After breakfast, we met with a local expert to listen to his talk about Estonia.
Estonia has a population of about 1.3 million and interestingly, Estonia is comprised of the mainland AND over 3,000 islands.
Most of the people who live here are Estonians, but there are also about 20% Russian, 5% Ukrainian and another 5% of other nationalities. Estonias natural resources are oil shale, timber, peat, clay, and gravel.
There is a President of the country, but he is really just a figurehead. The Prime Minister is the person who runs the country by leading the government and directing its activities. The Prime Minister also handles foreign affairs and commands the armed forces, approves laws, and nominates cabinet members.
Every child must go to school for a mandatory 9 years. The study program at upper secondary school is arranged into mandatory and voluntary courses. Studies last for 3 years. Those who wish to continue their education may choose to go to the University of Tartu. The University of Tartu is one of the top public universities in Estonia. It is ranked #358 in World University Rankings.
In Estonia, compulsory military service for males lasts 8 or 11 months depending on the time of year of conscription. Females can join as well, but it is not mandatory. Families support the compulsory military requirement for males, especially given what is happening in the Ukraine. They feel the country needs to be prepared. Estonia is happy that the US is there if the need should ever arise that Estonia would need military backup, and therefore in the meantime, whatever the US asks for…the military is happy to comply.
There is an X-Road card that is in use in Estonia. From the Internet…”X-Road is open-source software that provides unified and secure data exchange between organizations in a collaborative ecosystem.” In other words… 100% of everything in your life is done on-line through this card. There are two pins that you must use to access your data so that scammers can’t get control of your finances, etc. The card has your medical information, banking info, and you can make purchases as well. And here’s the unbelievable part: You can get married using this card, get divorced, buy a home, pay your taxes, start a business, and so much more…all in the span of maybe 1/2 hour.
I asked…given the cleverness of hackers…what happens if the system is compromised? Our speaker said since two pins are needed to access the system, it would be difficult to hack. If you lose the card, it’s not a problem since without the pins, no one can access your data. Additionally, there is something called a block chain. I don’t pretend to understand that concept, but he said it makes it impossible to hack. Apparently the IT specialists that work on this, have frequent drills – the hacker and the protector – and one group tries every way to Sunday to hack the system and the protector does everything to block them. I guess it works since X road has been working very well. It will be a few years I think till the US has this technology given the number of people we have. Estonia has a smaller population and the system can be implemented more easily.
Someone asked… so what happens if you want to sue someone. Can that be done over the internet? The process can be started, but eventually lawyers have to become involved, but the trial can take place over the internet, I assume with something like zoom.
Someone asked about the homeless population. The homeless population is seen more in the outskirts of Tallinn and there are places where the homeless can go for a hot meal, a shower, and an overnight bed. It seems to be basically the same system we have in the US. There are mental health facilities and if a person is deemed incompetent, a doctor or social worker can have that person committed to a mental institution for help.
If someone wants to own a gun in Estonia, they have to go through a lot of paperwork in order to obtain it. You just can’t go in and purchase one. A mental health test is done, you have to prove you have a locked gun cabinet in your premises, and you have to satisfy many other requirements.
It was a very interesting presentation and we learned a lot about Estonia.
Allan and I walked over to the local food store and purchased lunch, since at around 11:30, we would be taking our minibus to Tallinn’s ferry terminal, and boarding the ferry to take us to Helsinki, and eating our lunch on the ferry.
We boarded the ferry with no problems, and sat down to enjoy the 2 plus hours ride. We sat in an area where there was a grand piano, and two young musicians who were riding the ferry, took turns playing music the entire ride. They were wonderful…playing classical music as well as a song from the movie “The Sting” and the impromptu concert made the journey very enjoyable.
We arrived in Helsinki and our minibus deposited us at our hotel… Klaus K…which is centrally located. We bid goodbye to Eero and greeted our new guide Heidi, as well as two new travelers that had not participated in the pre-trip.
We went to our hotel room, got settled and then off we went with Heidi on an orientation tour of the area.
Back at the hotel, a few of us went for a pre-dinner drink at the bar and then met the rest of the group for dinner. We had delicious sashimi salmon for an appetizer and pork belly and potatoes for the main course. Delicious. Everyone enjoyed crème brûlée, but I passed on the dessert.
We have a busy day tomorrow.
Pork belly
The ferry was really like a cruise ship