estwärts

We usually try to take it easy on the weekends. However, this weekend we had a few trips and activities planned, which we would like to briefly report on. And we can’t quite leave the work on the construction sites behind us, so at least on Saturday morning we are still working on the toilet house and window restoration. Every sunny minute must be used here! We’ll spare you the details at this point and move straight on to the less labor-intensive part of the weekend.

On Saturday afternoon, the seven of us set off for Rakvere, the nearest large town to Rihula, to soak up a little civilization. First, we raid the second-hand store, which delights us with all kinds of kitchen equipment and second-hand clothing. Then we climb up to Rakvere Castle, walk around it, and linger for a while at the singer’s field right next to it. This has apparently been recently redesigned and spruced up, and we make a mental note to attend an event there sometime.

We descend from the hill (the Estonians would say mountain) with its castle and singers’ field, take another look at the church at the foot of the hill, and finally stop at a mixture of pastry shop and fast food restaurant, which serves us cake for the first course and French fries for the second. As the weather has become colder and wetter overall, it is a welcome change to sit in a heated room for a while. Back in Rihula, we heat up the yurt as quickly as possible and spend the evening singing and playing guitar around the campfire.

There are two different activities planned for Sunday: A group of five led by Tobias takes the car and travels northwest to the Baltic Sea coast, while the other group of five is invited to a barbecue at our neighbors’ house in the early afternoon.

The Baltic Sea travelers are drawn to the Käsmu peninsula, where, fortunately in sunshine, they take a long walk along the coast and, of course, take a dip in the Baltic Sea. The blueberry patches in the nearby forest are so abundant that it’s impossible to walk past them, so the group fills their water bottles with berries, which will end up in our breakfast the next day.

Meanwhile, those who have stayed behind in Rihula are getting ready for the afternoon barbecue. As we did for the party, we prepare a batch of potato salad (vinegar and oil version) and some grilled vegetables. We load everything onto one of our new farm bikes and take a leisurely ride to the neighboring farm.

Once there, we decide together with our neighbors to hike to another nearby farm that is vacant. It can only be reached via a forest path and is located at the end of it in a clearing in the woods. From the terrace of the partially dilapidated sauna, you can see directly onto an island in the river, and everything feels even more remote than Rihula. Before the deer lice get too annoying, we turn back and make ourselves comfortable inside with our neighbors, while outside the barbecue is already getting started. Unlike Rihula, their house can already be heated and is equipped with a kitchen, living room, and electricity. Luxurious! A few of us have been guests here before, but even for the rest of us, the neighborly hospitality makes it easy to feel at home. All the more so as it is now pouring with rain outside and it doesn’t look like it will change today. But that’s fine, because we had actually planned an Estonian-German language exchange for this weekend, but in the end no Estonian participants could be found. Our neighbor quickly takes the initiative, and suddenly we are all sitting in a circle in the living room, practicing the basics of getting to know each other in German and Estonian. The fact that we had actually planned to have a barbecue becomes almost irrelevant. Team Baltic Sea has also returned from their trip and some of them are joining us. We can only say: Thank you very much to our dear neighbors for your hospitality and the wonderful afternoon and evening we spent with you! (We know you’re reading this!)