Getting to Elva

We had to catch the bus very, very early this morning (5 AM). It took us on one more drive across Saaremaa and onto Muhu, and then onto the ferry back to the mainland. Luckily, they served hot food on the ferry, so we were able to get an omelet and salad to fortify us for the coming day. And then, we both slept on the way to Pärnu.

Pärnu is such a fun place. We arrive at 9 AM, locked our bag up in the pakihoid and set out to explore. We walked out to the Lydia Koidula statue and walked through Old Town. A lot of the buildings there are in really good condition and the whole town has a lot of charm. Then we walked over to the Old Tallin gate and out to the beach. It was so nice to take off my shoes and walk in the sand and water. I had hoped that we could go swimming, but it was so cold and windy it would not have been very fun. There were lots of wind surfers there, though, so it made for an enjoyable time. After the beach, we found a taxi driver who know where the LDS church was there, so we went took pictures in front, then headed back to Old Town for some last souvineers and pictures. We had lunch outside on one of those wooden platforms: the best chicken with cheese and wild mushrooms, a red stuffed bell pepper, french fries, cabbage salad, and vanilla with chocolate chunks ice cream for dessert. Then, it was back to the bus to Tartu.

Our bus stopped in Viljandi on the way. It was a really cool town with lots of pretty buildings and churches. We saw the music school, and it looked like it would be a lot of fun to explore. One day we will get to the folk festival there and take in the place. '

When we arrived in Tartu, we hopped on the next bus to Elva. When we got to Ilme's, we found out the Sirje Ernitz had waited at the Tartu bus station for 2 hours for us. There had been a big miscommunication and she thought we were coming earlier. We probably just missed her, but we felt absolutely terrible!

But, it was wonderful to see Ilme. She had a delicious dinner prepared for us of broccoli and cabbage soup (a Parisian recipe she got from her daughter), herring and salami sandwiches, banana peach yogurt, and ice cream and fresh strawberries. Everything tasted so good! After we ate, we showed her our pictures, and then we went out to see the sights of Elva. They have a really cool wooden Laululava there and 3 lakes. We followed this forest trail out by the train tracks to see some of the wooden sculptures that go to one of the lakes. It was good to be out in nature, but the mosquites were so plentiful we didn't go the entire way. At one point, I counted at least 10 on Tony's head alone. We were delicious, kiirtoit to them, so we finally went home. Ilme showed us some of her pictures of her daughter, son, and grandkids and we continued our visit. We reluctantly headed for the last bus promising to meet up again in at least 5 years.

Our bus took us back to Tartu. I hardly recognize this city, not that I ever spent a lot of time here, but there are so many new buildings (including a new, huge Kaubamaja downtown), that it is hard to even spot the things I do recognize. There are all of these billboards around Estonia: Kasv ei peatu kunagi (growth doesn't stop for anything). Tartu seems to be a perfect example of that.