Bittersweet

I'm not ready to leave yet! This has been the most memorable trip I could imagine. Our relatives in Estonia are some of the sweetest people I've met. Yesterday, we spent our last day back in Tallinn and visited the old town, the president's house, and the arena for Estonia's many song festivals. 

The President's House - You can walk right onto the grounds! 

The best part of the day was going to Aunt Aino's flat for dinner and a Skype party. Gathered in a Starbucks in  Seattle were my mom, brother, Aunt Tracy, Nanna, Papa, Aunt Lydia, Doug, and Uncle Bill. Aunt Aino made us a lovely dinner, which included two kinds of lihapirukad - one with meat filling and a sweet one with an apple filling. It's only fitting, right? After dinner, we had a long conversation with our family via Skype. Papa couldn't hear too much of it but Aino was so incredibly happy to see him and had a lot that she wanted to say! It was great to see my family online but it did really hit me that I won't be seeing them for months on end. I mostly held it together... It was fun to get to introduce everyone to each other! And Scott and I finally got to meet Sirle, who Nanna talked about so much from her trip to Estonia fifteen years ago. 

Aunt Aino, my Papa's younger sister

There was a fiasco the night before when we tried to Skype with them and couldn't get the video to work on their end. They could see and hear us but we couldn't see or hear them. One way conversations are hard - especially when there's so much you want to say! We had some other family with us that night that weren't with us last night, which was too bad because they were really looking forward to seeing Arno and his family. At least it worked last night! After the long awaited Skype party, we enjoyed the rest of the evening looking through old photos of the family, being spoon-fed her homemade apple sauce, talking about Obama and getting a lesson in our pagan roots. I loved that Aino would look directly at me to talk and then we'd both look to Jane or Signe to translate. She's very excited that I will be a teacher, as she taught for chemistry for nine years before becoming an award-winning chemist. She emphasized that there are jobs available in Estonia and even an international school if I wanted to move here and raise a family! I really wish more of our family from home could have been on this trip with us. Note to any Salu family reading this - write to Aunt Aino! Mom, she wants to know why you stopped? 

Skype fiasco night - Lembit,  Rain, Margo Scott, Jane, Tiina, Liivi, Sirje, Marju, me

Saying goodbye to family is hard, whether you've been around them your whole life or only a week. I definitely have a wonderful family here that I will be back to visit - hopefully in the spring with mom and Tracy! 

Singing festivals are a major cultural event in Estonia and are held here

So now I get to pack up my things and move to France! This afternoon, I fly from Tallinn to Riga to Brussels, where I'll be picked up by my roommates Cody and Sébastien. I can't wait but it's very, very bittersweet. 

Bisous, 

-kelse

Cooking in Estland

From what I've seen, Estonians are some of the most hospitable people I've met. We've seriously been taken from one end of the country to the other, seeking out historical sites and Estonian experiences - including food. This country is a meat-lover's paradise. For vegetarians, there is black bread, potatoes, cabbage and beets... okay maybe a little bit more but mostly everything is meat. I've learned not to ask questions... except for "How do you spell...?"

For dinner at Sirje and Lembit's place last night, we were treated to blood sausage with pumpkin, cabbage, potatoes, and also sült with horseradish. Our family chuckled at us as Scott and I bit into the blood sausage at the same time. They knew that most Americans don't eat it... Surprisingly, Scott and I both enjoyed it! Then came the sült, which is meat boiled in water for four hours, which then becomes like a jellied meat. It sounds awful, looks to me like cat food, and I don't even want to know what parts of meat are in it. My verdict? With horseradish, it's not so bad but it definitely isn't something I'd buy for myself. 

Blood sausage with pumpkin, cabbage, and potatoes

Sült - the only thing I asked was how to spell it and how they made it....

After dinner, we got to meet another of our relatives, Sirje's son Mait, via Skype. (Did you know that the software for Skype was actually created by Estonians?) Mait is living in The Hague, Netherlands and hopefully he and I will be able to meet up sometime while I'm in Europe! 

Then, Scott and I got a lesson in making our new favorite food - lihapirkad! I still want to get a recipe for it. Sirje wanted to know if I'd made them before because I was a pro at it and said I should start a business at home. If not for the public, I can at least make them for you! 

The filling - meat, egg, onions, spices... 

The dough - yeast, water, flour

Rolling out the dough

Dropping spoonfuls of meat

Folding the dough over the pockets of meat

Cutting apart the lihapirkad

Frying them up before enjoying them! 

It's quite easy and delicious! Me eating fried food? Only in Estonia. 

Bisous, 

-kelse

In true Estonian fashion

"I'm alive, I'm alive!" That's what I kept shouting after I survived a very traditional Estonian ritual - the suitsu saun (smoker sauna). I promised myself that I would through caution into the wind while in Europe and was able to do just that. It took a lot of courage for me to strip down to nothing and sit in a hot sauna full of women I'd just met  but I did it. On top of that, I was urged to quickly run and jump into the lake then run back into the sauna. Did I mention it was raining? And that all the men were standing around drinking, eating, and watching? So yeah, I survived and can now say that I'm a true Estonian! Big gold star for me!

I'm loving being in Estonia. My family here is truly amazing and has planned out so many details of our trip! At the airport, Scott and I were greeted by our cousin Jane, her mother Tiina, our Papa's sister Aino, and our other cousin Margo. They took us to Toompark, where we climbed the stairs to see a great view of the city and also to a spot along the water where we could look out at the city of Tallinn. It's beautiful here! So many old buildings with lots of local history! Scott and I were both starving, since eating had been delayed by stressful events in our respective trips into Tallinn. 

Margo, Aino, Me, Tiina, Jane, Scott

Me and Aino 

For dinner, we stopped at this viking restaurant, Viikingite Küla, for a true viking feast. It was delicious and the restaurant was really cool. Then we had a two-hour ride out to Tartu to Jane's apartment. Yesterday morning we woke up and explored around Tartu, which is a big university town in southern Estonia. We met up with Signe, our cousin, and explored the ruins of an old cathedral. We climbed to the top of the building and enjoyed another beautiful view. It's really an amazing country! 

Nimetu Viikingi Ohtusook

The Kissing Students Statue and the Mayor's office in Tartu

Dome Cathedral in Tartu

We spent the evening out in at Margo's parent's house in Kooreste for another feast, drinking, and the sauna! We ate lihapirukad (singular is lihapirukas), delicious meat-filled, fried dumplings and saslõkk, a type of barbecued pork with onions and a special marinade, and Kilu-Lehttaigna Pirukas, which is like a pastry filled with fish (not my favorite thing). Scott got a lot of practice in his Russian. Jane and Signe got a lot of practice in English, because I needed a lot of translation because not everyone spoke English! Everyone here was so friendly and genuinely excited to have Scott and I to visit. They're seriously pulling out all the stops for us! I learned a few words which came in handy many times throughout the course of the night! Aitah! and Terviseks! 

The suitsu saun - the scene of the crime!

We all had a great time together, sharing a lot of laughs, vodka, and Papa's favorite Grapefruit Long Drink. Terviseks! 

-kelsey 

Suitsu saun - smoker sauna

Aitah! - Thank you! 
Terviseks! - To your health! 


P.S. I think we need a list of the completely normal things I've tried that I normally won't eat: a banana, tomato, pickles, an unsliced apple... This can be added to the list of things I wouldn't try at home that I'm willing myself to try here. I'm very proud.