Our last days in Parnu

---

---

June 21, Parnu's official first day of summer
This morning Heli prepared yet another amazing breakfast. (I will have to fast for months when I return home.) This time she had prepared hard boiled eggs, cheese and meat and some special salty local herring from the Baltic sea (we learned that the Baltic has much less salt than the ocean and because of this many of the fish are unique to this area.) We were instructed to eat the herring with our unsalted hard boiled egg. Delicious! I washed all this down with my kefir and coffee and we were out the door for another tour of Parnu.
Heli showed us the little house on the sea where she lived as a child with three other families, one bathroom and one room for each of the four families. This sweet house was not far from the Tervise Paradiis Spa Hotel where Grit works as a manager of spa services for both this facility and the Tervise Medical Spa Hotel where we had sampled the many saunas a few days before. Heli left us at Tervise Paradiis and Grit gave us a special tour of this amazing spa with its hotel rooms, five star restaurant and conference center all overlooking the expansive Baltic Sea. There are 22 private massage rooms as well as various water treatment rooms, electro, laser and thermotherapy rooms, a salt room for internal and external healing, various facial and body care rooms but I was most intrigued with the health capsule rooms. I was in awe of the whole facility and wanted to stay for the week! I was overwhelmed when Grit said she was treating me to a full body experience in the Estonian made DermaLife Spa Jet Health capsule and would I please return at 3pm after lunch in the old town so I could try this out!
Dave and I left the spa walked along the boardwalk by the sea. Parnu is known as the sunniest place in Estonia and with its beautiful white sandy beaches with its low tides, numerous tree lined streets, beautiful parks and summer concerts its no wonder this becomes the Summer Capitol of Estonia. We walked down Ruutli Street into Old Town for lunch and with so many places to choose from we were having great difficulty agreeing on the “right” cafe. We finally settled on a German restaurant, favoring Dave’s love of German food, and after lunch we briefly explored the town.
Walking through town I was delighted to have stumbled upon the small Russian Ekaterina Church that I had visited in 1990. I immediately went inside to revisit this, the most beautiful Russian church in the whole Baltic region. The women who were inside were so lovely and welcoming. We succeeded in our struggle to understand each other as I told them I had attended a service in this church 22 years ago. They proudly told me that this church had never once been closed in its 300 year history. I bought some icons and they insisted on making a gift of a post card and some medals that I gratefully accepted.
It was time to walk back to the spa for my treatment so I left Dave in town and walked back past the charming old villas, the street bouquets of sweet smelling petunias and through park in the shade of the linden trees in great anticipation of this new spa adventure.
Ulle greeted me in the health capsule room and instructed me to remove all my clothes and put on a thong and hat for my hair. Thus beautifully attired I climbed into my "space capsule" for the ride of my life! Being not of normal Nordic height, I found I was a bit small for the normal bed but with some minor adjustments I was ready to go. Ulee began massaging my entire body with a seaweed scrub and when she finished she told me what to expect, put headphones with music on my ears and closed the capsule enveloping me in a hot steam sauna. I closed my eyes and left the earth's atmosphere in a g-force rocking motion that ended in my floating in outer space until I reached another planet that was alternately very hot and very cold. Jets of warm water pulsated over my body and the trip to outer space was repeated again until the capsule was opened and I was scrubbed clean. Then I was treated to a soothing aroma body gel that was applied to my entire body and once again I left the earth's atmosphere and was in orbit in more ways than one! When this part of the experience was over Ulee washed my body clean, I towel dried and drank some water then I laid on a massage table to be creamed from head to toe in Shea butter. I was instructed to lay there until the cream soaked in before I dressed and went into another room for the final treatment of a stimulating massage on a pulsating waterbed. It is no wonder that they say every cell of your body will remember the days spent in Parnu. I am so grateful to Grit for the gift of this amazing experience and I highly recommend that everyone book their flight to Parnu right now! I floated out of the spa and Grit kindly saved me the walk home by driving me back to Heli's.
Once again Heli outdid herself by making a delicious pumpkin ginger soup, an amazing apple, onion, chanterelle mushroom (hand picked by Heli in the local forests) and a sour cream salad followed by a semolina pudding topped with a home made rhubarb sauce fresh from her garden. This woman is amazing but unfortunately the spread on my waistline is becoming equally amazing. I am wondering how she stays so slim!
We managed a little bit of exercise as we walked back into town for Parnu's celebration of the first day of summer with boat races, concerts and the traditional annual summer passing of Estonia's capitol from Tallinn to Parnu. Heli guided us across the mote and along the old fortress walls, through the 17th century Tallinn Gate and into some lovely areas of old Parnu. We stopped at the 15th century Red Tower, the only corner tower left from the original medieval city fortifications and the oldest building in Parnu that how houses a local crafts workshop. Pleasant natural scents from the home made candles filled the air inside the tiny room. The unusually decorated doors in old Parnu depicted the different Hanseatic merchants and their trades and provided an excellent subject for my camera.
Just in case we hadn't been stuffed enough, Heli took us to her friend Enn Rand’s Art Nouveau Grand Cafe in the elegant Victoria Hotel,her favorite place in town for wine, coffee and, you guessed it, dessert! The delicious strawberry and cherry spongecake was at least light on the palate and slid down easily with the wine and coffee. We walked back home hoping to burn off a few calories before calling it a day. As I wrote this the midnight sun was finally setting, Dave was snoring and some wonderful smells were coming from the kitchen below so I knew that Heli was not resting and that I would need to buy a whole new wardrobe back home.

