Tallinn – Excursions and Farewell

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.