Heirloom Apron

Years ago my Grandma gave me an apron crocheted by my Great Grandma Dora. It has been sitting in a trunk, but I have thought of it so often, and wanted to find some way to show it off. It is too beautiful to be left in a trunk. I have even tried to figure out if there was any way I could wear it without it looking like a costume. I still haven't given up on that, but haven't been brave enough to do it either! Last week I did find a way to 'show-it-off'!
I am working on moving into my own little basement suite, busily setting up house. This summer has been especially nice since I haven't been pressured to find a job right away. (Note: The job thing must become a higher priority from here on in.) I have had time to clean and decorate, help out with summer camps and spend time with friends and family.

I needed to fill the space by the kitchen door, and remembered my Great Grandmother's apron. I am guessing that it was made around 1920. I painted a canvas red with acrylic, and then stitched the apron on. I love the block of color combined with the obviously heirloom piece. Roots and family heritage are things that are easily disregarded, but I love being able to remake them so that they are still valuable and applicable in my life. After all, they are a large part of explaining who I am now, whether I accept that or not.

Once I went swiftly nowhere

This summer has been a "very happy one, - a time of glad living with summer suns and skies, a time of keen delight in wholesome things; a time of renewing and deepening of old friendships; a time in which [I have] learned to live more nobly, to work more patiently, to play more heartily."

L.M. Montgomery from Anne of the Island


A sauna on the edge of the Sea, somewhere between Finland and Sweden.



I have been freed. I don't know from what exactly, but the thrill of new life, of an unknown future, of a "peace the surpasses all understanding" has taken hold of me, and I have no intention of letting it go. The Spirit has pursued me, both gently and unrelentlessly, like the Ocean Wind.

I drove to the library today to find poetry! Specifically poetry of the Sea. I found a wonderful collection by Gilean Douglas who lived just off my own shores. Her poetry frees the Sea, the Islands, and most of all those who love the Sea and Islands. This poem shares the current frequency of my soul. As I read it I thought the vibrations could shatter glass. It is good that I was outside.

Reborn

The beat in my blood is changed,
my rhythm is the rhythm of this tree,
my pulse is counted by the drip of rain,
my breathing reckoned by the gust of wind.

Once I went swiftly nowhere,
now I go quietly as a cloud goes;
as a high cloud above low darkness,
as a slow star in its appointed course.

Remember...

We have been home for over two weeks! Isn't it funny how after a trip it almost feels like it never happened? And while I am away I feel like my other life - my real life - is just a blur on the horizon. That is the wonder of traveling. However, I do always need to remind myself of the wonderful things that I did and saw.


One thing that does keep coming back to me is how comfortable the seating was in Scandinavia! Ever public bench was easy to sit on. We found this bench in Uppsala, Sweden on the last day of our trip, and it was the best of all. It over looked the river and when we sat on it the world faded far away. Luxury in a park bench.


Some other things I was reminded of while looking through pictures :

The Kaali Meteor crater on Saaremaa.

The tombstones displayed in Katarina Passage, Tallinn.

I have been keeping busy the last couple weeks with camping, volunteering at a summer camp, and visiting a friend's cottage. The pressures of living are coming closer, and I think it is time to find a job. The closest I can get to Scandinavia at the moment is through pictures and listening to Abba.

Last Day

Today is the last day of this trip. Excluding flying. Flying doesn't count.
We are in Uppsala, about an hour north of Stockholm. This is the old center of Sweden where the Vikings had settlements that were built on top of older settlements. We walked up to Gamla Uppsala, or Old Uppsala today and saw the old burial mounds built by pre-viking civilization. It was pretty interesting! There is also an old church there that was built on the site of the main pagan temple for a large area.
This trip has been so wonderful. We are very very thankful for how well everything has gone, how safe we have been, and we have managed to navigate unknown cities and languages. It has been fun!
Home is sounding very nice though. I look forward to my own bed.

Somethings that I have noticed...

I woke up early this morning and need to do something with the time! Thankfully internet is free at this hostel, and it is early enough that there isn't a lot of demand for the computers. I thought that I would write a few of the favorite things I have noticed through our travels. (For lack of anything better to do.)

In Estonia all the cafe's that have outdoor seating, also have blankets you can put on your lap. This is a revolutionary idea, and much appreciated.

Coffee isn't served in insanely large cups. They give moderate sized servings. Also, I haven't once been given or asked if I would like something 'to go'. It is assumed that you will sit down and enjoy whatever has been bought. And it avoids the waste.

Grocery stores in Estonia and Finland have scales that give you a price tag for things bought in bulk...no more writing down silly number or forcing the cashier to remember vegetable codes. Sweden it seems has not adopted this system.