June 22, Parnu
We greeted the sunny morning with a rhubarb sauce (thickened with sugar and potato flour) over semolina cereal (cream of wheat.) Heli helped us to make the traditional Estonian Kama drink (3t of Kama in a glass of sour milk or kefir, a dash of salt and sugar stirred well.) In addition we enjoyed hard boiled eggs and the meat, cheese and bread choices with a cup of good strong coffee. Heli gave us a bag of Kama to take home with us along with a bag of her own hand picked and dried chanterelle mushrooms and a beautiful Estonian cookbook to help me let everyone at home experience a taste of Estonia.
We piled into the car for a quick trip into Parnu to charge my camera battery and pick up some Baltic amber and other gifts to bring home. Parnu has a wonderful selection of local craft shops and in many there at artisans working their traditional crafts. In one shop we found creative mats and Christmas tree ornaments made out of felt. Of course Heli bought me a pink and green felt apple for our Christmas tree and I bought a really unusual turquoise, dark blue and green crocheted scarf. Exactly my colors!
We headed next into the countryside north of Parnu by the sea to experience the rich forest scents of the Lindi Bog where Heli picks wild blueberries later in the summer. These raised bogs or high swamps were created after the last ice age. The bogs represent the highest stage of development of swamps and grow about 1mm a year. Despite its slow growth the peat grows so thick here that minerals can not reach the plants that now only get their nutrients from rain water. The old bogs have crevices that fill with water forming bog pools. We climbed high up a tower to view the bog pools and the tall trees with their magical forest floor at their feet. I learned that in the fall and winter Estonians head to the countryside to go bird watching in the marshy bog areas and with special bog shoes they are able to tread lightly on the soft bog floor without damaging it or sinking in.
We left the lovely bogs and drove to a beautiful old graveyard in the midst of a pine forest near one of Heli's favorite places to pick mushrooms. The sun filtered down to the forest floor illuminating the crosses marking the many graves of old Estonians dating back to the 1800s. Not far down the road we find an old Russian Orthodox church in the process of being restored. We were unable to go inside but Heli tells us it is quite beautiful and since there is no electricity for services and weddings, these events are held by candlelight.
Our next stop was the Pootsi Vaibakoda Rug Center located in the former farmhand’s house of Pootsi Manor. Local craftsmen create colorful rag rugs on large looms and lessons are given on weaving for those who are interested in doing it themselves but I learned you will need to allocate a full day to complete a rug of your own. Many beautiful rugs, runners and bags were available for sale. Heli again treated me to a brightly colored table rug that was made by the woman who owns the shop (this generosity just has to stop!)
