have 2 options: a) Get on the nr 17 bus and drive 3 stops till Estonia and you can look around. b) Find the Tram station and drive till 3 stops Hobujaama. That is exactly in the city centre and across the it is the Viru Keskus as stated above. In case you are lost, don't hesitate to ask people around you about the destination. They will always help!

6 From Bus #36 to BEST Office From Trolley #3 to BEST Office From Laikmaa to bus stop #36

7 Supermarkets 0.5 litre beer ~0, litre Coke ~0, litre good Vodka ~7 0.5 litre cheap Vodka ~5 Prices in Estonia 0.5 litre Vana Tallinn ~7 Snickers ~0,60 Marlboro ~3,3 Durex ~ask the organisers 1 kilo of bananas ~1,30 1 kilo of apples ~1 1 kilo of carrots ~0,40 170g potato chips ~1,25 1 pack of fast noodles ~0,25...0,50 A pack of toilet paper ~1,5 A pen (to write up your memories ) 0,42 A sheet of A4 paper ~ask organisers Eating out, clubbing, depending on places 0.5 litre beer ml Coke 1...1,60 a shot of Vodka/Vana Tallinn 1, a cup of coffee/espresso vodka cocktail/cuba libre/gin tonic etc a good meal in the city a big mac meal 4 5 a Keemia a la carte hamburger 1, eating in the student canteen 1, Various stuff A litre of petrol(you know, the good one) ~1,374 1km of cheap taxi in Tallinn ~0,40...0,50 1 bus-ticket in Tallinn 0,50...1

8 Information about the team Main Organiser Anne Schults Phone anne.schults@best.ee Social Responsible Sigrit Pikkar Phone sigrit.pikkar@best.ee Skype: sigritpikkar_1 Food and Catering Responsible Gritten Pähn Phone gritten.pahn@best.ee Skype: grittu Fundraising and Logistic Responsible Jaana Saaber Phone jaana.saaber@best.ee Academic Responsible Kristel Kuusemets Phone kristel.kuusemets@best.ee IMPORTANT TELEPHONE NUMBERS: 112 Police, Ambulance and Fire Departement