Estonia 2019

July 3, 2019

The one where I flashed a quarry 

I’ve arrived in Estonia with Liis to move her back home after we’ve finished our masters. I’m having a whole host of emotions about it all...finishing the program, coming to Estonia, her moving away from Utrecht. But at least for now I just want to try to enjoy the time we have together because I know it will go by so fast. We landed in Tallinn and her mom and boyfriend Mihkel were waiting for us outside baggage claim. We hopped on a tram from the airport and took it to the stop near their apartment. I got a little glimpse of their cozy place and dropped my bags before we walked to a nearby mall called T1 for dinner. The four of us had dumplings at Pelm on a patio at the top of the mall and I really enjoyed getting to know her mom a bit and catching up with Mihkel. We all ordered a weird drink that they call 'root beer' in Estonia which was nothing like the American root beer I know and love.We rode a Ferris wheel that sits on top of the mall after dinner. It was so windy that the door of our carriage was shaking, which added some excitement to the ride, but we had a great view of all of Tallinn and Mihkel gave me a lot of fun facts about the city. After finding our way out of the mall, we got on another tram and parted ways with Liis’s mom for the night. After chilling at the apartment for a bit, we decided to go on a walk around a nearby park. It was once a quarry, and we wandered down some rocks to the edge of the water. We were admiring the view when a bug flew down my shirt and I started panicking. I ended up completely lifting my shirt so Liis could look for the bug, and it was a hilarious disaster. I'm really hoping no passerby saw my fiasco, but if they did, I hope they got a good laugh. I decided that was our cue to leave, so we meandered back to the apartment again and jumped in the car. Mihkel drove us around different parts of Tallinn where he had grown up, showing me a lot of Soviet era buildings in the Lasnamäe neighborhood before heading into the city center and Old Town. We went by everything so quickly and I think I got a quick overview of the entire city. We quickly parked in front of the parliament and watched some ceremony going on with a torch that will be used for the song festival in a few days before coming in for the night and chilling on the couch going through photos of Liis and Mihkel. I feel very at home here and I’m really eager to see what the next few days hold for me. Today has been an incredibly long but fun day that’s just the start of this little adventure. Who would have thought I’d find myself crashing with my best friend in Estonia. 

July 4, 2019

The one where we didn’t make it to Texas

What a long, strange day I had today. We started off by exploring all of Old Town Tallinn. We had a few coffees at a cafe called Wabadus while eavesdropping on a very interesting crowd of guys. We then wandered all through the Old Town - into shops, past the almond cart where Liis used to work, and onto some viewing platforms that overlook part of the city. We explored long and hard before going to meet Mihkel for lunch at Katharinenthal, the bookstore cafe Liis used to work at. From there, we went to Mihkel’s office which has another gorgeous view over the city. I had forgotten what it feels like to be in a tall building, which was a very strange feeling. Liis then humored me and took me to a nice grocery store where I could explore all the strange Estonian foods, only for me to realize that they’re mostly the same with the exception of some pastries, sodas, and weird meat jell-o. 

We took our loot back to her apartment and relaxed for a bit before catching a tram to meet her mom at the dance festival. What an experience that was. Thousands of people performed dances and made patterns while wearing traditional Estonian attire for two and a half hours. I was completely in awe of the dances and the patterns they created. It was a total culture shock, but mesmerizing to watch. 

From there, we went straight into the city center to grab some quick dinner at Wok to Walk and find some 4th of July celebrations. We made it to one bar where there wasn’t an American in sight, so I found another bar called Texas online and we walked that way. There was a noise that was getting louder and louder as we approached the bar we were looking for, and lo and behold it was a herd of (mostly) Americans drinking in the street at a bar next door. We decided to join in, got some beers, and joined the crowd. We mostly people watched there, but I was drawn in when they started singing the national anthem while holding a giant American flag. It’s the one day a year I allow myself to be over the top patriotic and find crowds of other Americans. It was a hard contrast going from the traditional Estonian festival to the trashy American 4th of July festivities. Liis and Mihkel were in even more shock than I was, I’m sure, but they did say they enjoyed the experience of the American 4th. It was a bit of a wild ride today, but as tired as I am, I really enjoyed myself. It was an experience to say the least. 

