Day 10 - Heading Back to the North

​Today we started our day in Tartu, however we had to pack ourselves up and head to Tallinn in preparation for the song and dance festival. This festival, or laulutantsupidu, has been going on for a very long time. It is what the signing revolution is all about and how Estonia gained its freedom in 1991. It is an incredible story of our fight for independence through song, not war. More on this later. Before we headed to Tallinn we had to visit one of our favourite Käsitöö shops in Tartu. This one always has some hidden treasures and this trip did not disappoint. As soon as we walked into the store we saw a few amazing rahvariide sets hanging there on the walls. They were just stunning. I was surprised to see full sets still available with Tantsupidu around the corner. The blue one really caught my eye because last time we were in Eesti, I got material with the same design and mum made my sister a skirt because she really liked it. I asked the lady if I could have a closer look at the top, or kaised. She of course brought it down and I had a look and then I had a crazy idea that I would try it on because it did look bigger. And to my disbelief it ACTUALLY FIT! These things do not often fit me. The feeling of when I put it on was just so indescribable, I felt at home, felt like a real Estonian woman. My costume is from Setomaa so it is a little different to the traditional costumes you see but this one was stunning and so much work had gone into the embroidery. I had to think for a little bit about it and after some negotiation of the price I finally decided to buy it. I think I would regret it incredibly if I did not. It just means one more nightshift when I get home and surprisingly I am still in budget! After my overthinking of my purchase and a visit to the local material store, where we found some more beautiful items, we started to head north.

​On the way to Tallinn we wanted to make one stop, at the ‘Witches Well’. It was not to difficult to find thanks to Google Maps. Mum told me she has wanted to go here for years but we never took the time to stop here, so of course we had to come. When we arrived there it was so peaceful and in the middle of no where, in a forest. We saw there is a whole walking trail for people to take if they had the time. I kind of wanted to do it and see a range of different holes and little nature sites, however we did not have the time. We started walking along the little path and noticed this cute little coffee shop, that was closed, in a hut. This is the kind of hut I want for my business and Käsitöö projects. Dad and I took a lot of photos so he could maybe reconstruct it for me. My own little Käsitöö tare. We continued walking and they had very civilised drop toilets, they were so cute. We got to the ‘Witches Well’ and saw that there was absolutely no water in it. Apparently in the spring time it is over flowing with water and the whole area is covered, but today, this was not the case. It was still a beautiful surrounding and it was interesting to read about this well. We did have to take the top off just to see how deep it was, and it was pretty deep, so for it to be overflowing the water level would have to rise a lot. After taking a moment to take in the scenery, we walked back to the car. I did notice on the other side of the car park I noticed some poppy flowers. They are so pretty I had to go and take a closer look. They were so vibrant red, and I thought they only grew in Saaremaa, I love seeing fields of poppy plants.

​We made our way into Tallinn, I was driving and it was a little scary but thankfully I mapped out a route that had the least amount of turns and trams and got us to our apartment safely. Once we arrived, checked in and brought our things up, it was time to explore Tallinn. We walked through a park and got to the old town, at the Viru gates and headed straight for the fabric shop. Sadly we saw it was closed but we contacted Svetlana and she told us she was open the next day. We then headed into the old town and it was bringing back memories of all the other times I had been there, some shops were new and some were still standing. I just loved seeing all the Estonian things! I did have one lovely conversation with a young man that has put me in contact with some useful people, lets see what happens here! We wondered into mum’s favourite antique shop and the lady in the shop remembered mum from all the times we have been in there and bought things from her, and mum could not resist buying another item. There was so much jewellery in this shop. We headed to an amazing Käsitöö shop on the town square, a staple stop for us, but not before running into some lovely Australian’s. It is bound to happen as there are so many Estonian Australian’s traveling to Eesti right now. This store we visited is as good as I remember, with so many lovely things for sale, hand crafted by the masters, it is just pure Eesti and I love it. We then headed to Raekoja Plats for some perfect photo ops as dad had not been here for 6 years. He did share with me he still likes this place. After a little look around we headed to one of our favourite little pizza shops. It seems to have become a tradition where we go here the first night in Tallinn. It was really nice just sitting and people watching, especially when we keep seeing Australian’s everywhere! After dinner we headed to Freedom Square or Vabadusevaljak. This place is especially important for me as my great grandfather has received a freedom cross many years ago for his involvement in the war of independence. It really is something very special. It was a wonderful day and a beautiful introduction back to Tallinn.
Until tomorrow
Marissa xx