Tallinn, Estonia

Overview:

Estonia suffered the fate of other Baltic countries, occupied for hundreds of years by stronger neighbors, with Swedes, Russians, and Poles fighting over the region. Russia finally took over from the Swedes in the 18th century. Estonia enjoyed a brief period of independence from 1919-40, then came under Soviet domination as a result of the Molotov-Ribbentrop pact. Only lightly damaged in World War II, Tallinn expanded quickly after the war as Russian industrialization drew ethnic Russian immigrants from other republics. Estonia regained independence with the breakup of the Soviet Union in 1991. Politically, Estonia has gone far in building democratic institutions. But some problems remain, particularly with respect to the Russian-speaking minority, which constitutes about a third of the population, and to government efforts to integrate these minorities into Estonian society. Internationally, Estonia is a member of the World Trade Organization (WTO). Given its strong desire to become part of western security structures, Estonia has a goal of NATO accession in 2002. Estonia is one of the most market-oriented, open economies in the former Soviet Union, and maintains a moderate, sustainable economic growth. By itself a small market, Estonia occupies a strategic geo-economic position between the EU and Russia and encourages investment from firms that plan to expand their operations in the region. Bilaterally, the embassy operates in a friendly environment and is well positioned to support Estonia's desire to integrate into western institutions.

American Embassy Tallinn:

The inspection took place from November 1-15 another ten workdays and two welcome weekends.    The Ambassador had left the country before the inspection and the embassy was in the capable hands of the charge d'affaires, Dolores Brown, who went on to be the Management Counselor in Cairo when I was there TDY in the summer of 2009.    The Management Officer, Mike Tulley, became the Director of HR/OE and I had numerous contacts with during the survey phase of future inspections.  Mike was an avid supporter of Manchester United of the English Premier League whereas I was a fan of Arsenal, which he didn't appreciate.    

Findings:

Some of the formal recommendations involved: 

• An issue regarding the disposition of value added taxes that did not comply with Department of State instructions for handling and reporting receipts.

• It was surprising that Tulley was not consistently performing the monthly unannounced verification of the principal cashier's accountability as required.

• Supervisors of sub cashiers did not perform unannounced cashier verifications as required. 

• For management to verify the monthly consular receipts with official collections, and the accountable consular officer monthly summary of the daily accounting of consular fee receipts.

• The need to establish an accounts receivable ledger to track collections for long-distance personal telephone calls, mileage for authorized use of vehicles, outstanding travel advances, and other official bills for collection. 

Highlights:



Besides visiting Toompea Castle, the Old Town main square, St. Catherine' s Passage and St. Olaf's Church I enjoyed shopping for local crafts in medieval-style workshops for sweaters, quilts, linens and leather goods. 

We stayed at the Raddison hotel which was a short walk to the embassy.  In terms of food the first course in traditional Estonian cuisine is based on cold dishes—a selection of pickles, meats and sausages served with potato salad.  Estonian signature dish similar to a Swedish dish includes beetroot, potatoes and herring. Small pastries, like the Polish pirozhki, are filled with meat, cabbage, carrots, rice and other fillings often served with bouillon. Herring is common among other fish as a part of the Estonian cold table. Smoked or marinated eel and crayfish dishes are considered delicacies. One of Estonia's national dishes is the Baltic dwarf herring, along with flounder, perch and pike are also popular.                                                 

   

                                                  

                     In Town                                                                 Bob, Joanne, Joe and I having drinks
 

Liquors included Vana Tallinn a rum-based liqueur and different berries like Cloudberry from Lapland that Carl Troy and imbibed on several occasions.    

Our team leader Fred Rondon was an avid bird watcher and would take every opportunity to go birdwatching on a weekend.  Estonia is one of the three top places to go birdwatching because of its location and migration of birds travelling between North America, Europe and Africa.  In fact there are a number of national parks along the western Estonian coast with its large bay to see migratory birds.  I went out with Fred once in while in Tallinn and froze my tail off but he did manage to see a couple of birds that he had never seen before. 

 In old Tallinn one sees medieval walls, buildings, spires, and narrow   cobblestone streets that give the city a distinctive atmosphere of the   14th and 15th centuries. The making of Tallinn goes back to the 13th   century when the Danes built a castle on Toompea hill overlooking   the Gulf of Finland. After the Danes sold northern Estonia to the   German knights, Tallinn became a major center for merchants.   Many of the characteristic German—style buildings were   constructed during this period. With nearly 2km of its original city wall   still standing, Tallinn boasts one of Europe’s best preserved Medieval   fortifications. In fact, a large part of what gives Old Town its fairytale   charm is the system of walls and and towers that surrounds it. Work on the   town's defenses first began in 1265, but the current outline of the wall   dates to the 14th century.







 

 Picturesque Town Hall Square has been the   undisputed hub of Old Town for the last eight   centuries. Surrounded by elaborate merchant   houses and, in summer, packed with café tables,   it's a natural magnet for tourists. Historically it   served as a market and meeting place,

 Perched on a limestone cliff and towering over the   rest of the city, Toompea Castle has always been   the seat of power in Estonia. Ever since the Danes   and the Knights of the Sword first built a stone   fortress here in 1227-29, every foreign empire that   ruled Estonia used the castle as its base. Today,   appropriately, it's home to Estonia's Parliament. The castle has been revamped countless times.




Street in old town