Saaramaa slow food movement
The Slow Food Movement is alive and well in Estonia, and today, the farmers of Saaramaa tried to celebrate it. Only trouble was, it rained. A lot.
Typical for me, I got lost trying to find the farmer’s market. I saw a lot of the periphery of this largest Town on the largest Estonian island. I found the sea plane terminal, some warehouses, a few car dealerships, and eventually the market. That's when it started to rain.
The car I rented has a feature called rain alert, and the wipers turn on. The feature took me a bit of time to get used to. It also sounds an inside alarm if I park close to anything, like another car or a barrier of some sort.
I walked around the site in the rain. There were many more cars than people, so perhaps I didn't see the entire grounds. The food signs were in Estonian only, and the only guy I talked to was telling me about his different cheeses. Sorry, fella, wrong customer.
Naturally I got lost returning to town. I made the mistake of following a sign directing me to the city centre. Silly me.
My hotel tonight is more conventional, and has spa services. I finally had a sauna, and might enjoy the facilities again tomorrow morning before checking out at noon. They have a Finnish sauna (dry heat), a steam room, a jacuzzi and several swimming pools. My hair feels the softest it has in ages.
For dinner, I again relied on Lonely Planet, and went to the Retro Cafe. The back looks out on a garden, and the trees were adorned with egg-carton caterpillars. The art school next door has kids camps in the summer, and they split egg cartons in two, lengthwise, painted the bubbles bright colours and added pipe cleaner antennae. Then they hung them from the trees. They were really cute. And dinner was delicious.
There's an opera festival on right now, and on the way back from dinner, I felt distinctly underdressed as I saw people on their way to Carmina Burina.
I'm enjoying Saaramaa more than Hiiumaa, perhaps because there are more people. It feels more like I'm a part of something.
Tomorrow I'll walk around the 14th century castle. This one is surrounded by a moat. It didn't protect 20th century residents from either the Russian or German invaders.
Then, I think, it's back to the mainland.
Typical for me, I got lost trying to find the farmer’s market. I saw a lot of the periphery of this largest Town on the largest Estonian island. I found the sea plane terminal, some warehouses, a few car dealerships, and eventually the market. That's when it started to rain.
The car I rented has a feature called rain alert, and the wipers turn on. The feature took me a bit of time to get used to. It also sounds an inside alarm if I park close to anything, like another car or a barrier of some sort.
I walked around the site in the rain. There were many more cars than people, so perhaps I didn't see the entire grounds. The food signs were in Estonian only, and the only guy I talked to was telling me about his different cheeses. Sorry, fella, wrong customer.
Naturally I got lost returning to town. I made the mistake of following a sign directing me to the city centre. Silly me.
My hotel tonight is more conventional, and has spa services. I finally had a sauna, and might enjoy the facilities again tomorrow morning before checking out at noon. They have a Finnish sauna (dry heat), a steam room, a jacuzzi and several swimming pools. My hair feels the softest it has in ages.
For dinner, I again relied on Lonely Planet, and went to the Retro Cafe. The back looks out on a garden, and the trees were adorned with egg-carton caterpillars. The art school next door has kids camps in the summer, and they split egg cartons in two, lengthwise, painted the bubbles bright colours and added pipe cleaner antennae. Then they hung them from the trees. They were really cute. And dinner was delicious.
There's an opera festival on right now, and on the way back from dinner, I felt distinctly underdressed as I saw people on their way to Carmina Burina.
I'm enjoying Saaramaa more than Hiiumaa, perhaps because there are more people. It feels more like I'm a part of something.
Tomorrow I'll walk around the 14th century castle. This one is surrounded by a moat. It didn't protect 20th century residents from either the Russian or German invaders.
Then, I think, it's back to the mainland.
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