Now that the explanations are out of the way, I'll start back with our first day in Estonia. After meeting Epp, her son, Tarku, and more cousins, we went to the city's medieval old town. Most of the old city was built in the 1400s, and the city has been wonderfully preserved. Now it's a big party destination for Finns and Swedes, who come for the cheaper booze and nightlife in Estonia. Although the city is packed full of nightclubs, restaurants, and bars, the city is serene and picturesque by day. While the old city is amazingly intact and popular for tour groups on day-trips from large cruise ships, the surrounding areas are ultra-modern and bustling. Epp told us that half of Estonia's population and 75% of its wealth are in Tallinn, Estonia's capital. Tallinn was a very cool city, and a place I'd love to come back and spend more time.
Epp's (and Mom's) cousin, Pip, works in real estate, and he very kindly showed us one of his current properties in the old town so Mom could see the architecture. The apartment was a 200-year old historic building that had been wonderfully renovated and decorated. My favorite part was the hand-painted wood ceilings; Mom loved the kitchen.
We continued our tour of old town, including a stop for lunch. Mom and I were able to try Estonian beer, which is surprisingly good and some of the best beer I've had on this trip. After we finished sightseeing in the old town, Epp took us to Estonia's open air museum. The open air museum is essentially a collection of historical buildings that reflect life in the agrarian past, particularly Estonia small-village farming history. Given that my grandmother grew up on her family farm, the museum's recreation of farm life in the 18th to 20th centuries was somewhat fascinating for Mom and me.
We next went with Epp to her home outside Parnu, about two hours south of Tallinn. We met her husband, Toivo, and her younger son, Meelis, who welcomed us warmly. After a fantastic dinner, Mom and I retired rather early. We had some amazing meals with Epp's family - we were more than just slightly jealous of their ability to get milk, berries, mushrooms, and produce so easily from local farmers, their own gardens, or the surrounding countryside.
The following morning we traveled about 2 hours to the family farm where my grandmother was born. Before reaching the farm, we stopped at the cemetery where my great-grandmother and great-great-grandparents are buried. The church near the cemetery was beautiful, and we later decided that my brother looks very much like my great-great-grandfather, Johannes.
My mom had heard my grandmother's stories as my mom was growing up, and seeing the farm made the stories more poignant for her. A cousin, Uhlmer*, continues to run the farm, and his family gave us a through tour, a wonderful lunch, and a viewing of the family photo albums. My favorite part was when Uhlmer's son brought over the cows for us to check out. The cows seemed very annoyed that they were being herded up for no good reason (at least for them), but I enjoyed their presence greatly and took way too many photos. I have seen a lot of cows on this trip, but they're still always entertaining.
After the farm, we went back to Epp's house, where we had dinner with Epp's mother (my grandmother's sister), Leeni, and her husband. Leeni is much younger than my grandmother - Mom and I think it's ten years younger but we can't remember - and they look strikingly similar. Having dinner with Leeni felt like having dinner with my grandmother 10 years ago: the same chuckle-ish laugh, steel blue eyes, and similar voices, yet Leeni speaks almost no English. The similarities were amazing, and yet sad, as my grandmother's health continues to deteriorate and it's unlikely I'll have another chance to converse with her across a dinner table again. The evening was wonderful, but I had a hard time not wishing I could sit with my grandmother one more time.
After dinner, we saw one of Estonia's beaches and walked along the boardwalk, which was wonderful. The next morning, exhausted Mom and I didn't wake up until 10am, which we found a tad embarrassing but I think Epp's family found amusing. Toivo got us back on track with his famous lattes (I will miss those greatly), and by 11am we were off to see Parnu. The city is nearly as old as Tallinn and also very scenic, with a quaint downtown. After a pizza lunch, we headed back to Tallinn, where Mom and I had an overnight ferry to Stockholm. Saying goodbye to Toivo and Epp at the ferry port was tough, but we know the family will continue to stay in touch and visit each other's homelands.
The 10-hour ferry ride to Stockholm was very, very amusing. The boat had a duty-free supermarket, nightclubs, cigar lounges, and buffet restaurants. The boat clientele was a little strange - I didn't know Scandinavia had a strong biker/tattoo enthusiast contingent, but 80% of the boat looked liked they were on their way to the Nordic Harley Davidson convention. Alcohol is very expensive in Sweden, so the entire boat seemed to be stocking up on booze - we saw people leaving with entire grocery carts of alcohol as we were landing.
Mom and I had an enjoyable Smorgasbord dinner with a French bottle of wine before retiring to our cabin, which was small but comfortable enough. The morning views of Stockholm and the surrounding island were beautiful as the ship was pulling into port, and overall the ferry was a lot of fun (although breakfast was terrible).
Tallinn and Estonia were wonderful, and I hope to return sooner rather than later. More on Stockholm to come soon, but it's time for bed and I don't want to keep Mom awake. The trip continues to be wonderful.
*We think this is the correct spelling - Epp, corrections are welcome!
Wonderful narrative and photos, Sarah! This reminded me of our trip to Estonia in 03 -- we saw many of the same places. It is wonderful to visit with family -- the sisters share so many traits.
ReplyDeleteSarah,
ReplyDeleteThat is a terrific report on your time in Estonia! Loved your comments and pix.
Tio Normani