ENCHANTING ESTONIA
Sue Olswang traces her maternal roots in this northern European country on the Baltic Sea
If you travel from the far south of the globe in a fairly straight line to the far north, you’ll reach one of the lands of the Vikings. This is where my late mother was born, so my recent journey to Estonia was about far more than travel. It was a journey for my soul, about connecting with my ancestors.
My mom arrived in White River in Mpumalanga in 1956. Invited for “a holiday in Africa” by German friends who had moved to South Africa after World War 2, she fell in love with this beautiful country and its people. During an extended visit, she met and fell in love with my father, married, had a child, and became a naturalised South African.
In the 1960s there were fewer than 30 Estonians living in South Africa, and of course they all knew one another. My childhood involved many gatherings of folk who spoke a very strange language that I never understood, and foods that became less foreign over the years.
It also involved many stories about a country in the far north, so far north that it shares a latitude line with parts of Alaska and Siberia. I heard about winter temperatures of -30°C, and snow so deep that school was cancelled. A seemingly endless dark winter. Only two months of summer. My mom had loathed it and never wanted to return.
But Estonia always fascinated me, and this year I finally headed there.
THE MEDIEVAL, MAGICAL CAPITAL
My first stop was the capital, Tallinn, whose Old Town is celebrating its 800th birthday this year. Old Town Tallinn is medieval and magical, and around most corners you expect to see Rapunzel letting down her golden hair from the top of a fairytale tower.
Although Estonia is in northern Europe — opposite Finland — its summers are warm. For those averse to freezing temperatures and ice and snow, be sure to go in June/ July.
This is also when Estonia experiences White Nights (around 20 hours of daylight per day, and no total darkness).
At this time of year, many Estonians are on vacation, and the Baltic Sea brings massive cruise ships into Tallinn Bay every day, depositing thousands of passengers in the cosmopolitan capital city. Most of them head immediately for the Old Town.
From around 11am to 3pm, the historic Town Hall Square is packed with people speaking many different languages (most Estonians speak very good English and
Russian). In summer, it is filled with outdoor cafés and restaurants and is the venue for open-air concerts and fairs.
In winter it becomes a magical Christmas market. The tradition of celebrating Christmas festivities in the square dates back to 1441, when the Brotherhood of the Blackheads is said to have erected the world’s first Christmas tree.
We spent six days in Tallinn, most of the time in the Old Town.
We stayed in a fabulous Airbnb apartment opposite the Balti Jaama Turg (Baltic Station Market), which sells fresh produce from local farmers. It was an easy walk through the market and railway station into the historic
part of the city, where we couldn’t get enough of the old buildings, the charm, the atmosphere, the culture, the museums, the ancient alleyways, and the quirky shops.
Also in the capital is a fascinating area called Kalamaja, a trendy residential area filled with colourful wooden houses that date back to the end of the 19th century.
Nearby is Kadriorg Park, covering 70ha. Established in 1718 on the orders of the Russian tsar Peter the Great, the park is home to Kadriorg Palace, built for Catherine I of Russia by Peter, and a number of museums. One of these is the KUMU art museum with a main collection covering Estonian art from the 18th century onwards and works from the period of Soviet occupation (1940-1991).
We walked a lot in Tallinn (it is very safe to do so), but when the distances were too great we used the hop-on, hop-off bus. There are three different hop-on routes around the city with the open top buses taking you to everything you should see. It’s a fun way to get around, and certainly more affordable than Uber or taxis.
MOM’S HOMETOWN
From Tallinn we travelled by train to Tartu. Estonia’s second-largest city was the main reason for my trip because my mother was born here. We travelled second-class for the two hour journey, and it was damn fine. Estonia has declared internet access a human right and there is free wi-fi everywhere, including on the trains.
Tartu is considered the intellectual centre of the country since it is home to the University of Tartu, which was founded in 1632. This leafy town (more than 50% of Estonia is forest) has an upbeat nightlife to suit its many student residents, and you are welcomed into the Town Hall Square by a statue of kissing students.
That statue and the town hall had featured in many of Mom’s stories, and I wept oceans beneath it.
The city is compact, with most of the sights, restaurants and nightlife contained across a few parallel streets near the university.
Within walking distance from the square is the Estonian National Museum, set in a spectacular modern building and surrounded by forest and countryside. The museum’s Encounters exhibition introduces visitors to the lives of Estonians through the ages, and the Echo of the Urals exhibition presents the culture of the Finno-Ugric and Samoyedic people.
Right across the road from the museum is Tagurpidi Maja. Literally an “Upside Down House”, a visit here is a dizzying (and nauseating) experience with everything inside the wrong way up. My travelling partner scuttled out after a minute, but I persisted and visited every room. I was nauseous for a long while after, but it was worth it.
We had originally planned to spend longer in Tartu, but headed back to Tallinn (this time by Lux Express bus, with free wi-fi) a day earlier to get in more of the capital and its fairytale Old Town before heading back to the far south.
Now that I have seen Estonia, friends have asked me whether I could live in my mom’s country of birth.
It certainly is a beautiful country. The economy is flourishing, it has fascinating history and culture. The food is good, the beer is fine, the people are friendly. Estonia is very definitely worth a visit, a few visits. But live there? Nah.
South Africa is where my soul sings. And anyway, I would much rather receive braai tongs and a bag of charcoal or sun hat for Christmas than new thermal underwear or a pair of snow shoes.