Estonia, Tallinn. The northern sister

What Europe is and what it should be is often the subject of passionate debate. A unique concept whereby several nations are brought together under a humane, democratic system? The strongest economy in the world? A patchwork of different cultures? A tolerant home for freethinkers and the persecuted?



For Christa Klickermann, a 58-year-old native of Salzburg who now lives in Hamburg, Europe is, above all, somewhere she can call her own extended home. A loveable continent and a great place to live; a place of myriad cultures that shapes and inspires her in her daily life as a woman, mother and entrepreneur in the midst of life. A place so dear to her heart that she has decided to take a fresh look at Europe and, since 2012, has spent her time journeying across its borders. With a great deal of empathy and openness, she sets out to discover Europe’s people, their culture and their modern, everyday lives up close. Tallinn, the cosy capital of Estonia, was the fourteenth capital on her journey through Europe.



Praise for Europeans at heart:



Interview with Deutsche Welle TV:

“After reading this book, you will find it impossible not to fall in love with Europe.”



Schekker, the German Government’s online portal for young people:

“This collection of accounts delivers a brief but brilliant glimpse into life in Europe’s incredibly diverse countries, as well as lots of useful information and fabulous pictures that will fill you to the brim with wanderlust. Having taken a literary voyage through the continent via the pages of this book, I can definitely say that I am European at heart. What about you?”



Polen-pl.eu, online Polish culture portal:

“‘The one language that we all understand, and which closely connects all of us Europeans, is the language of the heart: the desire to understand, to empathise, to laugh and find out more about one another.’ And that, according to Christa Klickermann, is the key to living together in harmony. With her book, the author hopes to inspire us and imbue us with a sense of confidence about Europe’s future, and she more than succeeds in doing both. Her approach is so effective in fact that as a reader you feel tempted to take leave and embark on your own European journey of exploration.”



What Europe is and what it should be is often the subject of passionate debate. A unique concept whereby several nations are brought together under a humane, democratic system? The strongest economy in the world? A patchwork of different cultures? A tolerant home for freethinkers and the persecuted?



For Christa Klickermann, a 58-year-old ...



Europeans at heart is a vivid and colourful series of travel and culture books that brings you closer to Europe’s countries and its people. This eBook is an extended and updated travel account taken from the printbook ‘Europeans at heart: a journey of discovery through 28 EU capitals’.



CONTENT



+ The thrill of the unknown

+ Estonia (EE) at a glance

+ The northern sister

+ Christa Klickermann, talking with Maarja Naan

+ Additional Links

+ He who knows nothing, must believe it all: Europe, the key facts

+ In touch with Europe – an authentic journey of discovery



The northern sister



As capital of the most northern and smallest of the three Baltic sister states, Tallinn surprises with its fresh feel, medieval atmosphere, innovative technology and captivating optimistic spirit.



The bus is a veritable limousine: speedy, spotless, enormous, comfortable … and all for just 16 euros per person! What a lovely surprise! With the words “time for a quick nap”, my travel companion/marmot disappears amongst the back row of seats. Ah well, at least I now have this spacious four-seater – complete with table and Wi-Fi – all to myself. And I can sit back and relax for the next four and a half hours as I’m chauffeured up north; I quite like having a moment to myself every now and then.



As we leave Riga, we pass attractive, typically-Latvian wooden houses in delightful northern colours which feature door and window frames that are painted white, as well as wooden flower boxes filled with colourful plants. We take the national road towards Tallinn, the most northern and also the smallest capital of the Baltic States. I take my laptop and notes out of my rucksack. Woodland lines both sides of the route like a green ribbon. There is nothing to give it away, but we have already crossed the border into Estonia, a country that is 50 percent forest. I read in my notes that the wood trade and the wood manufacturing industry have long been an important part of the economy here. Somewhere out there in the green there are also (less picturesque) oil shale-fired power stations which cause ground water contamination and landscape destruction, and 60 percent of the burned oil shale remains in the atmosphere as ash. It is an energy issue that Estonia has to deal with, just like any other country in the world … but Estonia is working on a solution: their shale-fired power stations have been fitted with such good filtration plants that they now conform to strict EU standards. And, according to Eurostat, in 2011 the country became the first EU member state to reach its target for renewable energy as a percentage of gross final energy consumption: Estonia covers 25.9 percent of its usage with wood, wood chips, wind and water energy.



Wow! I’m really excited about visiting this small country that has even fewer inhabitants than the Bavarian capital Munich. After the Estonians won back their independence in 1991, they drew a clear line under their former socialist state and its planned economy. They wanted their judiciary, administration and legislation to be independent, and to ensure legal certainty; their economic system should be as far removed from socialism as possible, i.e. it should be liberal, leaning towards neo-liberal. Isn’t that problematic? Converting a country from total state control to a system of ‘each to his own’? That’s something that Estonia definitely has in common with its Baltic sisters: it doesn’t focus heavily on social policy, instead it simply regards it as a by-product of economic development.



Christa Klickermann has always been passionate about building good relationships both at work and in her private life. For 25 years, she worked on forming effective partnerships with her business clients during her time as a freelance marketing consultant in the field of customer management. Away from work, the 58-year-old Austrian has been happily married for 37 years and is mother to three grown-up children, as well as being a grandmother.



In 2012 she said goodbye to her career and fulfilled a long-held dream by moving with her husband from Bavaria to the very north of Germany. She now lives and works in Hamburg as a freelance author and networker. On her travels, in her Europeans at Heart book series and in her intercultural panel readings, she tries to gain a closer understanding of people and their cultures.