Sweden does have change machines, so that the cashier never handles any coins. This has taken some figuring out. When you by something you give a bill to the cashier and put the coin in the machine, with then spits out the rest of the change. Sweden has coins that are worth quite a lot, so my wallet weighs about 10 pounds! And I thought that Canada was bad that way.

In the smaller towns life still shuts down on Sunday. Shopping centers are not open, and many restaurants are closed as well. While this can be inconvenient for the tourist, I like the idea.

Sauna is the most wonderful invention...especially when it is on a lake. You have to experience an authentic Finnish sauna for yourself.

I think that this may be all I can think of for the moment. More may come to me later. To sum up: I think that I like it here!

Stockholm

~Everything lingers here~ That was Sheryl's comment this afternoon and I couldn't agree more. At least in the summer Stockholm presents itself as a leisurely, relaxed city. People take time to sit by the fountains and walk by the water. The sun takes hours to set and darkness comes slowly. The heat stays long enough so that I don't even need a sweater in the evening.

I am glad that we are in Stockholm last. If this had been our first destination, I think that I would have been overwhelmed by the size and beauty of the city. It is really spectacular. Water is never far away since the city is built on a series of islands, and every building is beautiful. Even structures like the public toilets and the stairs to underground parking garages have an aesthetic element. Clean, simple, but well planned so that they are not an eyesore.

Yesterday we went to the Nobel Museum. Even though it is rather small, I was awed at the wealth of knowledge and inspirational people it represents. These are the minds that have made the last century what it is.

Today we went to the Museum of National Antiquities. It had a very well exhibit on the Vikings and pre~history. We also went through the Medieval Art section, that was mostly sculpture from churches. It was very beautiful and really gave an idea of the world view of the Middle Ages. It made me think about a lot of things that I feel I must learn more about when I get home. Things like: what makes a Saint in the Canonized sense? And what is the original role? Why did the church begin this tradition? Thankfully I wish Sheryl who can fill me in on some of the history, but there is so much to learn!

This will be short...I only have 4 min left on the computer! We are in Turku, on the west coast of Finland. This morning we had out first experience of train travel! Kinda fun....but really, not all that remarkable.
We spent a couple days up at Laura's Summer Cottage...her mökki in Finnish. It was WONDERFUL! The evenings were spent running between the Sauna and the lake...and we were completely spoiled with all kinds of traditional Finnish foods. This was the authentic finnish experience. Complete with hoards of mosquitoes. I think that we should have sauna's like that at home!

Helsinki

Here we are overlooking Helsinki. In the background is The White Cathedral (Lutheran). It is GORGEOUS!

This is part of the island fortress of Suomilinna. The whole island has been fortified. Fortifications date back to the 1700's.

Dugouts inside the walls of Suomilinna.

Looking down on the square outside the White Cathedral. Right in front of the fountain is a street busker singing opera.

I am told that we are in The Land of the Silent Finn. After experiencing the extremely reserved nature of the Estonians, I think that the Finns are positively EXUBERANT! I do realize that much of this may have to do with the fact that here we have an 'in' that we didn't have in Estonia: A long time friend from Ecuador has taken us under her wing and showed us the true, local side of Helsinki. We feel so blessed to be able to experience this with her!

We have done the touristy things too: Seen the big churches, gone through the Museums, eaten Reindeer at a Lapp place. Today we went through a flee market, found some Finnish music, and went to dinner with some of our host's friends at a Nepalese place.


Tomorrow we are going to enjoy a true Finnish experience: We are going us to Laura's summer cottage. It is on a lake, we get water from a well, and there is a sauna. I can't wait! We will spend two nights at the cottage and then head on to our next destination.

Onward and Upward

Today was our last full day in Estonia. Tomorrow morning we catch an early bus to Tallinn and a 1:30 ferry to Helsinki.
We have loved Estonia, and will be sad to leave. But we are quite excited for Finland!

An Adventure!

Yesterday Sheryl and I had a bit of an adventure! We have been in Kuressaare for a few days...it is on an island that reminds us both of home! We decided to rent bikes and go see the meteor crater, 24 km away. Since neither of us have been on a bike for a long time, we were surprised at how well we did! The roads are very flat and we enjoyed seeing the countryside...there were lots of poppies adding sparks of red to the green fields. I wish that this computer would let me do pictures, but it doesn't.
The crater is a perfectly round hole, with a perfectly round emerald lake in the middle. It is very cool. It is easy to see how places like this were thought to have spiritual powers. We ate a picnic lunch by the crater, and walked around town.
On the way home we realized that our bums were very bruised, and then it started to rain. And it rained pretty hard. We were as wet as drowned rats. Then, to make things a little unusual, a police car drove by and they yelled something out the window at us. No idea what....it was all in Estonian. Our legs were very tired and we were biking very slowly...when more police drive by and then a bunch of hardcore cyclists on some sort of tour. Did we ever feel silly! Some of them said stuff to us as they zoomed past...I would like to think that they were saying 'Keep up the good work' and not 'Get off the road you SUCK!' but I really don't know.We finally make it back to the hostel and showered and went out for soup.
Then, this morning we left the hostel to take our bikes back, and the road was blocked off....for the same bike tour...that zoomed past us AGAIN! And when we returned to our hostel, it was full up with .... (take a wild guess) the bike tour! Then we remembered that there was a bike tour starting in Tartu when we were there...I think that they are following us.
We also went to see the Castle! That was very interesting...there was one tower that had lions roaring at the bottom...apparently the Bishop who used to own the castle would through his prisoners to real lions...Who knows.

