Category: Travel

Tallinn – Excursions and Farewell
(by Christa)

Saturday, 14th of July

It is Saturday afternoon, a warm and sunny day. Michael wants to do some work. I go in Kalamaja, where we live, down to the harbor and to the beach. Everything that has legs and loves the sun is on the way here. The beach is only narrow and full of stones. It astonishes me how many people have space here. It is played, picnicked, bathed and the music is added by the sea, which animates the beach with small waves created by the many ships.

Yes, there are many ships on their way and the queen is a beautiful three-masted barque under full sailing gear. Majestically she moves close to the beach (unfortunately I fetched the camera too late) and makes all the other sailships look small. Two cruise ships meet and then a helicopter rattles over our heads and lands on the square of Linnahall.

I love this beach atmosphere, where the sea sets the tone, accompanied by the cries of seagulls, and the sun, that outshines the stone debris and remains of walls.

Tallinn (Poem)

Has it really been four weeks
four weeks Tallinn?
So long and yet so short…..

Hundreds of curious people, children, teenagers –
Encounters, recognitions of Barcelona, amazement –
Lectures that raise new questions
in the break talks.

The city with the many towers,
Churches, squares, old walls,
dilapidated and redesigned
to museums, homes or just
Historical memories.

We stroll through the old town.
Not the beautifully designed tourist sites attract us,
it’s the narrow dark alleys,
narrow gateways,
where there are the cozy cafes
with outlook to hidden gems,
House fronts with decorated gables,
tiny niches, balconies,
with space for just one chair.

Somewhere sounds music,
a girl with a violin
in front of one of the archways.
Wistful sounds from a distant alley.
Two Russians with Ukrainian banduras
and soft singing
touching – devoted.
Quite different the little boy with the accordion,
spirited, happy, as if he would do nothing else!

Allways again parks between the houses,
old trees, shady avenues,
unusual floral creations, fragrances
and a park attendant.

And then the evening sun
on the towers, the roofs, the old walls,
and especially on the one church tower,
the one with the high copper roof,
on that the deep sun
conjures up the most colorful colors …..
Until everything fades
and we go home bewildered through the night.

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The Kadriorg Park

The Kadriorg Park is a particularly beautiful facility east of Tallinn very close to the sea. To a very dear Tallinnin who works there, it was important to show us the park. She picked us up and accompanied us through the park with her twins till the playground. The old, partially overgrown trees have particularly tied us, meadows with wild flowers and then the Japanese Garden. There is a lot of water, stones to rest and beautiful flowers – a meditative mood. Thanks to Katriin!!

On our last day in Tallinn, we visited the park once again for the 300th anniversary celebration, culminating in a concert on the open-air stage. All places including walls were long occupied, it was a relaxed happy mood. It was a classical program with mostly Russian composers and good soloists, that were enthusiastically applauded. That was a good closing for us!

The Pirita Tee

Right behind the park runs the Pirita Tee along the wide boulevard / promenade to the Olympic center with the Olympic marina. The pedestrian promenade leads along the shore. From time to time there is a narrow sandy beach. On the opposite side you can see the Sängerfestwiese, where every 5 years the big song festival takes place with up to 30 thousand singers on stage – a national event for the Estonians. A little further on, the angel appears, the Russalka, a monument to the sailors of the sunken Russian battleship Russalka. And then another mighty memorial for the fallen soldiers of World War II.

I was interested in the marina, the sailboats, the former Olympic atmosphere. But the harbor was inaccessible due to construction sites. Disappointed, we walked back – the view of the beautiful scenery of the city compensated us.

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Excursion to St. Bridget’s Convent and Jägalla Waterfall

The St. Brigitten Monastery is located outside of Tallinn, to the east, behind the Pirita River. It is an ancient 15th century powerplace and today only a ruin, but still surrounded by a magic spell. The old walls of the monastery and the church are walkable. Their extent and beauty are well visible on Michael’s video.

After that the navigation system should lead us to the Jägalla waterfall. Instead, we landed on the peninsula at an unusual little country restaurant. A garden full of plants and herbs, some of which were later found in our salad, a playground with a forest sofa and swing – a wonderful quiet oasis!

Here we were shown the way to the waterfall – the next surprise. From a large meadow we descended many steps to look at the falling water from below. Down here – stimulated by the wild water – play children, balancing on the wobbly stones and teens romp right under the waterfall. A happy, exuberant togetherness – and we share it with them.

