Jaani Päev

Monday and Tuesday were public holidays here in Estonia. The 23rd is Victory day which commemorates a rare Estonian military victory, over the Germans in WWI. The 24th is Mid Summers day, or Jaanipäev (St. Johns Day) I wont regurgitate information from Wikipedia, in the unlikely cast that anyone wants to read more you can do it straight from Wikipedia! I just thought I'd make a few random observations that popped into my head this year.

• The weather is always crap on Jaanipäev. This year it bucketed down, which pretty much ruins the whole concept of sitting out drinking and BBQing all night. It's a bit like Geelong Show day, for those from the city of dreams. The sun came back out today as everyone went back to work.
  
• I haven't met a single Estonian who actually know what victory Victory Day commemorates. A bit like asking Aussies who the first Australian PM was!
• Driving around town over the long weekend felt like being in one of those post apocalyptic films like 28 days later. Everyone escapes Tallinn for the country side, and as a result roads are empty, parking spots abound, and tourists amble through the cobble stoned streets wondering where the hell the people are.
• It was good that the days fell on Monday/Tuesday. In estonia if a public holiday falls on a weekend, there is no day off in leiu. I aim to change that when I am Estonian President. I have a lot of new rules to make when I am Estonian President, perhaps I'll outline my plans in my next post.