Sunday 30 September 2018

Teet Daaniel becomes the first Estonian to swim the English Channel / La Manche

On the 27th September 2018 Teet Daaniel completed this third of seven ocean challenges by swimming across The English Channel. Previously he successfully swam across the Strait of Gibraltar from Europe to Africa and the Catalina Channel near Los Angeles. 

Teet left the shores of Dover at 1:30am and swam 34 kilometres to reach France. Battling temperature changes and tides, the challenge took 14 hours to complete.


To learn more, this ERR News report includes video : Teet Daaniel ujus esimese eestlasena üle La Manche'i väina

Saturday 29 September 2018

Congratulations to Andrei Nazarov and Ksenija Balta who were married in Tallinn today!


Andrei and Ksenija are two of Estonia's finest athletes. They are a winning team both on and off the field. Today they tied the knot in Tallinn with close family and friends.  

Congratulations cousin Andrei! I wish you and your new bride  every happiness in the world!

To see the photo gallery of their special day, please see the Delfi news article:
FOTOD | Hõissa, pulmad! Ksenija Balta ja Andrei Nazarov tegid jumala palge ees oma pikaaegse suhte ametlikuks

Tuesday 25 September 2018

Researchers find last bunker of alleged last Forest Brother - ERR NEWS

Members of a group studying the history of the anti-Soviet resistance movement of the Forest Brothers have apparently found the remains of a bunker in Southeast Estonia they believe to have been the last hiding place of August Sabbe, who was the last known surviving Forest Brother. Sabbe died in 1978.


A group of researchers found Sabbe's last hiding place in Southeast Estonia, following a local tip. The group was set up five years ago with the aim to further study the Forest Brothers movement using archaeological methods.

Archaeologist Mauri Kiudsoo told the Baltic News Service that they found an underground bunker in Estonia's southeast that dates back to the 1970s that is likely to be Forest Brother August Sabbe's last hiding place. Sabbe died when the Soviet authorities tried to arrest him in 1978.

According to Kiudsoo, the underground bunker located on the edge of a former wetland is dug into the sandy ground and well-hidden. Its layout suggests that Sabbe built the bunker on the site of an earlier one, likely dating back to the 1950s.

The bunker the group found couldn't be that old, as plastic and rubber were used to waterproof the bunker's roof. The condition and estimated production years of those materials make it impossible for the structure to have been built any earlier, Kiudsoo said.

The roof of the bunker fell in after a logging tractor hit the building in the mid-1980s. According to Kiudsoo, the archaeologists also discovered a leather wallet under a tin stove inside.

"We will definitely go on exploring the bunker next year," Kiudsoo said.

August Sabbe, born in 1909, is believed to have been the last Forest Brother, surviving and remaining in hiding until the late 1970s. The KGB finally tracked him down as he was fishing on a river shore on 28 September 1978, almost exactly 40 years ago.

Sabbe died trying to escape, drowning in the river. According to some accounts of the event, it is possible that his captors drowned him.

Source: ERR News

Friday 21 September 2018

New film:"Tuulte tahutud maa” / "The Wind Sculpted Land

The Wind Sculpted Land is a film about Estonian nature. It features flooded meadows, bogs, beautiful coastlines, together with wild animals and flocks of migrating birds that are actually small worlds of their own. The film was made during 2015-2018 and took more than 400 days out in the field filming birds, animals and different landscapes.

The Wind Sculpted Land is a truly magical journey of Estonia´s unique and scenic nature. The film is part of a film programme dedicated to celebrate the 100th anniversary of the Republic of Estonia.

You can watch the trailer below.

Sunday 16 September 2018

Tammsaare's 'I Loved a German' (Ma armastasin sakslast) now available in English

If you enjoy the works of Tammsaare and are in need of English translations then you will be thrilled to learn that Ma armastasin sakslast (I loved a German) was recently translated into English. Over the years, many of Tammsaare's novels have been translated into various languages but it has taken 83 years since Ma armastasin sakslast's original publication in Estonian to reach an English audience.


Synopsis:
A. H. Tammsaare’s 'I Loved a German' is a gripping love story in which the classic love triangle takes a very untraditional form. The plot is centered around a young Estonian university student who falls in love with Erika, a young Baltic German woman. The Baltic Germans had lost their former aristocratic position in society since Estonia declared its independence. The young German earns her keep as a tutor for an Estonian family, and is not economically well-off. The young man, Oskar, starts courting the girl frivolously, but then falls head-over-heels in love with her.

Before long, the prejudice that an Estonian and a Baltic German are of socially unequal standings starts to haunt the couple. When Oskar goes to ask Erika’s grandfather – a former manor lord – for the girl’s hand, the meeting leaves a deep impression on his soul. All of a sudden, Oskar finds himself wondering if perhaps he doesn’t love the woman in Erika, but rather her grandfather; meaning, her noble descent. Perhaps the 'slave’s blood' of farmhands who had been in the service of Baltic Germans for centuries is manifested in his love, instead?


Anton Hansen Tammsaare is one of Estonia's most beloved authors. His novel Truth and Justice is considered Estonia's best novel of all time. I loved a German can be purchased online at the Wordery: I Loved a German


Wednesday 12 September 2018

World Cleanup Day 2018

One day. One planet. One goal. Millions of people in 150 countries will unite on Saturday to clean up our world, in the biggest civic action in human history. World Cleanup Day is a great Estonian initiative!


The movement was born 10 years ago in Estonia, when 4% of the population came out to clean the entire country of illegally dumped waste, in a matter of hours. This captured the imaginations of people worldwide, who were inspired to follow suit with the same ambitious ‘one country, one day’ formula.

As Estonia celebrates its 100th anniversary this year, World Cleanup Day 2018 is the country’s gift to the world.

For more information please refer to the official website: https://www.worldcleanupday.org/

Sailing a Sauna from Helsinki to Tallinn!

This is not something you see every day!