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Tallinn has decent facilities for most sports and leisure activities, but its best asset by far is the countryside that surrounds it. In summer, hiking and cycling are the main attraction, while, in winter, the flat landscape lends itself to cross-country skiing. Although football is the main spectator sport, the standard is low by European standards; one game that’s always worth catching, however, as much for the camaraderie of the fans as the quality of the action, is a game between Estonia and Scotland. The teams have clashed frequently in World and European Cup qualifiers over the past decade, most famously in 1998, when a late change of venue meant the Estonian side couldn’t reach the stadium in time. The Scots won the match, but Tallinn won the Tartan Army’s heart.
Outside football, the first Estonian Olympic gold medal went to Kristjan Palusal for both freestyle and classical wrestling in 1936. Crowds greeted him at the station on his return and the state rewarded him with a farm.
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