Technologically, Estonia seems “like a planet from a Flash Gordon serial.” Economically, it’s strong and growing. And in Tallinn, the nightlife is “fun and welcoming,” and boasts “what I can say were—without fear of hyperbole—the most jaw-droppingly beautiful women I have ever seen in my life.” Those are the observations of Chasing the Sea author and World Hum contributor Tom Bissell writing in The New Republic. But Bissell, who traveled to Estonia twice in 2006, was not completely blinded by what he saw. He writes: “I wondered: Was Estonia’s stylishness actually some geoeconomic version of keeping up with the Joneses of the Western world?” His excellent story examines Estonia’s history and rise to become one of the European Union’s most successful new members.

Endless Europe is a web-based reality series, chronicling the adventures of two backpackers and two crew members who did an eight-week jaunt across Europe this July and August. The three Canadians and one American, none older than 23, made the classic post-college circuit of party capitals like London, Berlin, Amsterdam, and Prague, as well as newer destinations like Tallinn and Dubrovnik, and hit up the World Cup in Germany for good measure. There’s a map of their whole trip here. The series debuted on October 1, and, to date, there are 12 episodes on their website, EndlessEurope, that cover the crew’s travels to the UK and Germany (you can see the first seven right here on Travelistic). The site was initially used to generate interest in the project through a contest to choose the two hosts, and now has downloadable versions of each episode, and bios and blogs for each of the cast members, where you can get a preview of the mishaps and drunken hijinks to come.