Quite different the second waterfall. He should be bigger, more exciting, but now has only a thin stream of water, which draws our eyes in 30 meters depth. Without success we search for the cliff trail – everything wild and overgrown. Later on the beach everywhere stones, stones and a lot of old tree wood, partrially large trunks on which children play raft in the water. These trunks have probably all fallen off the cliffs and have built up on the beach to strange structures.

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The Viru Bogs

One afternoon we took our time to drive into the swamps. In Estonia and especially around Tallinn, there are many swamps left to themselves and that are protected as nature reservations.

On the way there – many blueberries that taste delicious! We quickly had blue mouths and hands. Then we went onto the boardwalks. On both sides small pools, marsh plants, unusual insects and small animals. These are announced on fun-painted info boards to train our attention. In the middle of it, a lookout tower, which makes the extent of this landscape visible.

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The nocturnal Rummu paddling tour

A special experience was the nocturnal paddling tour in the last week. The way there went with an extra bus, the driver had to search the entrance to the lake first, then we were greeted friendly and received an introduction. The lake was originally a quarry that provided building material for a monastery. Later, in the Soviet era, felons had to work there. To keep the quarry dry, large, heavy pumps were necessary. A power failure eventually put the pumps on hold, while there were strong, prolonged rains that filled the open pit very quickly. The pumps were never set in motion again and much looted – and so (in broad terms) the Rummu Lake came into existance. Some of the buildings and facilities can still be seen below the water surface.

The boats had a lighting system that was switched on in the dark – about 11 pm – and so allowed to look into the depths of the lake. What we recognized there was amazing: Firstly plants and shrubs, then whole trees and finally the old walls. The darker it became, the more exuberant the participants of the 5 boats gave themselves – small races and sometimes a cool bath. It was fun!!

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The Closing Party on Saturday, 21st of July

The Mindvalley people love parties, every Saturday there was one in another spectacular place. The last was advertised as a costume party and took place at Seaplane Harbor, Lennusadam, the Sea Museum, the former waterplane hangar. It is a large building of spectacular architecture similar to the Linnahall – both in the Kalamaja district.

Already in the outdoor area are many old ships, former warships and the steam-powered icebreaker Suur Töll with two thick chimneys. But also modern sailors – big and small ones. We often walked over in the evening – a strange atmosphere of old and new!

At the party night, the museum was open until 10pm. It is a huge hall with exciting stories about Estonia’s maritime and military history, culminating in a large walk-in submarine. I’m more interested in the development of the sailing ships, the big three- and four-masters, recorded with their often exciting history and their downfall.

The party was now in full swing with deafening music, which could be avoided a little in the back of the hall. Of course, there were some crazy costumes: “Huch, who is that again?”, a costume fashion show and an acrobatics insert of incredible skill and strength, but also charm and fascinating agility. In between, everyone could perform on stage, depending on their temperament, imagination and courage !! One wanted to be recognized by wild dances or even not recognized and the mood got more and more exuberant as it always is at parties like that !!

We walked home along the water, breathing deeply and happily the sea air and the silence.

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The last evening

with a glass of wine
on the terrace at the harbor overlooking the sea.
It’s a farewell,
a farewell to Tallinn and Mindvalley University.
Why now and where to ?

Again and again questions, reflections, magical moments …
like the stars of the Milky Way,
that show up after midnight,
before it gets day.
A wonder of nature, of the cosmos, of creation.
And our life?
A miracle of unfolding, of love,
of growth and trust
into our own forces
and the work of nature in and around us.

We are looking into the evening sun
over the silent sea – and know
together we continue our way
in our lives, to ourselves.

Tallinn – The first week
(by Christa and Michael)

(Michael) : The first sightseeing tours in Tallinn were a bit sobering – there were rubble everywhere, desolate houses, crumbling quay walls, lots of construction sites …. And that should be the wonder town Tallinn, where there are the world’s most startups???

Well – to be fair, there are not only desolate, more or less dilapidated, but also beautifully renovated homes. What you see are the traces of its history, in which Estonia has been occupied again and again – by Denmark, Germany, Russia (the list is certainly incomplete). In particular, the Soviet era has left unsightly marks. And the many construction sites just indicate that they are working hard for a more beautiful status. And in the very beautiful old town nothing to be seen of all this … .

Estonia is on the upswing – and since there are virtually no natural resources, it has focused mainly on IT etc. It’s a trailblazer in many ways – I’m just mentioning e-residency here. And in addition to the old districts, there are also new ones and others with mixed buildings – with super-modern buildings. They indicate the upswing.

After a while, these appearances fade into the background – because of course there are also the Estonians. At first they are quite introverted, but then they turn out to be very warm, obliging and hospitable. An example is the invitation described in the previous post to learn the Estonian way of celebrating Midsummer’s Eve. From another side we got tips for worthwhile excursion destinations – and were even taken there in their car.

