"If we were meant to stay in one place, we'd have roots instead of feet."
As I promised I will tell you about my little trip to Estonia. After being together for more than four years, it was about time for my boyfriend to see where I am from. I don't know how come this did not happen earlier. Better late than never, right?
I was very nervous for some reason. I believe I was a lot more nervous than he was meeting my family and friends. I was also scared for the language barrier but he told me that all he needs is the sauna and to play with my dog. That put a little pressure off my shoulders that if that's all he gets he will be happy. Of course, I offered more.
I came some days earlier than he to do my usual errands like the dentist, banking and other stuff. He arrived just in time for my uncle's birthday party. Luckily that day the weather was wonderful! My uncle lives a little outside the city and has a large land where he has a humble house, with a spot for a new sauna, a place for growing vegetables and you can go fishing down by the river. I got less and less anxious when I saw that my family was making great effort to speak English and my boyfriend was enjoying too. We ate good food, wild boar meat and smoked fish, and played many games and drank.
The second day was the day we got very unlucky with the weather and met the massive storm. In general, when you visit Estonia you can never rely on the weather hundred percent. It can be especially hard for people who plan a summer wedding outdoors. So you need to have a backup plan with indoor activities. On that day we visited the science centre AHHAA. They offer a fun way to learn about science through games and interesting discoveries. I guess it is always more fun for kids, but adults can enjoy a lot too.
Obviously, I made a tour around my hometown to show him the main sights. It really is a small country and a small city. You know it is a small nation when you walk around the city and recognise an old classmate from a billboard, see an old schoolmate from a TV advertisement or your friend sees a familiar face on a newspaper that you are just about to use for grilling.
The Toome Hill.
University.
The main square.
The kissing students fountain.
The A. Le Coq beer factory.
We also visited the Estonian Aviation museum. Usually, they offer different attractions like simulators of American mountains or parachuting, but they got damaged by the storm before so we did not get the chance to try them out. The museum showed many aircraft's and helicopters dating back to the nineteen fifties and you could go inside to some of them too.
Some other days when the weather was great again so we went to the beach and met up with my friends for drinks. Funny fact that my boyfriend noticed when we went out to eat pizza was the strange variety of them. The Italians usually offer the traditional pizzas, but in Estonia, we have created a lot of new types. Some with reindeer meat, with wild mushrooms, pumpkin puree or other.
Many evenings we also went to the sauna. As our tradition, we beat ourselves and each other with birch branches in the heat. This is very good for the health but sounds sadistic to a foreigner. Despite how crazy it sounds my foreigner quite enjoyed the birch beating in the end.
The main reason why I visited Estonia, this time, was my friend's wedding. It was the first wedding I have ever been. She held it in Taagepera castle. The spot was beautiful and the wedding was awesome too. Throughout the wedding, there were many activities, fun games and some famous Estonian performers attended too. I don't have all the pictures of the wedding or the movie yet, but some pictures of us and a video of a famous crazy Estonian drummer, who performed there too.
Even though the Estonian landscape is very flat and rather boring and Estonians need a couple of drinks before they open up, my boyfriend had a lot of fun nonetheless. And we have good meat in a large variety. I'm sorry Dutchies, but I developed anaemia here by losing appetite for the meat. And last but not least, nothing can beat a good Estonian sauna!
