Day 2 - Coming Home

We were here, finally here! I couldn’t believe it, we had finally made it back to Eesti. Since my last visit I had grown so much, changed so much and really becoming the person who I am meant to be. There is a real sense of gratitude around this, and to fiercely love yourself, is an incredible gift, one which has shaped how I view this journey back to Estonia.
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At the airport I already found some wonderful inspirations for Estonian Designs AU! I could not help but take photos of the inspired designs and send them straight to one of my designers to see how we can adapt for our business, or even create some beautiful new products! Once we had landed and grabbed out bags, thankfully they all made it, we got our hire car and we were off! We came straight to my relatives house in Iru, where I have been coming since 2001, on our first visit here. My dad’s cousin who we are staying with, is the same cousin dad wrote letters to when they were children, during Soviet occupation. It is incredible watching those two men sit at the table, joining in conversation, sharing stories and memories, from all the times we were here and their childhood. To be able to sit here, share a meal and have the conversations, just incredible. Kaija fed us some wonderful Estonian food, to which I absolutely delighted in. Some of my old favourites, I just love their food, especially the cottage cheese! 

After we had some food, we were off to town to organise our phones and see some sights. During this time I also realised my suitcase had broken so I had to get a new one, but that’s ok, things happen and I ended up with a really nice red one. Once we got the phones and everything sorted, taking care of business, we left our car at the shopping centre and took a bolt to Vanalinn!! I couldn’t believe the price, it almost broke the bank! It was only 4 euros, insanely cheap, I don’t know why anyone would drive into Vanalinn! It was madness.
We got to the Viru Gates and my experiences from 2023 all came flooding back. It was like I was visiting home again. I had a moment of pause where I really felt my grandfather around me. He grew up running around on the cobble stone streets, and I could just imagine him getting up to mischief here. We wondered up to the fabric store mum and I discovered last time in hopes it was open, and to our delight, it was but not on a Sunday. We will be back when we come back to Tallinn!! We of course had to have a little look at some of the tourist shops just outside the Viru gates, and when I was there I could really see some of my beautiful products at Estonian Designs AU in these stores, now just to work out a way to make it happen! ​There was of course the flower wall, where the florist’s have been selling flowers for a very long time. Dad commented on this and it really is a staple of Estonian culture here, this flower wall. They work over time during the song and dance festival, creating head crowns for women, it is incredible!

​We were in need of some lunch and wondered down to Viru Keskus which we knew had some delicious and cheap pastries. I only got one and some beautiful raspberries for lunch. Together they were so deliciously sweet and red, I really wanted more, but I had enough. After this we went on our first supermarket trip! I told mum we could not spend to much time in there, we can do that another day as we had things to do, but I found the Honey Cake! Those that know me, know I LOVE honey cake, and I still think I make the best one! We then made our way back to our car and went to visit our relative Denis! Now, the story with Denis started in 2005 when I was living in Tartu with another one of my dads cousins and he and his parents came to visit. Denis wanted to come to Australia to do some backpacking and work. Now Denis did not speak English and I did not speak Russian but we formed a really beautiful friendship, almost like an older brother vibe. It was so good seeing Denis at his place, where I stayed back in 2007 for a few nights with Eva. He could not be more hospitable! He went to the shops to buy food, even though we said no, he cooked for us, he would not sit down, just caused such a fuss over us, it was so lovely. He showed me his Russian passport, and Estonian one. Then explained he had another passport which he is required to carry around when in Russia, which he can’t use anywhere else. Now for someone who lives in Australia, the idea of seeing Russian documents and money is such a foreign concept, I was in awe of it all. Especially the way the world is currently. I did ask if I could take photos to share here, he consented, and I was excited to share it because it is not something people would easily be able to see. I think I sat there for a good 5 minutes just looking and playing around with these things.

​Once we left there we went back to dad’s cousins house for a Sauna!! This is very traditional and they were very proud to be able to make the sauna ready for us, and I really enjoyed it. Mum and I went together and we had a really beautiful conversation. We were mostly reflecting on our very dear friend who recently passed away and the big impact she had on my life, career and how I navigate myself in life these days. Aime Liiband was an incredible woman, who helped shape and mum couldn’t agree more. After our sauna we had another wonderful Estonian dinner! Potato, black bread, just everything! So delicious. We also had some wine (not me) which was endorced by one of our previous Presidents, President Ilves. Apparently it was very good and mum and dad could see why! After a full belly, a sauna and shower, it was time for bed.
Until tomorrow,
Marissa xx