Love for nature seems to be very much in the foreground here. In my time-lapse recordings of the summer night (previous contribution) some stayed at the beach until 3:00 am and at 4:00 the next ones came to see the sunrise. I can only like them …

After all, there is our university, because of which we came: Everything starts (of course) with the registration and many hellos. We meet many participants from the previous year in Barcelona and the joy of reunion is great every time. And there are a lot of new participants to welcome – the number of participants has tripled. Everything has become far more professional. The team has worked incredibly hard.

From the thematic site, the first week is mostly dedicated to Estonia: Sights, history, human character, weather (not to forget) – and especially e-residency. An e-resident can open a bank account and a company in Estonia within a few minutes, as well as use services in Estonia. The program is aimed primarily at location-independent entrepreneurs – such as software developers or authors. Everything is done online. Here Estonia is a pioneer. A great opportunity for the Digital Nomads – and some participants took the chance. Again, the Estonians are very helpful – really nice and pleasant.

A small downer for the pioneers who were already in Barcelona last year: Although everything is perfect – due to the large number of participants and the distance of the speaker to the audience (in Barcelona there was no stage, the speakers were almost in the audience) everything is also far more anonymous. The pioneers, however, are still connected and continue to meet each other with warm hugs – how beautiful ….

(Christa) : Tallinn – Impressions from the second week

Anyone who has been to Mindvalley U Barcelona feels the big difference to Mindvalley U Tallinn.

Barcelona City is overflowing with happiness and liveliness. The many cafés and restaurants along the wide boulevards which we often passed through, communicate closeness and familiarity, and the people put us in their frolic. The warmth – oftentimes heat for us – makes people open and free. So it was in the university too. After a week everyone knew everyone and we met each other with warmth, hugs and many conversations.

Tallinn is different. Here it is windy and cool. The people are quiet and closed. Only in the old town, where mostly tourists strole around, it is livelier and louder. The University 3 times as many students this time and you only know a few. Also through the stage on which the speakers stand – away from the audience – it feels impersonal, which does not diminish the high quality of the lectures. And the familiarity will certainly grow with time.

The city of Tallinn is striking for its contrasts. The old town is beautiful with its squares, old buildings, many churches and cafes. She lives on the tourists and is madde up for the tourists. A bit away from the large squares, there are still the old wooden houses, some of them are beautifully restored. A particularly old well-kept building is the 500-year-old pharmacy on the edge of the Town Hall Square, which is still in operation today.

Yes, the old wooden houses, they fascinate us especially! The further we get to the outskirts, the more we discover. They exude warmth and coziness and sometimes still have the wooden beams of the hoist at the very top. But many of them are also decayed, their inhabitants probably lack the money to look after them. If you look into the windows, you will be amazed by the beautifully made up “inner life”. In such a wooden house we live for 5 weeks, in the Kalamaja district near the Kultuurikatel, where there are still many of them. It is cozy and we feel comfortable here. I particularly enjoy the proximity to the small harbor we look out the window to and where Michael made the night video. But unfortunately there are also some completely dilapidated, long-abandoned wooden houses, and I then imagine how living in them has been.

It looks very crazy when every so often an old wooden house peeps out between the skyscrapers of the new industrial city, where it did not let displace itself!

These are exactly the contrasts of Tallinn. On the one hand the styled old town, the cuddly wooden houses and then the new districts of the emerging economy and industry. I did not feel well there when we walked back from the beautiful Kadriorg Park and had to cross this part of the city with its skyscrapers and heavy traffic.

Kadriorg Park

Kadriorg Park is a particularly beautiful facility in the east of Tallinn very close to the sea. To a very dear Tallinnin, who works there, it was important to show us the park. She picked us up and accompanied us with her twins a bit – to the playground – through the park. The old, partially deformed trees have particularly tied us, meadows with wild flowers and then the Japanese Garden. There is a lot of water, hearthstones and beautiful flowers – a meditative mood. Thanks to Katriin !!

Right behind the park runs the Pirita tee, the wide boulevard / promenade to the Olympic center with the marina.

List auf Sylt, 28. February – 7.March 2018
(by Christa)

List is the northernmost village on the remote, bordering on Denmark North Sea island of Sylt. In winter it is almost as lonely and abandoned as at the time of my childhood, when no one knew that a few years later it would be called the “pearl of the North Sea”. Here are my roots, buried deep in the sand with the memories of a difficult, war-torn childhood. On the other hand, we had unlimited freedom and sometimes also light-heartedness in the expanse of dunes, the beaches and the ever-changing sea. We learned to walk and to swim at the same time, because the beach and the sea were our playgrounds.

