Another Brick In The Wall*

E S T O N I A  - it’s a beautiful country I could live in forever. I’ve spent there five amazing months but I didn’t manage to discover all of its beauty. I could write a book about things that amazed me, but today I’ll show you what draw my attention.

Yeah, you could guess from the title.  But the thing is I’m used to see red bricks in my area. When I noticed white bricks in Baltics I found them extraordinary. Take a look:

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I love the way medieval architecture goes along with modernity.

By the way… There is a nice pub upstairs where you can have Saku Tume. Cheers!

Let’s stay in this Estonian mood for awhile. I am not good at translating from Estonian to English. Fortunately boys sing in English. Let me introduce you: Ewert and the Two Dragons!

 

*Obvious.

The Year of the Dragon

 

 

Ha!

I’ve just found another couple of pigeons!

I almost overlooked them because of the snow.  Almost!

60 from the Big Fat Pigeons post + 2= 62

Christmas trees

Tallinn – capital (EE)
Population: over 416 00

 

Wrocław (PL)
Population: over 632 000

 

Bielsko-Biała (PL)
Population: over 175 000

 

Warszawa Zachodnia station (PL)
Population: over 1 716 000

 

Just my observation.

 

remember, remember…

Within a few days I will go home. I haven’t been missing it much, but since I’ve made that decision I am already packed. I can’t focus anymore; all I think about is that journey home. To make my big arrival more dramatic and exciting I didn’t tell my parents I am coming. Moreover, I lied! Only my sister knows about my evil plan.

I know my family misses me so much. That is really sweet and melts my heart. Despite the fact I am tough, I am sure I’ll burst into tears when I see my mom. She’s always so worried about me. You know how it works: you can never stop being a child for your mom. I’d love to make a surprise but I have second thoughts. I mean, I don’t want my mom to have a heart attack… Well, she’s my mom, she’ll survive.

The last days of this year made me sentimental, but not mawkish. However I would like to sum up past quarter of my stay in Tallinn.I wish I could keep all my memories unchanged. They are one of only few priceless things in my life. I will remember people and places more readily if they relate to fragrances or sounds.

Now, I am not sure if I like below songs because it’s really good piece of music or because I use to listen to them here.

♥ Lana Del Rey (all songs…)
♥ Seed – Wonderful Life
♥ Ewert and the Two Dragons – Good Man Down
♥ Kavinsky - Nightcall (Drive Original Movie Soundtrack)
♥ Клип “ДиО.фильмы – Девочка Оля”
♥ Foster the People – Pumped Up Kicks, Call it what you want
♥ Adele (a few the most popular songs)
♥ Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky – The Nutcracker, Swan Lake
♥ Gotye – Somebody I used to know
♥ The Submarines – 1940
♥ Natasha Bedingfield – Soulmate, Pocketful of sunshine
♥ Selah Sue – This world
♥ Mt Eden Dubstep – Sierra Leone, Silence
♥ The Imperial March – Darth Vader’s Theme
♥ The Decemberists - Mariner’s Revenge Song

Let me introduce Lana Del Ray. I’ve heard about her for the first time when I came here and since that time I listen to her songs too often.

As you could notice I also enjoy “wasting” time watching sitcoms and other TV shows.

♦ Family Guy (obviously)
♦ How I met your mother
♦ Desperate Housewives
♦ Big Bang Theory

Besides visual catalysts of memories also other factors will bring Tallinn to my mind.

♣ Ciders – drinking acquired a new meaning for me!
♣ Dumplings – similar to pierogi, but smaller and…tastier. I hope my grandma will never read it…
♣ Special flavoring for dumplings – well, it’s a kind of universal spice, great for french fries too.
♣ Black bread which taste like a plum – truly strange…
♣ Pomegranates – cheap and delicious.

Colors of Tallinn’s flag are: blue, black and white. They are strongly connected to the weather in winter, believe me.  But for me Tallinn’s colors refer to Polish flag: red and white. Red roofs of Old Town buildings and white bricks (later about them).

And of course famous Estonian patterns.

But getting back to more prosaic topic… For the first 3 weeks I’ve been cleaning mainly. I’m not complaining – I liked it. It was like therapy, calmed me down. Don’t get me wrong, but I feel fantastic when I can smell Mr. Muscle (Lemon Fresh) or Ajax Baking Soda (Orange-Lemon Fragrance). Oh, good memories!