A short distance down the road from the rug center is the Maria Talu or Maria Tourist Farm (www.maria.ee). Enn and Riina Rand, the owners of the Victoria Hotel in Parnu also own the Maria Talu where Heli arranged to have our lunch. This large farm offers horseback riding, hiking, hunting, swimming, smoke and Finnish saunas, a conference center, dining hall and individual cottages. We met a kind old man preparing birch branch bundles for the saunas and heard the bubbling boiler preparing the smoke sauna for guests this evening. It takes all day to heat the water and fill the small wooden sauna with smoke. Just before the sauna is used, the windows are opened to let out the smoke so the sauna experience becomes like a Finnish sauna with a woodsy, smokey scent. The farm has been in operation for over twenty years and the owners make every effort to employ local people to work there. Our "simple" lunch was served in the rustic wooden dining room with pink and cream wallpaper, white lace curtains and a wonderful photograph of Maria and her husband in their traditional Estonian costumes hanging on the wall. In the larger dining room we saw large antique black rugs with colorful crewel-worked flowers hanging on the walls with stuffed pheasants definitely not for eating! This award winning restaurant prides itself on well cooked country food and I am sure I tasted the best (pork and beef) meatloaf I have ever eaten. It was accompanied by brown bread, boiled potatoes in a cream sauce and some cooked vegetables. For dessert we were served Kama in whipped cream. I think this will remain my favorite Kama dish.
Heli took the shore road by the sea for our drive back to Parnu stopping at her favorite seaside resort with its unusual sauna inside a boat. We took some time to walk along the sandy shore and gaze at the swans slowly drifting by. The light sparkled on the seawater as well as the bright green marshland that flanked us on the other side of the gravel road. A pheasant and a strikingly beautiful tufted woodpecker darted in front of us on the road making me wish I had an Estonian bird book with me.
Dave was needing a nap when we returned home and Heli needed a spa treatment so I went for my last sauna experience by myself. Back at the Tervise Spa I showered and started with a Finnish sauna (74 degrees C) then went into the Turkish steam sauna (55 degrees C) then moved to my favorite salt sauna where I scrubbed my body with sea salt (55 degrees C). As I stepped out of the salt sauna I was immediately blasted by the cold Vichy shower. I quickly moved to the warm massage shower and then soaked in the Japanese baths (41 degrees C). The infrared sauna is dry heat at 55 degrees C but it is my least favorite. I looked forward to the cleansing smell of the aroma sauna (70 to 80 degrees C but very dry) which I repeated again later, and I cooled off in the jacuzzi (34 degrees C) and gazed lazily at the open room looking out to the sea. The Finnish sauna and shower awaited me on the way out and I sadly realized I was at the end of this marvelous experience but was so grateful that I had been able to enjoy so much of this wonderful seaside spa town with my dear friend Heli.
The early evening air was still warm and I took my time walking through the old town back to Heli's home. When I arrived Heli suggested that Dave and I return to town to enjoy the rehearsals for tomorrow's Victory Parade while she prepared our dinner. So, back we went into town over the bridge to watch hundreds of men and women in formal military dress along with girls scouts and boy scouts from throughout Estonia as they stood in the streets for hours occasionally practicing marching through the streets. We dutifully returned at 9pm for dinner that Heli prepared, a creamy rice meat and vegetable dish, tomato salad and rhubarb drink. I had several glasses of wine with dinner and before falling into an “early” sleep, that is one before midnight!

