Europe 2018: Guided Tour of Tallinn, Estonia with a Local VC
I think I first learned of Estonia when I was at Slush in Helsinki in November 2016. Until recently I couldn’t point it out on a map (California schools do not teach geography). I met a startup from Estonia (SprayPrinter) at SVOD 2017 and then learned even more about it in my Piloting Your Life interview with Chris Brown earlier this year when he shared the history of Estonia and we talked about the startup ecosystem.
After a delayed flight from Paris to Riga, Latvia and a missed connection, I managed to make it to Tallinn, Estonia. Even my bag made it. I loved looking down at the Baltic Sea as we flew over it and think about my Finnish sauna experience at Slush this past December which included a few dips in the freezing-cold Baltic Sea. I was surprised by the green of the landscape as we landed. I later learned that a lot of Estonia is forest.
I stopped by the bathroom on my way to the baggage claim and couldn’t resist taking a picture of the bathroom door…outside and…
in. I am a Coco Channel fan girl and this made me smile. So much better than a plain restroom door or graffiti.
I found a gem of an AirBnb right on the edge of old town and the pictures don’t do it justice. It’s perfect.
This is such a livable apartment in an old building. The gal who owns it used to live here but is now married to a Swede and spends most of her time there. She was absolutely lovely and the fridge is even stocked with beer. I plan to leave her a gift that I brought from California!
I settled in for all of about 10 minutes and met with a local VC for what turned out to be an amazing tour of Old Town and a lovely dinner. There’s such a mix of cultures in the architecture due to the various countries that conquered Estonia over the centuries.
And just across the road, a Russian church. Less than 5% of the population was Russian orthodox but apparently they wanted to make a statement.
And just a bit away, these beautiful, colorful buildings. Due to the value of these buildings, the owners started renovating them in the 1990’s thereby increasing the value even more. I think he said that Helsinki was getting expensive so the Finns started to come over and buy up these buildings and renovate them. There is a mix of commercial and residential. The green one is one the of the last to be un-renovated at this point. Glad I wore flat sandals because the cobblestones would have been a challenge in anything else.
It was a gorgeous evening…I think at this point it was around 8:30 at night and looked more like 4 in the afternoon. I am not adjusted to the time difference so this worked out well for me plus after traveling all day and sitting in planes and airports, it was good to get some steps in.
I loved the blending of the architecture styles sitting side by side. I know it represents centuries of being conquered but it is still beautiful.
You can see the old tower peaking through above the pink building. I should have taken a picture of it when I went by it but I figured I would be back tomorrow (Saturday) to tour through. I didn’t realize the weather was turning (it’s raining today and expected to get worse tomorrow) so I may not get the chance unless I brave the inclement weather. My flight to Nice isn’t until 5:30 so it may be my best option.
At one point I felt like we were in the beer gardens in Germany (ok, I’ve never seen them in person but I hope to next week) and I commented on all of the beer steins in the restaurants that lined the road.
This was a beautiful square with lively restaurants.
We finally stopped at a restaurant across from this beautiful view and I enjoyed some local beer (an IPA) and local dishes including a desser that reminds both the VC (Andrus) I met with and the server of their grandmothers.
During dinner we talked about what Andrus is looking for as an investor, the local startup and investing ecosystem, benefits of becoming an Estonian e-resident (for me, not him as his family has been here for centuries), and how Estonia is putting itself on the ICO map.
Andrus walked me back towards where I was staying and proceeded to take a bus home to his family while I braved a 5 minute walk to a very busy 24 hour convenient store to pick up some laundry detergent. Who would have thought a convenient store would be hoppin’ at 11 PM.
I walked past this square (I think it’s called Freedom Square) which is 2 minutes from my place. I can access it by walking under the main street where there is a pathway or walking around the grass promenade (not shown here). Estonia is celebrating 100 years of freedom this year so the 100’s (I thought they were 18’s) are all over the area. This was 11:30 at night by the way. When I was in Helsinki for Slush this past November/December, Finland was celebrating their 100 year anniversary.
My son’s girlfriend and I were texting and she asked what the view was like from the apartment so I snapped a picture. This morning I took a few more from the living room.
The weather isn’t great this morning but I think I will still plan to walk the 20 minutes to Lift99 to meet with 9 local startups. But before I do, I need to speak with the founder of the startup out of Oxford, UK that I am advising. It’s nice to be in the same timezone!
Nägemist (bye) for now.
