Good with their hands

I forgot to mention that I spent a mad time running round Mardilaat or the St Martin's Day Fair at Saku Suurhall on Sunday. Considering it ran for four days, I thought one hour before the whole thing closed would be a good time to start doing my Christmas shopping there.

For those not in the know, Mardilaat is an annual handicrafts fair that brings people from far and wide throughout the country to Tallinn to show off their wares. Needless to say what I saw cemented my respect for Estonian handicraft skills and tradition - the stuff they do with fabric and glass being particularly impressive - and I even managed to pick up some unique and yet actually still useful Xmas presents.

Since it's over for another year it's a bit late to recommend you go and see what it's about, but I wouldn't hesitate to otherwise. Not only do you get to admire (and indeed buy) the handiwork of a lot of talented people, but you also get more of a feeling for the country and its culture. Plus you get to try free samples of stuff like smoked elk and wild boar sausage. And what else do you need on a cold, grey November afternoon?