Day 39 - SPA DAY!

Today Mum and I had a very long awaited spa day. We had booked this in way back when we were in Sweden, and Oh my gosh I am so glad we did. On the back of yesterday and how we were feeling, I am so glad that we had the foresight to book this in for ourselves. It got to 10:00 AM, the time of our appointment, and we headed across the road to the Rose hotel. When we walked in it was really grand and there were roses everywhere, in the décor, in the decorations, and even in the pool. When we arrived we simply told the my names and they had already prepared our beautiful bathrobes ready for us to use. They were very neatly put together and it gave me such a beautiful feeling of being pampered and I was so excited to see what was going to unfold.

​Mum and I became somewhat lost on our way down to the spa. They did tell us the directions but we still weren't quite sure where we were going. We had to go through the change rooms, but we also thought it would be silly to put our summers on because we're going to get a massage, so we continued on fully clothed and not in our robes. We were greeted by these two lovely Estonian women, who could see we were very lost, and they directed us very quickly into two separate rooms. When I walked into my room, I saw there was this beautiful big bathtub with jets full of water. I was a bit nervous because I was under the impression there was an assumption that I was going to be pretty much naked in front of this lady. After some very broken English and Estonian I established that it was normal for women to be naked in front of other women in the Estonian culture. I knew this to be true but I just needed some reassurance. We spoke in broken English and Estonian and we established that I needed to get into the bath and before I was ready I needed to knock on the door. So she left the room and I sorted myself out. Of course I took a few little photos of the room because it was absolutely beautiful, and one of the most relaxing environments I had been in for several days to weeks. It smells like rosewater, and I really enjoyed it. Just as I was about to knock on the door, the lady opened it to make sure that I was OK because I was taking a little bit longer than she probably expected. Admittedly this is because I was taking photos. Once I got into the tub she turned The Jets on and put in some really nice smelling bubble bath. By this point I wasn't too self conscious about being naked in front of her and it was OK she made me feel very comfortable. She told me she was going to be 6 minutes, but I think she was a bit longer than that. By the time she had returned the bubbles had come up really high and was basically covering me. I thought it was really funny and we couldn't help but laugh, I wish she had taken a photo, I almost asked but I didn't. She used the shower nozzle thing to get the bubbles away and help me get out of the bath. This was an interesting experience and it kind of took me back to a time where I feel like it might have been when the noble women could be washed by their handmaids or something to that effect, and how normal it would be for someone to be washed. It made me giggle a little. So once I finished having a bath, she got stuck into giving me a wonderful back massage. It was so lovely, soothing, healing and all of the above. Pure majik. I finally started to relax, only at the end, typical, as my mind is constantly racing around thinking of things needed to be done. This is a challenge sometimes, and something I am working on. Once she had finished she got me to turn over and sit up, still mostly naked, but by this point I was ok with it. Then when she got me to lay down, she had put this warm mud patty under my back. It was so soothing and warm, I really enjoyed it. I stayed there for about 15 minutes then she came back and it was all over.

Once I went out of the room, I found mum, as the rooms were right next to the pool area. We went to get changed and had to decide which spa we wanted to go in first! We chose one that was not to hot, because mum isn’t a fan of hot spa’s. It was nice relaxing in the spa, just talking about the experience we just had, as it was very different to anything we had experienced in Australian spas. I then went to that really warm heated tile bed to read more of my book. I am almost finished it and really recommend anyone struggling with trauma and victimhood, to read it. It is called “The Choice” (I am sure I have talked about it before in my stories) by Edith Eger, an Auschwitz survivor. I have found myself reading this for sometimes an hour a day, and really wanting to engage in what she has to say. It is written beautifully and I feel has been part of my further healing and growth while on this journey, here in Estonia. I am grateful I have discovered this story and have the time and space to engage with it. Anyway, after I had enough of reading, mum and I ordered some lunch, as we decided we were not leaving. We had some Estonian garlic bread, chicken wings, chips and an “ice cream cocktail with coffee”, in other words, an iced coffee. It was so good and really let us just stay at this spa for a while. There were several spas, a big pool with many buttons to push to activate a range of things, and this really awesome chair where warm water falls over you. Mum spent a fair bit of time there. I was sitting in that chair at one point and imagined if I had a lot of money, I would love to have something like this for me and my friends to enjoy whenever. It was wonderful and I kept getting whiffs of rose water. I am not sure if that was intentional or just a coincidence. After some more time relaxing, we decided to leave and go to the markets that were in Kuresaare for the afternoon.

​We walked into there and of course we were met with more käsitöö. There was so much of it, and a wide range. I then came to the end of the walk way and saw a store with products I have been seeing all over Estonia. They were earrings, broches and necklace pendants and they were inspired from all different areas of Estonia. The lady had such a big variety of them with a range from each area. I had a small discussion with her, she was so kind. I did get a few that were relevant to me, both earrings and broaches, from Rõuge and Setomaa (Mum’s parents) and Rõngu (Dad’s parents). She was kind enough to give me a small discount and a little gift. Hopefully, these products will be seen in Australia soon, who knows.

​After the market, mum and I went home for a little rest, then we headed to Harry Ling’s house. He invited us over for dinner and cooked up an incredible grill! He was sharing with us that he lives here three months a year and the rest of the year in Brisbane. We have both seen Harry before but this night was so good, getting to know him, his story and his cooking. He made some delicious sausages, meat sticks (very Estonian) and some lamb cutlets! We were very spoilt! The wine was flowing and we had some rather insightful conversations about Estonian’s in Australia, the future of it all, and the work I am doing over here connecting the two. Harry was very kind and excited for what I had to share and I was grateful he wanted to listen and share in the delights! Right towards the end he brought out the Vana Tallinn, and thankfully, I still was not drinking, as I was driving, but he and mum shared possibly three or more! Some of the stories he was sharing in the later part of the evening were fascinating. He was telling us that our Prime Minister, Kaia Kallas, is known as the Iron Lady, throughout Europe. She is having many conversations insuring the safety of Estonian’s and the Baltic states and how the Government is doing their Military training. I won’t get into it to much, because of course, I still have a small fear the Russians are watching EVERYTHING. Needless to say, it was fascinating and I really am proud to be an Estonian here.

​It was another lovely day and rest was very much needed. I really enjoyed the spa and so grateful I was able to plan that head, for right when mum and I needed it most.
Until the next post,
Marissa xx