I’m curious how next months here will extend my experiences…

Big Fat Pigeons

Lucky me! Seriously!

Why?

A few days ago I couldn’t fall asleep. Usually I go to bed rather late, I’m a night owl. It was impossible to get some rest that night. I had a crisis at 7 am, no sleep though. I had no other choice than just be awake until the next evening. With that amount of time what can you do? I went to the city center to find all fat pigeons. And I think I managed to find most if not all of them.

For a while I’ve been thinking it was a dream or a mirage. But my camera says it’s true.  To prove it to you I’ll show you the photos.

Let’s count the fat pigeons. Jeez, I need to demonstrate the mathematical skills, which are limited (to say the least).

So… Shall we start?

For now we have 8 from 2 photos from previous post.

Next four birds as a traffic barriers. (8+4=12)

Lonely guard (12+1=13  - that was easy!)

Those saved my time. 1o sculptures in one place! (13+10= 23) I found them when I came back from the post office with Christmas cards.

I almost missed that triangle! (23+3= 26 seems like a half already caught)

Aww, a pink one! Cutie! While I am amazed of their diversity in my sister’s head there are totally different thoughts… Fortunately for me I can read her mind: “Hamburgers and pigeons… Pigeons and hamburgers… Coincidence? I don’t think so… ”  (26+3=29)

Another lonely guard. Good pigeon, good boy. Nobody will steal my car now. (29+1=30)

Gang of 6 cuties (30+6=36)

“Don’t panic bro, just blend in the crowd and we all gonna be fine” (36+2=38)

(38+4=42)

Clever beasts! (42+2=44)

Who will blink first? Blinks fight! (44+2=46)

Yeah, it’s about that lonely brave knight but when you’ll see IT, you gonna smile… (46+1=47)

Gutter cleaners. (47+2=49)

It becomes very popular here in Tallinn: your own parking pigeon. New trend, real talk. (49+1=50 magic number!)

Sweet couple (50+2=52)

Sweeter couple (52+2=54)  Oh, and worth to notice: next to them you can find a bench dedicated to Chopin!

(54+4=58) They are located next to the Freedom Square

The last couple I could find. (58+2=60  and dammit, “over 50″ it’s not 60 or more! I have wrong information.. but still had fun looking for them)

But hey, why was I so lucky? Oh, the day was perfect for a walk: excellent visibility, sun shining like it was spring, not winter, cup of hot coffee in my hands and the pigeons everywhere!

And a small bonus in the end of the day: a snow! Ah, it made me really happy! First snow this year! Now I’m in the Christmas mood. The landscape has changed dramatically. It seems like my walk was the last glimpse of autumn. I made it just in time.

One more thing…  The artist himself with his art:

I find this task as unfinished… Wait for me, pigeons!

Bird is the word!

If you find yourself these days in the Old Town of Tallinn around 4 in the morning I suggest you to sit on a bench for a while. Why, you ask. I assume you probably are not an ornithologist, but you may have a piece of romantic soul to appreciate that moment. First you hear the engine of the passing car (Oh, come on! Try a little harder). Than you catch some noises of the most persistent Englishmen that are trying to find their hostels after great party. And boom! Suddenly you are able to hear ultrasounds! You realize you can hear the birds singing. Isn’t it magical? To make this moment even sweeter you can look at the sky and admire the stars (I never did that, I avoid sugar).
If you’re not a night owl, but an early bird (a bird idioms! Coincidence? I don’t think so…), then you may prefer Kadriorg Park. The birds start their performance pretty early, around 5-6 p.m.

By the way…
Did you know that the swallow is the national bird of Estonia? Well, now you know.

Strange, since September I haven’t seen a single swallow. No wonder I’ve seen a lot of seagulls and crows instead – it’s a seaside town.

That one is creepy! Discovery of a leg is quite enough for one day, even if it’s doll’s leg. Yeah, it seems like that crow say: “Wat are ya lookin’ at, eh?” So, I’ll just go back home… Yup, great idea!
Not only lack of swallows concerns me, but also relatively small number of pigeons. I mean, I don’t complain, but still I find it rather strange to not see any pigeon in a town square. No worries, I managed to find one in a Russian market. I imagined it differently, though.