I am finally at a computer that will allow me to show you some pictures! Here is a sampling of where we have been:

This is Rusalka. She is a character from Germanic literature. At the turn of the century there was a ship named after her. The ship sank and everyone on board died. Now a statue of her overlooks the harbour of Tallinn to protect future voyages.
This is in Katherines Passage. Here is where some of the best artisans in Tallinn work. In it are workers in glass, silver, fabric arts etc etc.


These are three of the towers by the old town of Tallinn.

Tartu

The journey continues and we are in Tartu! Tartu is where the Estonian University is located, and quite a bit further inland. So far I really like this city. And the Hostel! We have a great set up...a little living room, a room with two beds, private bath and kitchenette. The last place was, well, a little dirty and smelly. We were glad to leave it.
It is well past noon as I am writing this, but we have barely explored the city. Last night we ran to the Estonian National Museum before it closed after we discovered that it is not open on Monday and Tuesday, the two days we are here. It was nice to get some cultural context. It is a little bit different not knowing enough of the language to really explore the culture. While many Estonians speak English, they are not comfortable for a conversation past the basics. They are also a very reserved people and prefer to let you mind your own business.
For the rest of the day we are planning on doing a self guided walking tour. We are both thrilled with the amount of public art, especially sculpture, that is found everywhere.
I also changed the settings for comments on the blog, so hopefully that is fixed! Thank you for letting me know what the settings were.

A couple more days under our belt and we can't believe how much fun this all is! I am getting braver about trying out a few words in Estonian, which usually ends up in a conversation in English, probably because my pronouciation is so awful. But I figure that I can either be an ignorant tourist that expects everyone to speak English, or a silly tourist that tries. Really it is ten to one.
Yesterday we decided it would be fun to walk all the way around the Old Town wall. The wall surrounds the original city built in the 1300s. If we had walked fast we could probably have done it in 40 min, but we went slowly and looked through shops...it was very fun! So many hidden stone walkways and shops full of artisans blowing glass or quilting or making silver jewelry.
Today we braved the transit system and went out to the Kumu Art Museum. The building itself is pretty spectacular, built just a couple years ago. The art was interesting...I don't think that I am smart enough to understand most art. They had a big display of photography depicting daily life in turn of the centry Estonia and Lithuania. That was really interesting. It gave a bit more of the traditional culture and dress.
Then we walked along the ocean and saw a big war memorial that the Soviets put up for the soldiers that died in World War II. It was interesting to see a memorial from the other side's perspective.
Tonight we are going to go to dinner at a Medieval resteraunt! Apparently they perfom a sword fight everynight at 8, followed by Oriental Dancers. We thought it sounded like fun...and who can pass up a sword fight?

To Tallinn

We have just started our first real day of the trip! After a VERY long trip, Sheryl and I were relieved to get off the plan in Tallinn. Getting into the country was very simple, so simple that we thought for sure we had done something wrong! When we got off the plane we went to get our luggage and walked out. There was no customs, no immigration...they didn't look at our passports and sadly, we have no stamp in our passports. We asked the lady at the currency exchange if there was customs or anything, and she smiled, looked amused, and said No.
We navigated the bus system and found our way to the hostel pretty easily. I was a little worried that it would be a long walk, but the scale on the map is HUGE! This really is a small city and it is very easy to walk everywhere...on incredibly old cobblestone.
The weather is perfect, around 20 degrees and nice and moist, but not too humid. The wind is warm too, which makes all the difference. I was going to try and post some pictures, but I don't think that I can at this cafe. Maybe next time.
We went to the tourist information centre and found a bunch of stuff to look through. I think that we are going to spend the rest of the day exploring and make a plan for the rest of the week.

And We're Off!

It is Sunday afternoon and I am restlessly waiting to drive to ferry. From there we will stay in a hotel overnight, and catch a 9:10 flight to Tallinn, via Toronto and Frankfurt. I can't wait! I am also unable to focus on anything for very long. And unable to go five minutes without a flock of butterflies passing through my stomach and emerging in a huge smile.
GIDDY.