July 5, 2019

The one with the scooters

We had a bit of a slow morning because for some reason, both Liis and I have been exhausted the last few days. Coffee is required daily at this point, so we went out to find some. Our day started with a walk to the Kadriorg neighborhood to see a scenic park and the palace of an old Russian tzar. We walked around this area of town for a while and sat at another Katharinenthal to have some coffee and pastries. We knew it would rain today, but it started pouring as we were sitting on the patio having our breakfast. Luckily, there were umbrellas, so we and the little birds trying to steal our pastries took shelter from the pouring rain until it passed, which wasn’t long. 

When it was dry enough to leave our little shelter, we continued our exploring along the Baltic Sea. We were walking towards the Maarjamäe monument when we came across some rental electric scooters, so we got ourselves a pair of those and took off along the coast. The monument dedicated to Estonians victims of the Soviet rule was very moving and seemed to envelope you when you walk through, but the heavy rain quickly caught up with us and we darted back to the bus to get back into town. 

We rode trams all the way into the Telliskivi neighborhood and went for a market where we wandered, had sushi, and got more coffee. From there, we went deeper into the hipster area of town and checked out their little boutique shops and trendy bars/restaurants. It reminds me a lot of a trendy area outside of Lisbon, but it was very cool to see. We had to duck into some places a few more times to hide from the rain, but we grabbed a few packs of berries (red currant, white currant, gooseberries, and wild strawberries) before making a grocery run and crashing at home. We watched the dance festival on TV to get a better view of the patterns made by the thousands of people and I was even more impressed with the event. We munched on berries and swapped old videos of choir or dance performances before capping off the day. 

July 6, 2019

The one where I got on Estonian TV

We had a very late start to the day, but eventually made it out of the house after having an ‘Amy style breakfast’ (as Mihkel calls it) of yogurt and granola with berries. I’m infiltrating Estonian households with my breakfast choices and I love it. Liis and I scuddled over to the T1 mall to grab some rental scooters and rode them into town. Mine started malfunctioning halfway there and was just vibrating at a standstill, so we ditched them and walked the rest of the way. We popped into a mall called Solaris where I got to meet one of Liis’s friends before going to a cafe for coffee. 

We had to wiggle our way through thousands of people because today is the start of the Estonian song festival and there is a march of all the singers through town. Most of the roads are closed and public transit not running. We had some coffee and pastries and went looking for Mihkel in the massive crowd. We first were just going to say hi and cheer him on, but we somehow got pulled into the march and went the whole 5 km with Mihkel’s choir. I met his lovely friends and had a great time waving at all the onlookers. We were funneled into the song festival grounds and given lunch in a massive warehouse before we got to go out into the festival ourselves. We managed to find a spot on the very crowded lawn and set up for the afternoon to watch the performances. With the exception of a few trips for food, we lounged in the sunshine and watched songs for hours. I really enjoyed getting to know Mihkel’s friends. They were all so welcoming and very funny, and it was exactly what I would like to do on a day like today. We watched through the end of the performances - I was actually able to sing along with some of the songs by the end of the evening - and then walked 25 minutes home. When we got back, we watched back through some news coverage of the day and we found ourselves on TV marching in the parade! (I'm just behind the girl in a yellow shirt). Never in my life did I expect to see myself in Estonian National TV. This whole day was nothing I could ever expect, but I’m so happy to have had this experience. Wouldn’t trade it for anything. 

July 7, 2019

The one with the kilu breads

We started our day late with lunch at Liis’s mom’s house. We arrived in time to help prepare lunch, and I got to have a few really Estonian things - a strange, salty fish called kilu with egg on bread, salmon with slices of lemon on buttered bread, homemade strawberry jam with Estonian pancakes, and some salty mineral water from the south of Estonia. Plus, something I've been eating daily called kohuke, which tastes like a little soft piece of cheesecake to me. I got to chat with Liis’s mom and grandma over breakfast and really enjoyed talking with them. Her grandma is really sweet and open, and so is her mom, so I can see why she is so wonderful. I so appreciate these moments that most people don’t get when they travel - to be invited into someone’s family home and have a meal prepared for me is something I find so special, so I don’t take it for granted at all. 

