Day 27 – Tales of “Kevade” ja “Kalevipoeg”

​Today started off with us being picked up by Karen and she took us to see Toomas’s is grave. As I have shared with you before this I kept exceptionally well, but this one in particular is kept in high regard as it is specifically dedicated to Academics. Toomas was one of my Dad's cousins and him and Karen are the people they lived with for 6 months, when I was 16 years old. I had only met them once really, yet they opened their home to me and allow me to live there, and Toomas managed to get me at the Miina Härma Gümnasium in Tartu. Back then I did not fully appreciate the situation that I was in but now I am very grateful that it happened. going into this cemetery it really made me reflect how much value the Estonians place on Academia in Academics. this really made me smile because they were among the first people that were deported out of Estonia when the Russians took over. it absolutely blows my mind to think but academics are respected in such a way even after they have passed away and they are cared for, it's just something really beautiful and honourable to see. It was really cool seeing how different directors or heads of school were honoured through their tombstones, for example the geology head had different stones on his tombstone to represent his passion for geology. Karen shared with us the story of Toomas’s funeral and how he got sick and what happened in the end, which I won't go into, but what was beautiful about that story was how much respect his colleagues had for him and they supported the fact that he still wanted to go to work even though he wasn't understanding what was happening but he went to his office every day because that was what was normal for him. I really admire how that was on it and respected and it was just part of his day, I thought that was really beautiful.

Once we finished at the cemetery we visited Karen's new house as well as her daughter Kadri. Karen lives right next to Emajõgi, which features in the story of Kalevipoeg (later in this post). It was really nice to reconnect with Kadri because she and I had some wonderful times together when I lived here at sixteen. There were often times where I felt very lonely and disconnected but Kadri made sure that I felt included and invited me up to her place for dinner a lot of times, out to the shops or just to be with her and spend some time together. I was really grateful for the friendship that I found in her all those years ago. She was sharing stories about her new boyfriend and about their life now, with her son and granddaughter, and I could really feel how happy she was. I was so grateful that she had found love and is now living the life that she wants to live without too many complications.

Once we left there we headed to a small museum dedicated to Oskar Luts. He was an author who wrote a series called “Summer”, “Autumn”, “Winter”, “Spring”. His first book was called “Kevade” (Spring), and my understanding was that it was something very different written in that time. The stories were written around a schoolhouse, a church and a river which is where the museum was situated. it felt erie being in the area that he had written about but it also had some unique charm to it. The museum had a bit of a timeline of Oskar's life and how he came to the point of writing these stories. There were recordings of Oksar reading his stories and I was amazed they had this. What I really liked was some of the interactive pieces of the museum where you could learn to play the violin or climb the bookshelf to reach the bottle. these must have been iconic parts of the movie and of the books. What got me was the shelf you had to climb to touch the bottles was quite high and they only had a small padded mat down the bottom in case you fell and I don't think that would have stopped anyone from breaking a bone if they fell from the top. Once we finished in the museum and reading about the author in the movies that were made out of his stories, we got to experience this school house in its old state. something I notice that was significantly different was the size of the beds. the single beds were a lot shorter than what we have these days and even in the teachers office they were shorter. Karen that people were shorter back then which makes a lot of sense with me being so short. It just means that I'm Southern Estonian. Again, it amazes me how much the Estonian people honour their writers and their composes and people that make a significant contribution in a meaningful way that helped shape the culture of this country. If you would like to read more about Oskar Luts, click here

