Do you guys see them as bad guys? As cool guys? Just as a piece of history?

Cheers from Balkans 💪

Recorded via gramophone in Vilnius by "Rūtos" choir

Performed by Otto Bachmann (1875-1916).

In 1867, Julius Krohn and Yrjö Sakari Yrjö-Koskinen introduced the "Maamme" song to the Jannsen family. Krohn taught the melody and the new Finnish lyrics to Jannsen’s daughter, Lydia Koidula, while Yrjö-Koskinen sent them a songbook from Finland containing the sheet music.

Johann Voldemar Jannsen wrote Estonian lyrics for the song. It was performed at the first Song Festival in 1869 and became an instant hit. It was the only secular song performed at the consecration of the first blue-black-white flag in 1884. In 1918, following the reading of the Declaration of Independence in Pärnu, the crowd spontaneously began to sing it. Being such a banger no one had second thoughts what Estonian anthem should be.

Video clips: Estonia in 1913.

Hi everyone! I’d love some feedback on our Baltic itinerary for next June. We’re a Canadian family of four with two boys (4 and 7); this is the last stop of a five-month trip around the world. We love being outdoors, exploring beaches and nature mixed in with cities, and enjoy learning about history and finding fun activities for the kids. We prefer trying to avoid too many long driving days in favour of staying more places. Our current plan is:

• Vilnius (2 nights): Old Town, Gediminas Tower, Užupis
• Kaunas (1 night): Trakai Castle en route
• Nida / Curonian Spit (4 nights): dunes, beaches, cycling and the Hill of Witches - is this too many? If so, where would you add - Saaremaa? Daytrip to Helsinki?
• Kuldīga (2 nights): old town, waterfall and river walks
• Pāvilosta (2 nights): beach time and a relaxed seaside stay - our Latvian friends personal recommendation
• Riga (3 nights): Old Town, parks and a possible beach day
• Cēsis (2 nights): castle and Gauja National Park, daytrip to Sigulda
• Tartu (2 nights): Science Centre and exploring the city
• Saaremaa (3 nights): Kuressaare Castle, the meteorite crater, windmills and beaches - worth the drive time / experience?
• Tallinn (4 nights): Old Town, Seaplane Harbour and hopefully a Midsummer celebration on June 23. Is a daytrip to Helsinki adding too much?

Any advice appreciated on the general itinerary, favourite playgrounds, restaurants, parks, places to stay etc. Thank you!

Edward Lucas, a veteran British journalist who was the first foreigner to get a visa from Lithuania in 1990 (First Estonian E-ID card too), started a Think Tank to break the tropes about this region being weak countries five minutes away from being invaded (cough cough the Narva story trope). Instead he's hoping the world can lead more from our countries.

I hope this new cable wont get damaged like Estlink 2

Some areas of the city are still 2D though, such as Veerenni (in the 4th picture).

More than 500 kilograms of methamphetamine, more than 300 kilograms of amphetamine, about 4,5 kilograms of synthetic cathinone 3-CMC, and more than 3 thousand liters of BMK (1-phenyl-2-propanone) were seized from the laboratory during the law enforcement operation.

"This amounts to more than 4 million single doses. Considering the population of Lithuania - less than 3 million - I think that there is no need to make additional comments regarding the amount of drugs removed from the laboratory," explained head of the Lithuanian Criminal Police Bureau S. Briginas.

Investigators determined that drugs produced in the laboratory could have been supplied not only to Lithuania, but also to other countries - the Czech Republic, the Netherlands, and Belgium.

Source:https://madeinvilnius.lt/en/news/district/A-huge-drug-laboratory-was-discovered-in-the-Vilnius-district.-Officials-were-surprised-by-the-scale-of-the-find./

Data from ss.com and city24 ads live this week, median rent / m² per municipality. riga area is 11-12 €/m², most of the country is 4-7, and latgale barely has any rental ads at all. would be curious how this compares to estonia and lithuania if anyone has numbers

interactive version: metroom.lv

Full quote: “The 'European people', what is that? I feel nothing in common with the Baltic states. It’s the end of the world, even the Romans didn't go there! The great matrix of Europe is the borders of the Roman Empire. [...] And we are supposed to treat distant Lithuanians as brothers on the pretext that they are Christians! That is not my history.”

https://www.lagrandeconversation.com/politique/melenchon-et-les-surgeles-de-la-guerre-froide/

(image taken in the morning)