Photo of the day: The lone wolf in Paikuse

Estonia's wolf population is estimated to be around 260 - 360 wolves living in 20-25 packs. This photo was taken today by Kristhel Vaht in Paikuse. The grey wolf was declared the national animal of Estonia in 2018.

Photo flashback: Ladies with their parasols on the Haapsalu promenade

My trip to the Estonian Song Festival

There are some things people should do at least once in their lifetime and attending the Estonian Song Festival is definitely one of them. It's a truly wonderful event that warms the heart and stills the mind, a powerful demonstration of national unity. I was so thrilled to finally be a part of it, it's an event I have wanted to go to for a very long time.

Every time I visit Estonia I make a point of experiencing something new. This time I did something I have never done before. I drove to Estonia! All across central Europe and up through the Baltics. I have Estonian friends who often do this and I always thought they were crazy. It's too far I tell them, just fly. It's quicker. But they don't seem to mind the drive.

This year I decided to drive for a numner of reasons. My brother lives in Poland and I wanted to stop by Warsaw on the way, as well as Riga and I also wanted to visit the Hill of Crosses in Lithuania. I knew I would never visit that site unless I travelled by road. This Hill of Crosses is an interesting place, it's a pilgrim site dating back to the 1830s and contains thousands of crosses, crucifixes, and other religious items.

 

The Hill of Crosses. 

Located 12 km north of the city of Šiauliai in Lithuania. 

The epic road trip to Estonia took two days to complete. The motorways in Germany and Poland were very good, but not long after passing through Vilnius, I found myself driving on single lane roads most of the time. It was slow from then on, especially when I got stuck behind a truck or a bus (there were so many trucks on the road!).

I arrived in Tallinn on the Friday, and the weather was still good then. Blue sky with a slight breeze, it was ten degrees cooler than the day before. I expected to hear a lot of different accents in the streets as I wandered around, and I did. Estonians from all around the world were in town, it was a very special time to be back in the homeland. As I stood by the traffic lights, on my way to Freedom Square, I remember looking down and seeing a Bolt delivery robot also waiting at the lights. I had to smile. This is modern Estonia. The country I love so much.

It gave me great joy to see the national costume everywhere I went that weekend. People walked around in small groups, either coming or going from an event. It was a beautiful sight. I marvelled at how pristine these clothed looked, they were so well maintained, the blouses so white. They were worn with such pride.

On Saturday it began to rain and my heart sank. It was terrible weather for a procession. Regardless, I went to watch as I was eager to see all the different groups and the regions they were from. Despite the rain, bands played merrily, people cheered and flags waved.

 

Rongkäik.

The song festival procession started at 11am from Freedom Square. 

 

There were two events that took place at the Song Festival Grounds (Lauluväljak). The opening concert on Saturday showcased songs sung in the different Estonian dialects and Sunday was the main concert. I watched the Saturday concert on T.V. and was at the Song Festival Grounds on Sunday just after 2pm. Unfortunately it rained a lot while I was there. The ground became increasingly muddy as time passed, and  it wasn't pleasant walking around to look at the stalls or to buy food. 

 

One thing I realised about attending the song festival, is that not everyone arrives at 2pm when the event starts. Some people arrive early to secure a  good place to sit, whilst others trickle in during the day. I noticed a lot of people arrived after 4pm. Reviewing the day, the concert starts with band performances, followed by children singing. The really good partriotic songs are sung much later in the day.

 

 

The main concert started at 2pm and ended around 9:30pm. 

 

The rain did put a damper on the event during the first few hours. 

Later on the weather did improve. 

 

It was great to be back in Estonia for the song festival. It was wonderful to see so many Estonians come together, cherishing our language, history and culture. It was truly marvellous.

 

Like all my holidays to Estonia, no trip is complete without a suitcase full of goodie to take home with me. Vana Tallinn and Kalev chocolates are the essentials along with black bread. Lots of black bread and usually the darker the better!

70 years of Estonian television

Today marks seventy years since television was first introduced in Estonia. On the 19th of July 1955,  at 7:30pm Eesti Televisioon launched its first programme. The official TV show was broadcast from a Tallinn television station set up in Tallinn Radio House. At first the show was on Saturdays and Sundays then later airtime was extended to other days of the week. Today, the Estonian free-to-air television channel still operates and is commonly known as ETV.

Estonia is one of the coldest places on earth

Estonia is a beautiful country to visit all year round but if you dislike cold weather, it's best to avoid a trip during February. It's Estonia's coldest month. The coldest temperature ever recorded in Estonia is -43.5°C (-46°F). This record was set in Jõgeva on January 17, 1940.

Enterprising Estonian students create new edible birthday candles

Three students from Põlva High School have placed fourth at the Gen-E 2025 Festival held earlier this month in Greece. Isabella Puusepp, Agathe Ojasaar and Eliisa Villako impressed both the jury and audience at the European Junior Achievement Competition with their innovative edible candle design.

First inspired by traditional candles melting all over the birthday cake of one of the founders' twin siblings, the edible candles are made of chocolate and already on sale at a few locations in and around Põlva and Võru. The girls now plan to formally register their business 'Blouit' and expand sales across the country. You can read more about Blouit and the Gen-E 2025 Festival here

 

Edible birthday candles by Blouit

 

Isabella Puusepp, Agathe Ojasaar and Eliisa Villako 

Ta lendab mesipuu poole - XXVIII Laulupidu "Iseoma" (2025)

Several songs were performed twice during the Estonia Song Festival. Juhan Liiv's 'Ta lendab mesipuu poole (he flies to the beehive) was one of them. So many Estonians came back to the homeland to take part in the XXVIII laulupidu. Many people experienced the song festival for the first time, including 80 year old Esta from the United States. Her parents were Estonians who fled the country during WWII and it was her dream to always visit Estonia. This finally eventuated when her son bought her a ticket to Estonia for her birthday. It was Esta's first time visiting her ancestral homeland. The Estonian Song Festival is a beautiful display of Estonian unity and it was wonderful to see so many Estonians come together to celebrate.