As
this was a conservation holiday, we had quite a bit of free time to play with. After
work we generally had a few drinks, played cards took a sauna.
Until
this holiday, I had managed to go through life without ever setting foot inside
a sauna. I was able to rectify this. Both places we stayed had wood saunas and
at Vormsi, it was really the only option as there was no hot water in the
shower.
Sauna’s
are extremely common across Estonia. While your stereotypical Australian’s life
ambition is to own a house on a quarter-acre block, the equivalent Estonian
ambition is to own a Sauna in the countryside. Indeed, come the weekend, many Estonians
will retreat to the countryside to unwind in their sauna. For people who live
in the countryside, the sauna is often still the primary hygienic activity. I
really came to embrace the sauna; it was such a nice way to unwind after a days
work. For those sauna-virgins like me, this was the general procedure. The
sauna is lit and allowed to reach the desired temperature, usually 60-80˚C, the
hotter the better. Apparently, if the sauna is too cool, you slowly roast,
burning too much energy. You then nude up and hop in with a group of friends.
On top of the stove are rocks that heat up. Water is dropped onto these to
create steam and really get you sweating. You then sit and chat for a while,
perhaps beating yourself or others with some leafy branches, and hop out once
you’ve had enough. You can then jump under a cold shower to cool down and, if
not in a rush, have a few beers before hopping in again. Rather than a cold
shower, it is also common to jump into the nearest lake, or if it’s winter,
roll in the snow or, if you’re really brave, both!! Once done, you can wash if necessary.
While
at Pivarootsi, we were with Arvo, who had grown up in this area, meaning he was
able to show us some interesting locations. On several evenings we went for
walks in the nearby forests and alvars. The limestone cliff formations and
springs at Salavere Salumägi were particularly charming, with a beautiful sunset
to boot.
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| Tamm/Oak tree |
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| Sunset |
Another place was a sacred fertility rock. These types of sites are
very common around Estonia and date back to ancient times, before other
religions were brought to the region. Indeed, many churches were built upon
these sacred sites, to cease these heathen worships and because the people were
already accustomed to going to such place for their spiritual needs. In this
case, one has to slide down the rock to ensure future fertility. There are
three quite deep grooves worn in the stone from people sliding down over the
centuries. It is/was also common for people to use such stones for ‘sacrifices’
whereby food would be left for the spirits.
It
is interesting to note that while Estonia is one of the least religious
countries in the world, with only ~12% of people professing to a religion, a
much higher percentage believe that there is some kind of higher spiritual force.
Indeed, I have met Estonians who believe this is the case.
On
Friday (4.9) we had a semi-day off and had grand plans to explore the region.
After cleaning the house and packing up, we set off for our first destination,
the Lihula castle ruins. En route, the oil light on the van came on and, upon
arrival at Lihula, it was found that the latch to open the bonnet was broken.
Thus, we ended up spending quite a bit of time here while the van was sorted
out. The castle here was once beside the sea and was an important Estonian
stronghold for some time. As Estonia is gradually rising (~3 mm/year), this is
no longer the case. Lihula could have very easily have become the capital of
Estonia, however it was not to be. While we checked out the ruins, I was able
to introduce some of the group to geocaching, finding several around the town.
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| Highland cattle |
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| One of the three species of snake native to Estonia |
Once
the oil was sorted, we drove to Haapsalu, the town where our ferry was due to
depart. After doing some shopping, we had time for a whistle-stop tour of the
town before heading to the harbour to meet Tauri and board the ferry to Vormsi.
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| Castle ruins at Haapsalu |
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| Haapsalu promenade |
Vormsi
was such a fantastic place, with a very interesting history, much being quite
distinct from the rest of Estonia. The population of Vormsi was once almost
totally of Swedish origin, with these people commonly referred to as ‘Costal
Sewdes’. The pre-1940 population on the island was ~3000. With the arrival of
the Soviets, almost all of these people fled to Sweden. Vormsi, as with all the
other Estonian islands, was completely cut off during the soviet period, with
special permission required to visit. Despite the plethora of beaches on
Vormsi, the locals were restricted to one spot where they could bathe. Today,
Vormsi is home to 240 people, most of whom are ethnic Estonians from the
mainland. There is still a small permanent costal swede population, with four
(presumably very strong-willed) families who never left the island. A lot of
land is still owned by Swedes as it was given back when Estonia became
independent again. Resultantly, many Swedes spend their holidays here and in
other traditionally costal Swede locations in the west of Estonia.
The
island has one shop, a grand old school with eight pupils (once 800), a council
chamber and no police. This definitely felt like a proper island, with
everything moving at its own pace. Very relaxing indeed.
In
our spare time, we spent a lot of time in the mets/forests. In one place,
beside the islands largest lake, Prästvigi, we walked barefoot through the
forest to a sacred spring. Here, the frog is considered a sacred animal and
drinking from/washing ones face in the spring is considered to be good for ones
eyesight. Having just bought a new pair of glasses, I’m not sure I can attest
to this, however this was a beautiful location and it did indeed feel special.
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| Prästvigi |
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| A sacred konn upon my hand |
A
clue to the Islands Swedish past are the very un-Estonian place names, such as
Saxby (for a start, x and y are not in the Estonian alphabet), where we went
for several walks. First at sunset and second to visit the lighthouse and
associated museum. The Saxby coast is a very interesting place to explore,
littered with ancient fossils and large granite boulders.
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| The Saxby coast |
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| Fossil |
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| Lighthouse keeper's cottage |
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| Found a cache!! |
On
Tuesday (8.9) we had another day off. Half of the group set off early in the
morning to catch the ferry back to Haapsalu, while the rest of us stayed behind
to explore more of the island. To begin, Mart showed us some interesting
places, a windmill and large rock in the forest, before catching the 1pm ferry
home. After this we explored the ruins of the old Orthodox church and checked
out some old soviet vehicles, all of which were unlocked with keys in the
ignition.
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| Big rock in forest |
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| Cool old soviet car |
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| Bus and Orthodox church ruins |
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| Climbing into church |
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| Inside |
For lunch, we headed deeper into the forests in search of different types
of berries, including gooseberries, which are only found in the wetter, more
marshy environments. Tauri has a very good knowledge of the forests and pointed
out various edible things along the way. We found a big patch of heather to lie
in for what must have been a few hours – extremely comfortable and relaxing.
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| Mets |
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| Gooseberries |
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| Heather |
We
returned home for soup and then went on another quick tour, this time led by a
lady who met us when we first arrived on the island. We saw several interesting
sites, including some ancient corals in the middle of a forest. By the end of
the day I think the forest spirits had affected us and we emerged looking like
this:
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| Me, Bálint, Lisa, Tauri and Marisol |
We
decided to paint our faces with blueberries to surprise the others when we
picked them up from the port. It was hilarious. One of the girls, Lisa, went a
step further and dyed her hair with them. In the coming days it actually turned
a very pretty shade of blue, so I would recommend it of you’re looking for a
unique hair colour! Tauri used crushed limestone to make one half of his face
white, trying to recreate the Braveheart look, quite successfully I think.
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| Braveheart |
And
so our holiday came to an end. It really was a fantastic time and I’ve come
away with many new friends.
NB: I'll add more photos in due course, I'm off to bed now.
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