June 23, Estonian National Victory Day!
Today is the day most Estonians look forward to for it is the annual celebration of Estonian Independence from Germany in 1919. Estonia has only been a free country for approximately 40 years of its long history. It has been governed by Germany, Denmark, Sweden and the Soviet Union. Today is the celebration of the first twenty years of Estonian freedom. Estonia came under the oppressive yolk of the Soviet Union in 1940 and that lasted until 1991 when they finally became the free country that they are today. I am always amazed that this lovely culture of song, language and music was able to survive the occupation and domination of so many other countries for so much of its history.
The town of Parnu is the location for the country's independence celebrations but sadly we woke to cold, heavy rain. With a quick (and delicious) breakfast of quail eggs, sour milk, tomato, chive and onion salad, breads, meats, cheese and coffee we started this day with optimism and soon were out the door to the Tervise Paradiis Spa for my manicure, the second part of Grit's birthday present to me. I don't think I have ever been so pampered (and for so long)!
After my manicure Heli, Dave and I sat with our coffee looking out to the sea wishing the rain to stop but our wish was not granted so we piled into Heli's car and drove on the only streets open (most of the old town was closed to traffic for today's Victory Parade) to find a place to park giving us the shortest walk in the rain to the center of town. In spite of the bad weather thousands of colorful rain slicker-clad proud Estonians lined the streets to take part in this important celebration. Toomas Hendrik Ilves, the president of Estonia, was there for the inspection of the many troops from all over the country which he followed with an inspiring speech asking all Estonians to stand together against any threat to their country. A symbolic victory torch was lit and then passed to light the torches of other military men and women to carry back to their respective districts. Unfortunately the rain and wind never let up during the hour-long ceremony. My feet and legs were soaked through and I was chilled to the bone and so wet that the rain had penetrated my umbrella leaving drops of rain on my cold nose but I felt sorrier for those in the parade who did not have rain slickers or other weather protection for I could see through their soaking wet shirts to their cold damp skin.
Once the parade had passed we went in search of a restaurant to escape the chilling rain. Not far from the center of the old town is Supelsaksad, a charming award winning cafe that can only be described as comfortably shabby chic. It was warm and cozy inside and the owner (who is also an artist and photographer) had decorated the blue flowered interior with brightly painted pink and blue tables and chairs. 1920s era fringed lamps lit the corners of the rooms by the large windows opening to the street. I started my warm up with a shot of vodka and hot tea that I used to both drink and warm my hands with. Heli ordered a sampling of hors d'oeuvres including blue cheese stuffed mushrooms and a cod liver and quail egg pate. I had a yummy creamy lentil carrot and Parmesan soup and should have stopped there but the warm roasted vegetable salad with a creamy dressing just begged to be eaten. Had I known it would be a meal in itself I would not have ordered it but it was divine and we were warmed inside and out. And maybe it was a good thing I was filled on soup and veggies because the pastry tray looked beyond divine.
During the past week Heli had pointed out wood piled into Victory Bonfires all throughout the country to be burned on the evening of Victory Day. Five years ago Parnu had cold rain that dampened the joy of this day and we were all disappointed that again the bad weather had not abated.
Sadly it was our last night in Parnu. We took Heli out for dinner at the elegant Tervis Paradiis dining room overlooking Parnu Bay and enjoyed our excellent meals of duck, redfish and roast pork, I tried the local sea-buckthorn juice and had their delicious "healthy" salad with a very light balsamic and kumquat dressing. From our table we had panoramic views of the rough sea and were entertained throughout our dinner by watching windsurfers and sailboarders taking advantage of the high winds as they flew in the air across the water.
Grit and her husband John, who is a school principal and basketball coach with an enigmatic personality, were preparing their community Victory Bonfire and were expecting us at 10pm. This gave us time after dinner to drive around Parnu to see (and smell) the many other Victory Bonfires including an old wooden boat that was to be burned at the yacht club. It was close to 10pm (and still daylight) when we arrived at Grit's. As we drove into the community we saw the large bonfire stacked and ready to burn in the ball field but no one was in sight. As we rounded the bend we were greeted by Grit waving and honking her horn from her van that towed a flatbed wagon full of excited children and adults blowing horns and hollering for all to join them for the bonfire. Heli stopped the car and Dave and I jumped on board for the Paul Revere ride through their little village. Grit deposited us all at the base of the bonfire and homemade dill pickles and black currant wine was offered as they torched the soggy bonfire. As the fire grew people began dancing to music and more libations were passed including some Danish schnapps that had an after taste like caraway.
This wonderful community located 5km from Parnu is a lovely, safe place for families to live in. The extensive ball fields and playgrounds were acquired by a grant submitted by Grit and her friend and is maintained by the families in the community. Mushrooms, cow berries and blueberries grow wild under the cover of the tall pines, and families can swim, and take their boats on the meandering grass edged river. Grit took us for a tour of her lovely home where Markus was inside with his friends preferring to watch movies over standing by the bonfire. When we left Grit’s house the party had moved to a neighbor's house so we walked through the wooded streets to the new party site we smelling several bonfires in backyards and along the river. We found little Kirke inside their neighbor's house swinging from a long rope hanging from a beam in the spacious living room. I kept thinking she would lose her teeth with a mistimed swing into the piano! She assured us she was a brave flying dinosaur. Everyone was so hospitable and offered us dinner that started at midnight. We gratefully declined but sampled their potato salad, tomato and onions and some delicious homemade black currant juice. There was no way we were staying for the meat on the grill but John, with a twinkle in his eye, said "you must try John-made-cake." John’s cake had yummy layers of wafers and jam all covered with chocolate and topped with little cranberries. When we left at midnight the party was in full swing. On our way into town we saw fireworks in the distance and observed many other celebrations still in progress in the twilight of midnight. We drove through the old town of Parnu for one last glimpse of the illuminated walking paths and the Tallinn Gate, the only gate left of the ancient town wall of Parnu, before crossing the bridge and home to Heli’s.

