Excerpts from Estonia

After three long years without international travel it was great to get back to Estonia and Latvia this year. On my way to a knitting retreat in Latvia, I spent a few days in Tallinn and had time to meet up with several friends.

I had seen Estonia's food delivery robots before but I enjoyed watching them whiz down the sidewalks of Tallinn, congregate occasionally, and even stop for a coffee break.

In the spirit of e-Estonia and all things electronic, I took a ride on a self-driving shuttle bus. I had just read an article on the Estonian World blog about a self-driving bus being tested in the Mustamäe district of Tallinn, so I convinced my young friend, Rauno from Tartu, to join me. We located the route and hopped on the 8-seat bus. We were the only customers on that circuit. The bus had a human operator on board to monitor safety and intervene if necessary. As it happened, we did experience one instance when the bus stopped, apparently losing its place on its route. The operator pulled out a keyboard and took care of the problem and we were back on our way. It was a rainy morning and a fun experience on our way to the Tallinn zoo.

Meerkats! My favorite from the Tallinn zoo. So alert!

Telliskivi is a hip and trendy area of Tallinn and I met a fellow fiber friend, Mari Pukk, for dinner at LITERAAT, a restaurant that is part of the Rahva Raamat book store in the area. Even the graffiti is hip and trendy in Telliskivi.

Signe, another knitting friend, lives outside of Tallinn, just a short train ride away. I was invited to visit her at her home and see the coursework she had recently finished for her textile craftsperson certification. This is in addition to her professional career. She's a busy woman! Signe's barely visible companion is Rosin ("Raisin"), a very black Scottish Terrier.

It was nice to be "back in the saddle again" (the travel saddle) and to see good friends.