More than half a century later I am in List with Michael – in the middle of winter. Already when the car rolled onto the Sylt shuttle, the connection between the mainland and the island, the sharp wind brought up the smell of salt and sea water. On the island the icy north-east winds turned into a blizzard. Our quarters were cold – “still, we thought, will get better”. But the cold north-east emmidiatlly sucked the hesitant warmth out again. And there was no water in the kitchen – the pipes were frozen.

And where is the sea? We ran to the beach – no water to be seen, only ice, a landscape like on the moon! This is what a visiting child once said to me as we walked through the dunes: “How can one only live in this lunar landscape!” I was outraged and offended: “Let him stay at home!”

An extreme cold like we are experiencing currently has not existed for a long time. We try to set up everything comfortably in the apartment – despite the lack of water in the kitchen and the cool temperatures . The icy wind on the beach bothers us, cuts in the face and penetrates through the clothes. Only slowly does our body get used to the unfamiliar temperatures. On the second afternoon I wanted to go to the only cafe in the place to relax in the warmth and with a fries tea. The cafe was filled to the last seat – here everyone had fled, who had dared to visit the island and its northernmost place! I could understand that very well and cooked a coffee for ourselves in the apartment

The next days it remained cold and stormy too.  Nevertheless, the water in the kitchen began to trickle on the third day despite the low temperatures. We were relieved, as the landlady, who does not live on the island in winter, had given us an offer to move and we had no desire to do so. Good mooded (as usually always!) we drove to Braderup to the island’s health food store and on to Munkmarsch, a small today insignificant place on the east side. Once Munkmarsch has been the gateway to the island. Here the steam vessels docked, which from the mainland, the danish place Hoyerschleuse today, sailed to the island. The crossing took 3 hours or more, depending on wind, weather and water level. At low tide the ship could not dock. and many a guest became terribly seasick!!

This is long gone, since the Hindenburg dam was inaugurated in 1927 and the “Sylt shuttle” effortlessly carries guests and cars to the island. The small harbor has lost its meaning, but preserves its charm with the small sailboats and the rebuilt ferry house, so that it draws me there again and again. In the late afternoon, the sky cleared and I suspected: Michael has an evening event in his mind, and this despite the wind and cold!!!

We drove to the List beach hall, where Michael wanted to set up his tripod down at the beach. Hm, the way to the beach was closed…. Afterwards we saw that the storm had destroyed the stairs leading down. So we looked for a way over the dune to watch the sunset in the shelter behind the dune.

We were a little too late and so could just catch the last corner of the sun. The more beautiful the colors in the sky developed afterwards. I walked along the beach to get warm. It was low tide and completely lonely – a mysterious silence despite the wind, and after a while I couldn’t see Michael anymore. The darkness had something magical that I know from my childhood when it kept dragging me out to the ebb, especially in the evenings, although I was afraid. I found Michael again and thought we’re going home now. “The sky is clear, now the stars are coming…”

I padded my way back across the dune to see if the beach hall was still open. “We close at sunset (that was more than an hour ago),” said the friendly owner, whom I knew. “But I still like to make you a mulled wine.” How good that was !! and soon afterwards Michael was ready to leave. I admire him enduring hours and hours of wind and cold to take timelapse videos of the sunset or the starry sky!!

The last few days were a bit milder, so we once again dared to go to the west beach, to Kampen, past the spa houses to the Kampen cliff. This is aside of the Morsum cliff the big attraction of the island. After each winter, when the storm tides gnaw on it and the rain showers rip it, it changes its face.

The last day was a realy sunny. We walked past the beautiful cemetery through the Lister dunes and heath valleys to the very lonely youth hostel Möwenberg and then with the wide view of the elbow and the royal harbor on the outer dike and the bird sanctuary back to List. On the wet meadows and ponds romped the winter guests, wild geese and wild ducks, on the beach in summer and winter seagulls and oystercatchers. Birdwatchers will discover countless bird species that come from everywhere, rest here or even stay here during winter.

The beautiful weather seduced Michael to photograph another sunset. For this we chose a viewpoint in the List dunes overviewing the valleys of the moorland and with the large dune as the background. Here the loneliness and silence of the island becomes particularly clear, which we had already noticed in the morning on the hike to the youth hostel.

Every holiday is too short !! And the island with its austere charm always makes my farewell difficult. Strangely, it took more than 2 hours to return to the mainland via the Sylt shuttle across the causeway.