Helsinki 1997: An Estonian Holiday

From the archives: It turns out that I was blogging long before anyone had ever heard the term “blog.” Twenty years ago I worked in Helsinki, Finland for a summer with the Finnish National Agency for Education to fund my studies as an exchange student in Estonia. While living overseas I created an online travelogue to keep my family and friends apprised of my experiences. My life has changed a lot the two decades since. This reprise is providing me with a glimpse at who I was back then and the excuse to learn more about more recent developments in my temporary home, even if some of the opinions that I expressed back then may make me a little bit uncomfortable today. It is interesting to see how people grow and change.

June 23-July 4, 1997

These have been a very eventful two weeks. The kids that I work with went to their father’s place for summer visitation. Therefore there was really no reason for me to hang around here. So I decided that a short visit to Estonia would be in order. I got to get reacquainted with some friends whom I have not seen for a long time, spent a wonderful few days with my Tartu host family, and got to see a part of the country that I had not seen before. It was a wonderful respite in the midst of a adventuresome summer and it proved very hard to come back to Helsinki afterwards. After being on vacation, heading back to work is never easy.

The one hard part about the whole vacation was saying goodbye to Nina, a Finnish friend of mine who was returning to Warrensburg early for the International Summer Insitute this July. She and I met when I returned to Central last fall after my first stay in Estonia. Since I came to Helsinki she has helped me out a lot and really been there for me. No matter how many times it happens, it is never easy to see a friend leave. I will definitely miss her.

I headed down to Estonia on Wednesday, June 25th. I took the Eestin Linjat ferry Apollo. It was a nice trip, about four hours long and a lot of fun because it was the first time that I have traveled by sea before. The feeling that I felt when I saw Estonia again was absolutely incredible. So much of my life for the past year has been involved in getting myself back here. Seeing the church steeples in Tallinn was in many ways the fulfillment of my dreams. I still cannot believe this is actually happening.

A group of very good friends from Tartu came up to Tallinn to pick me up. They are half a pair of families who became very close to me after I volunteered as an English teacher in a Russian language grade school last year. It was wonderful seeing them again and catching up after a year of not seeing each other. I stayed at their places the first few week and did a little bit of sightseeing, traveling with them.

Friday, June 27, was my 21st birthday. I had a great picnic with my friends at a small park near the Emajõgi River south of Tartu. That weekend I went with them to Kalaste, a small village on the shore of Lake Peipsi. We visited family friends there, had a great sauna and ate freshly caught fish from the lake.

I left their place on Sunday, June 28, and spent the next week with college friends. I got to see several people all in just few days, most of whom I had not talked to for over a year. Tartu is a small enough place that just hanging around downtown one always manages to see someone one knows. When I am on my way to class fifteen minutes late it can get a bit frustrating, but on this occasion I really loved it. I got to meet a couple of new Estonian friends, one of whom will be a fellow Estonian language student this fall. It was a very short week. A strange sensation, being 5,000 miles from where I was born, yet perfectly at home.

On Tuesday, July 1st, I did some traveling and went over to see Pärnu, a city on the west coast of Estonia. It was a wonderful place. The scenic old town days from the sixteenth century and the beaches were absolutely perfect; clean white sand, warm water, and crystal blue skies. It was a good experience, especially because I had never been there before. It is actually a little bit embarrassing. I was in the country for seven months and never managed to take the three hour bus ride.

Unfortunately, Friday came and it was time to head back to Helsinki and get to work. Friday was also American Independence Day, so there was a big beach party for the American expatriate community going on Tallinn in Pirita harbor. Unfortunately I misjudged how long it would take for my train to get to Tallinn, so I ended up missing out on the celebration. All was not lost, however, because I ran across an American Coast Guard cutter sitting in Tallinn harbor. They were there as part of a NATO Partnership for Peace mission in the Baltics. I got invited aboard and shown around by one of the sailors so it was a nice Fourth anyway.

I took the night ferry, Tallink’s Meloodia, back to Helsinki. Since it was the night boat, it took it’s time and cruised all night long. I met an Australian guy who has been out backpacking around for almost two years now and was on his way home. We landed at 6:00 Saturday morning and it was time to get back to work. A great time in Estonia, but like all vacations, it was much too quick. I’m just happy that I get to head back in a month and a half. Then the adventure can continue.