Jaanipäev

This weekend is one of the most festive in Estonia, as the whole country celebrates the Summer Solstice. Saturday was Võidupüha, or Victory Day, which commemorates victory over the Germans after WWI, and today is Jaanipäev, or St John's Day. However the most important aspect of the whole weekend is St Johns Evening (Jaaniõhtu). I experienced my first Jaani Evening at Rocca Al Mare open air museum, with Sirli and her parents. The museum has a collection of original farm houses for Estonia's history, and yesterday evening it had 4 Jaanipäev celebrations; from Czarist times, First Republic Times (1930's), Soviet Time and Today. The idea was to show how Jäänipäev was celebrated in each period.

People all over Estonia have parties, and light bonfires which they then jump over to bring them good luck. It's a tradition which as roots all the way back to Estonia's pagan past.

Melbourne Shooting in the Estonian News

The shooting which happened in Melbourne today has made news here in Estonia. I saw it first in Estonian (not understanding much) and when I checked The Age it was obviously a big story given the amount of coverage.

Estonian T-Shirt

I just saw this on Amazon. Interesting!

House Update

Sirli and I moved most of our stuff to the new apartment today. I know many readers of this blog (both of you) will be surprised that we still haven't moved, but we have basically been waiting for the kitchen, which will FINALLY be installed on Wednesday. With a bit of luck we will probably spend our first night there tomorrow or Monday night. A big thanks must go to Susie and Sven for helping us move, especially to Sven for giving us the benefit of his handyman skills and constructing our new wardrobe. I shall update our protracted moving situation as we go!

Tanel Padar at Pirita Klooster

I have just returned from watching Estonia's most popular band Tanel Padar and The Sun in concert at Pitita Convent, a great setting. However the weather didn't really cooperate, and it rained for the second half. A little you tube video of one of their songs remixed is below for your enjoyment!

Lahemaa Pics

I just put all the pictures from the trip I did to Lahemaa on Flickr. I didn't select any out, so it's a bit of a mission looking through them, but If you're bored take a look.

Lahemaa Trip

I did a trip to day for my business today, to Lahemaa, a national park on the north coast of Estonia. This is the type of stuff I'm taking people to see outside of Tallinn.















Saha Chapel, 15th Century.















Cist graves from the bronze age. People were buried above ground because the limestone bedrock is so close to the surface, making it hard to dig.



















Jõelähtme Church, history from the 14th century.

Maardu Manor House















Coastal scenery in Lahemaa National Park.

Estonian Idol

I have had no interest in this series, but this girl just won Eesti Otsib Superstaari (Estonia Searches for a Superstar). Estonians are generally extremely good singers, but the finalists for this contest were mostly hopeless. As with most shows of this type, 13 year old girls vote off anyone with talent for someone they like for reasons which are unknown to anyone else. Having said that, the winner was actually one of the better ones, and she is quite pretty. Some of the final 10 (not featured here for your safety) were so bad I cried laughing!

Estonia Vs England

Wednesday night I was lucky enough to be able to see England play Estonia in Tallinn. Tickets were hard to come by, by I was offered one at the last minute and happily accepted. Unfortunately, and unsurprisingly, Estonia went down 3-0. However the chance to see some off the English players up close was well worth it, especially Beckham who displayed some real class and set up two of England's goals. So far I have seen Estonia play three times and never seen them score!

Estonia - England | All 3 Goals
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Estonian V's Croatia

I'm heading off to watch Estonia play Croatia in a Euro 2008 qualifier tonight. Estonia will probably get smashed. Given the poor state of Estonian Football. Local matches have an average attendance of just 166!! I'll update tomorrow.

*UPDATE*
Estonia went down 1-0 last night, though they actually played well in some patches. They peppered the goals late in the game but were unable to find and equaliser. Match Report.