Day 23 - Back to the Mainland and Craft Camp!

Today we packed up our things and headed off the Island! We went to the boat earlier than our ticket and turns out you can still get on and go through the boom gates, just in a different line. It was nice to be able to leave earlier than anticipated so we can do other things. When we got on the boat we were packed in there like sardines, it was a little challenging to get out of the car, but I managed. When we got back to our cars and off the boat, we were headed for Pärnu to see the monument of the mass flight 1944. When we arrived there we were really disappointed because the park it was situated in was surrounded by scaffolding and the monument was also surrounded by it. It had heavy security, with alarm systems in place so we did not go in. Two men did go in and after a little it triggered an alarm and I over heard some older Estonian men getting angry at them telling them the police have been notified and they should not have gone through the construction zone. We continued to walk away towards lunch, the same pizza place we went to 2 years ago, still pretty good wood fired pizza. We went back to the car but as I was walking back I just stopped for a moment in the park and took in the beautiful surroundings, typical Estonian grass and greenness of it with small flowers everywhere, so beautiful and grounding. We got back to the car and headed for Viljandi.

​On the way to Viljandi we drove through Tori and what struck me was the architecture and the way the church was built. It was like modern stone with different colours, very clean cut, not like other churches in Estonia that are centuries old. The whole town was just really beautiful and there was some kind of triathlon happening in the middle of the village. Before we got to Tori and I noticed we were heading there I asked mum to google if there were any Käsitöö shops there and she couldn’t find any. I stopped to take a photo of a small sign that said Tori so I would remember it and right in front of us was a sign that said “Käsitöö” so we drove up to it and there it was, a Käsitöö barn full of some lovely things. The owner said he had items from over 100 makers in Eesti, even a honey lemonade which dad bought. Dad did comment he was a good salesman. The other thing I noticed about this town was how many horses there were! So many big horses. Mum told me there was a breed of horse named Tori and it originated from there, they even have some in the island of Saaremaa. After this little pitstop, we headed towards Viljandi. On the way, I did not realise, but we drove through Soma National Park and one thing I noticed was the forest here was super dense, more than I had ever seen before. It was almost like massive walls of trees, almost like 20-30m tall waves about to engulf the road. It was incredible, however that lead to a discussion about the forest brothers and how they lived in these dense forests for decades, fighting the Soviet occupation. Just something we can not comprehend.

​We arrived in Viljandi in the afternoon and found our accommodation. Dad was unpacking the car and the older lady next door came and started talking to him, asking his whole lifes story and why we were there. We have a saying in our family, dad likes to chat and when we got to his house, even before you get inside if he is working in his shed, he will catch you outside and catch you up on all the gossip and what’s been happening. We call this “getting Toivoed” so when this was happening to dad outside where a lady was chatting with him sharing information and the goss, I told mum he was getting “brauad”. A Braua in Eesti keel is an older respected lady. Mum thought this was really funny and now something that is going to live on I feel. In our house it was really muggy and there was no airflow so I found a hardware store online and searched a fan, this did not yield any results so I used google translate and found out a fan in Eesti keel is a ‘ventilaator’, so I searched that and it worked! So off dad and I went to the local hardware store and got a little USB powered fan to add to our collection of things here in Eesti. Thank god we did so I could sleep better. We had Matti and Maie Simson come over for a little catch up to hear about their travels in Eesti and what they had been doing, it was a nice little pre dinner evening before we headed off to the Grand Viljandi Hotel for registration and catch up then dinner. We got there and all us Australian’s were there. There was 5 participants and 3 companions. It was really good having a lot of Australians there. After a catch up we headed into dinner and some information about Craft Camp. Just before dinner, a lady came over who recognised us, Katlin. She was the tour guide we had in Kihnu in 2019 and she recognised dad of all people! He must have left an impression! She was a big part of craft camp and I was so excited she was there, to ask her questions and verify some information. I did ask her what do I do with my skirt now that I am divorced, she told me it was a valid question and I can wear it either way, with or without the apron. I felt a sigh of relief because I had been wearing it without! I want to wear it correctly as it is the only living cultural heritage rahvariide (folk costume) that is still worn traditionally, daily and is UNESCO heritage listed, so it should be done correctly. It was lovely seeing people I had not seen for a little and catching up. After dinner and information, we headed home, to bed. It was a great day and I could not wait for the next day where I would be weaving, just like my great grandmother!
Until tomorrow
Marissa xx