From there, we went to the song festival which is titled Minu Arm (my love in English) this year. As soon as we walked in, it was so busy we couldn’t go any further. I was a bit overwhelmed by it all. After quite some time, we managed to make it to the side of the festival grounds where we couldn’t see the stage at all and parked ourselves on a blanket in a field. Liis and I snacked while I attempted to make a flower crown from a bouquet we had bought that morning. I guess I was successful, because I got a compliment on it by an Estonian girl, so I was pleased with myself. We chilled in our little patch of grass for a few hours before braving the crowds again to see the stage. We first waddled our way through the massive crowd to find Liis’s aunt who was standing near the front, so for a while we got to see the stage from quite close. I also really enjoyed talking with her. She was very inviting and sociable. She told me stories of her trips to the States and showed me photos of her sons who were on the stage. I might add that there were over 22,000 singers on stage, so to me they looked like tiny specks. After a few songs, we then went off to join some friends of friends in a spot where we could sit and watch the stage just in time to watch the groups that Mihkel was performing in. I really enjoyed most of the songs and have actually managed to learn a few by now. The song festival crowd really likes to ask for repeats of songs, which helped. Being at the song festival was a really powerful experience. In a lot of the songs, people were brought to tears, and I can understand why. Given the history of Estonia, the history of the song festival, and the power of listening to 22,000 people sing, it’s hard not to be moved. I quickly learned a few songs that I continued to sing for the rest of the time I was in Estonia. After it finished, we waited for the stadium to clear out for quite a while before finding Mihkel and his friends, then Liis’s aunt and cousins, and then heading out. We had a nice walk back to the apartment and finished the night by having breakfast burritos which Liis has never heard of. I think all of the activity of the last few days is getting to me, because I am exhausted and tomorrow we head to Finland at the mean hour of 6:30.

July 8, 2019

The one with the Eugene-pool

The one with the 12.90 all you can eat sushi

Oh boy, it was a struggle getting up at 5:45 to get ready to go to Finland. Good thing the sun rises before 5 AM in Estonia. It was an extra little push in the morning. We trekked through Tallinn to get to the docks and easily boarded our ship. A few hours later, the boat dropped us off in Helsinki and we walked ourselves into town. We made the choice to go for one of the Hop On Hop Off busses for the day, and it was a great choice. There were a few sights we wanted to see in our short trip, most of which were churches of some sort, and that was the best way to get around. I'll save the details of the whole day, because it was A LOT of running around and making loops through the city, but I'll put some photos of the places we visited. There were 3 churches, 2 cafes, an all you can eat sushi place, and a few random places along the way. We finished our day by renting electric scooters to do a quick ride back to the boat. 

July 9, 2019

The one where I (almost) made it to Russia

I knew that Mihkel and Liis had been brainstorming things to show me in Estonia since I booked my flights there, but I had no idea how thorough they had been. I went into this trip blind because we had't discussed at all what we would be doing, and it completely blew me away. They had planned a two day road trip through Estonia that included spending the night at a mansion in what felt like the middle of nowhere. I also don't remember the last time I did a proper road trip, so that in itself made me so happy to do. I still can't believe how much of Estonia I got to see in one week. I feel like I've seen it all. Our first stop was to a bog called Viru Raba. It was a landscape that I don't think I've ever seen before. We walked through a small pine forest to reach a boardwalk through the bogs and a viewing tower. I picked handfuls of wild blueberries to snack on on our way back the car and I was so pleased with myself. I don't think that's something I've ever done before and it was such a simple joy. 

From there, we went to Hara Bay to visit an abandoned submarine base. It was a total contrast to the bog we had just been in. It was an old cement structure jetting out into the bay that was falling apart and covered in graffiti. It was spook to say the least, but I really enjoyed climbing around the old structures as the waves crashed into it. It was definitely out of my comfort zone. 

We made a few more quick stops: in Kiviõli to see giant ash mountains created from mining oil shale, in Kohtla-Järve to see how towns are impacted by the oil shale industry, at a little waterfall where Liis and Mihkel have camped before, and in Viivikonna to see a very spooky town that has practically been abandoned. It was raining off and on throughout the day as well, which made these post-apocalyptic-looking towns that much more spooky. 

We reached our main destination of Narva in the afternoon. This is the third largest city in Estonia and the majority of the population is Russia. The town lies at the border between Russia and Estonia, so at several points I was able to look into Russia. We drove through the city and had a bite to eat before exploring a bit. I was fascinated by two castles there, one of which is in Estonia and the other of which is across a river inside Russia. We did a bit of walking along the river on a promenade before Liis got too cold and we scurried back to the car. There is a border entry point that is a bridge connecting Estonia to Russia next to the castles, and I really enjoyed watching everyone driving or waling into Russia. It's a place I'd really love to visit someday and it was very strange being so close and knowing that I wasn't allowed to cross the bridge. We took a detour to another border entry which is a walking bridge into Russia and took a quick look at an abandoned cloth factory on an island called Kreenholm. Mihkel of course gave me the backstory of every building and site we visited and he seemed to know the stories like the back of his hand. I was incredibly impressed with his explanations of everything. 

