From the Baltic to the Atlantic... With no passport

Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, Czech Republic, Hungary, Slovenia, Malta and Cyprus all become members of the Schengen Protocol at mignight tonight. Border controls will disappear, meaning that a traveller could make his or her way (by land - airport controls remain in place until March 31, 2008) from Estonia to Portugal without showing a passport.

Palin's New Europe - Starts Sunday

Michael Palin's newest travelling tv-series, Michael Palin's New Europe, hits the small screen in the UK this coming Sunday night (September 16, 21:00, BBC1). This series covers many of the countries that In Your Pocket have been writing about for quite some time, such as Poland, Lithuania, Latvia and Estonia and more.

I reckon Palin has a way of getting in touch with the spirit and pulse of a place that is humble yet real, and I look forward to seeing the series. Of course, I live in Lithuania, which means I won't be able to see it on the telly and will have to wait until the series is released on DVD and sold for a small fortune (rathan than downloading it for free from the internet the day after it is broadcast).

Meanwhile, travel agents and various self-declared experts are predicting that the 'Palin Effect' could impact Eastern Europe in the same way that it has affected regions covered by his previous programmes: more tourism.

An interesting interview-write-up-sales-piece is available on the BBC Press Office website.

Estonian turns wife into beer

Estonian, Estonian Madis Uusorg, has won his wife's weight in beer after carrying her across the line and becoming the 12th Wife Carrying Champion. He carried her upside-down on his back, with her legs over his shoulders.

Another Estonian couple came second in the competition, which was hosted in Finland. Contestants in the burden-carrying banality have to haul their wifes along a 250m track, pocked with pools and hurdles. There's some photos of the event, from previous years, on Flickr.

More also on Reuters.

Estonia and Russia

Anyone looking for some background and no small amount of sense in the recent (and, indeed, ongoing) dispute between Estonia and Russia) should start here, at the Economist.

E-stonia e-lections

(Pic from jannelass on Flickr.)

Estonia has become the first country in the world to count internet voting in parlaimentry elections, reports the BBC and just about every other news site that subscribes to Reuters. This will not only ensure that someone who is technically advanced and looks good on Youtube will get to run the country, but will further bolster Estonia's reputation for being all digitally wonderful and e-everything.