After this we headed off to the Kalevipoeg House. Kalevipoeg the legend in astonia and the stories of him have helped shape the folklore, and how the land, the rivers and forests and everything formed in Estonia. The building looked very modern and fresh but it did have some Estonian graphic designs on it. There was a big statue of Kalevipoeg at the front and I am not sure if it was intended to look life size because in the legend he was about the size of a giant. There are many stories that are shared throughout this house but the most significant thing that taught me more about the legend of him was a 20 minute film in Estonian with English subtitles, and it gave me a very clear understanding of this legend and the significance of him. It was really different in the theatre room because we were literally sitting in a ship, to watch the film. He's on all the chocolate bars in Estonia, and the other significant names that come out of this story are Linda, Sulev, and Olev. This legend really plays into the roles of the masculine and feminine and over highlights the power that the man has but there's also some mystics and magic in the story. The other significant character that was brought out in this story is of a hedgehog. Before this legend there was no prickles or fur on the hedgehog but during this he helped Kalevipoeg and now they have a coat on. I just really liked the wonder in the whole of this story and the significant role that it plays in the history of creating the culture of Estonia. there was a really beautiful quote written somewhere in this house spoken by one of our ex-Presidents Toomas Hendrik Ilves, which shared “Kalevipoeg is a tapestry woven by a master using ancient yarns embroidered with all sorts of Estonian folklorica: charms and spells marriage rituals wedding songs: war songs in courtship songs: proverbs and riddles: nature myths, tales of goblins and sorcerers; legends about the origins of Estonia place names in geography”. both mom and I thought this was a beautiful depiction of how Kalevipoeg is written and the impact that it has had on other Estonian writers and authors. The author of this story is Fr. R. Kreutzwald, he has written many other stories including fairy tale books that I love growing up. If you would like to read more about this centre please click here.

After this we drove further North to Mustvee, via a smoked fish restaurant and we visited Peipsi Järv. This is a Big Lake which shares a border with Russia, through most of Southern Estonia. I remember when I was 11 years old and my parents, with Toomas, took us to this lake and it was cold and windy. Danae I insisted on going in the water, so we did. I am not sure what kind of rocks are in our heads but it was really cold, that idea remember. This time I did not go in it was warm outside but the wind was a bit cool but I did notice some beautiful Swans on the lake. it was really cool seeing some wild Swans just doing whatever it is they do. there was also another small monument to Kalevipoeg, which was only put there a few months prior.

Karen then took us to this man-made area near Tartu which was almost like a man made lake. They had some jumping blocks and jetty as well as the beach, for people to go there during the summer and swim late into the evening. It had a very peaceful feel to it and if I wasn't so tired and if we hadn't got there earlier I probably would have stayed there longer and had a swim. It is definitely somewhere that I would go back to again and I have marked it on my map, because I want to experience what it would be like to go in this water and just be in nature. Karen was telling us that she would often come here with Toomas, and they would just walk around the lake and spend time together. It was really nice hearing these stories about him that she was sharing with us especially before he passed away. I feel it is a very nice place to just go and be, and it does help that they have a beautiful Rose Garden in some ship ornament things that just looked really pretty. Karen was telling us that in the summer they will sometimes have concerts in the Rose garden which I thought was pretty cool.

​We then headed to Taavo’s house. He's living where I used to live when I was 16 years old. It was kind of cool coming back to that house and seeing how it was now because the bottom floor where I lived is being renovated. right before we left he did let us go down and take some photos and have a look at the old house, and I managed to take a photo of my old very small bedroom. It is hard to see the perspective in the pictures because there's nothing in it but it was very small. it was just enough at the time when I was living there and I was very grateful to have had that experience. when we were upstairs at Taavo’s house, we had some amazing conversations around what it was like to be living in Estonia before 1991. Both he and his girlfriend shared what life was like and compared it to what it is now, and I was amazed at the differences and how they used to live compared to now when it's pretty much the same like we do in Australia. There was a short period where they were trading coupons to get things that they needed and they tried to reduce the amount of alcohol in the country so they reduced people to two litres of vodka a month. this led people to trade the vodka coupons for other coupons or whatever the case was, to be able to get what they wanted. Another thing that was put into perspective was that Taavo went to Helsinki close to 1991 and was able to sell 2 bottles of vodka for a premium price and purchase concert tickets with his friend. That concert was sold out and his friend sold his ticket and with that money he was able to buy a car. that blew my mind had the differences in price and the value of items in Estonian back in the early 90s, just before and after Soviet occupation. I am sure there are many stories like this but it is only this time when I'm here that I feel confident enough to ask about them because I'm mindful that it might bring up things for the people telling me these stories and they may not want to share it because it may not have been a good time in their lives. I am however, very grateful to those that do share stories about that time because it is not something that I could even imagine or comprehend because I've never had to live that way.

​It was strange being back in that house, but I'm glad we got to go there. Mum and I had a really good day with Karen, and I really enjoy her company. She has so many stories about what it's like to live during Soviet occupation and wonderful stories of Toomas. It really it was a wonderful day and I'm so grateful we got to do that with her.
Until tomorrow
Marissa xx