We left Narva and took one final stop in a town called Sillemäe before reaching our place for the night. This was a city that used to not be on maps of Estonia because of secrecy surrounding nuclear activity there. To end our evening, we made it to our home for the night - Saka Mõis. This is a mansion along the coast of the Gulf of Finland. We made it here just in time to enjoy an hour in the sauna/pool/steam room and I was happy as a clam to relax and be in water. That's one of the strange things I took for granted - being in water. There's not really easy access for me here to a bath or pool or ocean, so whenever I get the chance to be in water, I take it. After our fancy spa time, we managed to wrangle some "dinner" (consisting of chocolate, beer, and pringles) from the front desk and find a little corner of the mansion that had a stack of board games. We spent a few hours being childish and acting out words for each other to guess. At one point, I was trying to act out the word 'rowdy', knowing full well that neither Liis nor Mihkel would know what that word meant. And I think I will forever have the image of Mihkel prancing around the hotel acting out the word 'dressage' burned into my brain. We were all thoroughly entertained by our shenanigans. It was the best possible ending to a very busy day.

July 10, 2019

This is always the toughest part of any trip I take...my last day. I was enjoying myself so much and I was not ready to say goodbye to Liis and to end our post-thesis festivities, but my time in Estonia was so wonderful that I guess I can't be too greedy. We woke up in our little room in the mansion and started our day with exploring the grounds. They had a lot of different things to see. First, a viewing platform where you could get a glimpse of the coastline with some height. Then, the coast is mostly cliffs covered in trees, so our second stop was a huge staircase through the forest down to the sandy beach. I roamed around the beach for a while, playing with some blue clay that came out of the cliffs, picking up shells, and splashing around in the freezing water with my feet. We made our way back up the monstrous staircase and found a huge old-fashion swing to play on. We attempted to find a waterfall, but never managed. 

When we had our fill of the grounds, we hopped back in the car for day two of our road trip. Our first stop wasn't the most thrilling, but it was to a pharmacy because Mihkel wasn't feeling well. Once we had some meds, the adventure continued. We were making our way South towards Liis's college town. Our first stop was at Kuremäe, a village that has a Russian Orthodox convent. I had never seen anything like it. I won't describe what it felt like because I don't want to make ignorant comments comparing different cultures, but it felt like a surreal mix of different types of architecture and cultures. Liis and I walked around the convent while Mihkel stayed in the car to do some work. We found some trinkets in a little shop outside the convent - cookies and rings to be exact. I bought a very simple ring with Russian writing which, according to the old Estonian shop clerk, says 'Help and Save'. The internet tells me something different, but I don't actually know Russian, so I'll go with what the gentleman told Liis. 

From Kuremäe, we continued south along Peipsi Lake through the villages that surround it and past dozens of little huts selling smoked fish (suitsulaka). We made a quick detour to a beautiful white castle called Alatskivi before reaching the main event of the day, which was Tartu. This is where Liis did her undergrad, and I was so excited to see this place and experience that part of her life. She had told me about Tartu so many times and it felt really nice to be able to experience it with her. We started with a big walk around the city and through her university buildings. From there, we went to a different part of the city and ate at one of her favorite cafes called Werner. It felt really fancy, but she said its a place she often came to study while she was at school, and it was surprisingly affordable. Plus, their food was delicious. I could picture myself spending a lot of time there if I had studied in Tartu. We continued our tour past town hall, into a church, and around Rüütli street, which I guess was a main student hangout area. It had lots of nice cafes, restaurants, and shops, and was very picturesque.

 After we had our fill of Tartu, we drove past the National Museum and the Upside Down House before starting the trek back to Tallinn. Our 2.5 hour drive was filled with some very interesting musical choices. We alternated choosing songs from different countries or in different languages and had a classic road trip sing-a-long. We made it back to Tallinn in time to meet their friend Evelin for her birthday dinner at a Georgian restaurant. I had such a lovely time with her and her group of friends and I felt very warm and fuzzy about how we spent my last night in Estonia. I'm ready to book a flight back as soon as I can. 

So thanks Liis and Mihkel for everything while I was there. I had no idea what to expect from Estonia, but my time there was better than anything I could have imagined.