June 24 leaving Parnu for Tallinn and our overnight ferry to Stockholm
This morning the wind rattled the windows and the sky was so overcast that I thought it was still the middle of the night. The weather was echoing my sadness at leaving my friend Heli, her wonderful family and friends and this beautiful spa town. We lingered over breakfast reviewing the many wonderful excursions that Heli had taken us on showing us much more than the regular tourist would see. We ended up feeling like Estonians at the end of our stay.
After breakfast the wind died down and the sun broke through the clouds for Parnu to shine in our memory. The bus to Tallinn left from Parnu at noon and I will always remember Heli standing and waving goodbye as our bus left the station.

Back to Tallinn:
Martin met us at the bus station in Tallinn and took us by taxi to his condo but I had misread the time for the ferry so we had to hire another taxi to the ferry right away to get checked in. Thankfully we had Martin to help us find the right terminal. After we checked our bags we set out to find a place for a late lunch. Most of the restaurants were closed for the Midsummer Festival that Martin explained was more often celebrated outside the city with much libations. We did find a cute rather touristy restaurant in a refurbished 1955 steamship called The Admiral that was docked in the harbor and within walking distance of our ship. We were the only ones eating at 4pm so we had the undivided attention of the small staff.
We started with a complementary shot of pepper vodka and an anchovy and olive amuse bouche. Martin ordered a bottle of wine for us and I unfortunately had two glasses (or more, I really can't remember.) The view of Tallinn's harbor and the ambiance of the boat was better than the meal. I had a mixed fish platter that promised caviar but did not deliver. Dave's lamb soup was fair but the Turkish coffee did not do much to sober me up. I honestly don't remember much else except stumbling off the steamship intent on getting to our ferry on time.

Martin said goodbye as we entered the very long gangway to the ship. We stopped and had our picture taken by the ship’s photographer and began our long walk. When I got halfway to the ship I suddenly panicked because I did not have my big camera. I anxiously went through all the possible places I could have left it including Martin's home, the bus, the taxi and the restaurant. I ran to the photographer from our ship who had a cell phone and immediately called Martin who ran back to see if I had left my camera in the restaurant. He called back after a few anxious minutes to tell me he was running back to the ship with my camera. I now had less than five minutes to run the equivalent of two football fields to retrieve the camera and run back to board the ferry before it sailed away. I made it but they literally pulled up the gangway as I checked in. No more vodka and wine for me!
The Tallink Ferry is quite large with 9 floors of staterooms, dining halls, a casino, and a couple of bars but the clientele left little to be desired. A large percentage of travelers were men who were heavy smokers and drinkers, arm wrestlers and general yahoos rudely sitting on the stairs oblivious to other passengers. Dave and I stayed on deck to get a last look of Old Tallinn before the cold wind chased us inside. At 6PM we sailed out of Tallinn in partly sunny skies into a thick fog bank as we headed towards Stockholm. I was going to take advantage of the sauna and Jacuzzi but it was crowded with drunken party animals so I went searching for a quiet place to relax instead. The stateroom was clean but basic with no toiletries or water bottles, which for the money I would have expected, but at least the sail was smooth, the rooms were quiet (after I figured out how to silence the piped in music) and the beds were comfortable. We were on our way to Sweden.

---

Photos

Dave and I are in front of the old Tallinn Gate in Parnu
Photo by Heli Tooman

Enn Rand, the owner of the Grand Cafe, serving me coffee. Look at those delicious cakes!
Photo by Heli Tooman

Woman crafting with felt in Parnu
Photo by Heli Tooman

I am holding a beautiful table "rug", a gift from Heli
Photo by Heli Tooman

I am standing at Heli
Photo by Heli Tooman

Toomas Hendrik Ilves, President of Estonia on right inspecting the troops
Photo by Heli Tooman

Young men and women soaked to the skin at the end of the Victory Parade
Photo by Heli Tooman

Dave and I thaw out with warm food and drinks at Supelsaksad Cafe in Parnu
Photo by Heli Tooman

Parnu door
Just one of so many beautiful doors in Parnu