Can you see him? He’s pissed, don’t mess with him. Mr. Poopet doesn’t like you. And don’t even try to scare him. He was trained by Royal Air Force soldiers. He’s very…ekhm precise. Just give him your muffin, don’t argue, just do it.

Apparently, I’m not the only pigeon’s “fan”. Aivar Simson, Estonian artist likes them so much, that he made about 50 concrete pigeon’s sculptures and located them in the city center. The idea was put into effect in 2005. Each one weight about 300-400 kg and is about 50 cm high. Where exactly they are located? Well, that’s my task to find each and every pigeon! I’ve seen maybe about 20 so far. 30 more – can be done.

Aren’t they cute?
To be honest, my first thought was “What the… What’s that?! I almost walked into this…” And then I recognized the shape and I was sure it was a swallow. Big fat swallow. But now I have confirmed information that those are pigeons. Big fat pigeons.

Still cute!

THISCLOSE

In spite of the annual autumn depression I found several reasons to be thankful for.

I live in a magical place that I can discover every day anew and still be amazed. I share my four walls with people who bring smile on my face. Every single day I get enough sleep (or more!) because my duties call me in the afternoon. Sweet, isn’t it?

The weather these days is surprisingly pleasant. I was told that last year in November it was wintertime here, but this year, fortunately we are still blessed by autumn.

I like to sit down with a cup of coffee next to my notebook and see what’s new in the humble circle of my noble facebook friends (elite club, indeed). This is exactly what I did that memorable day:

I made excellent coffee in a new and already hated cup. I had big plans for it. An extraordinary inscription, or let’s go crazy – a drawing, made with acrylic paint. The very idea of change it into a masterpiece gave me energy and filled my head with concepts. This mug was made for higher purposes, but apparently it wasn’t supposed to complete its destiny. All the coffee landed on the keyboard. Obviously it didn’t happen because of my clumsiness, but instability of the cup. I thought it was the end. Not the end of the world, but… THISCLOSE! After spa treatment (see: drying with hair dryer) the notebook still works. In such a moments a men cry. With happiness!

During writing process I realize that my “thanks list” is longer than I assumed.

If I can’t have any pet in my place I decided to buy a plant. I’m so glad it’s alive. What more – it’s growing! From the very beginning I knew we gonna like each other. I just looked at that charming collection of leaves and I know I was staring at Sir Harold.  I like to think that my attention and care made him strong and healthy. I don’t care, when the other says it’s very, VERY undemanding ficus…

Sir Harold

Party Hard!

Tallinn is home to approximately 40% of Russians. If Estonian is too difficult to learn for you, try Russian. It’s very helpful to know it especially outside the center.

Evening in the cinema with friends is not a problem since English-language films have Estonian and Russian subtitles. Restaurants and pubs offer menu translated into English.

I’ve noticed here huge plaques, due to the fact that the inscription is usually at least 2 languages: Russian and Estonian, and sometimes also in English. What surprised me, I found the inscription in Polish, but from what I understand the translation was rather unfortunate.

Estonian is a mystery to me… I rather rely on symbols and signs. Thus, scissors mean I found a hairdresser. Or a tailor. So either I’ll have a great haircut or a new sharp outfit. I only hope that scissors won’t turn into 2 knives and the tailor into butcher.

Tip #1: Beware! Living in a foreign country without knowing the language causes deep wrinkles. Every single time I don’t understand a word I smile.

Tip #2: Never drink with Russians. I mean it.

Imagine this: you wake up at supper time, if you’re lucky to recover so soon, of course. You have difficulties with opening your eyes. Your body hurts as if you were hit by a tram. You are hungry that you could eat a horse, but even thinking about food makes you feel sick. There are no such cosmetics that would help you at least remain a human being. For the next hours you are a shadow. Then the torture begins… You find out what happened last night, minute by minute. Mind blown!

This is a hypothetical situation, obviously… To sum up, it is interesting experience.  I mean, from what I only heard.

First Sight

Since I’ve decided to choose Estonia to live in for a few months, I thought it would be fantastic to know it better. Probably I will never manage to become a local, but dammit, I’ll try!

I’m here for two months and still haven’t seen all of what Tallinn has to offer. However, I’ve already found some places that I like to call “my favourites”.

It may sound like a madman speech, but as a woman I’m familiar with the art of reading maps. It saved a lot of my time, when I got lost discovering that charming area. It’s worth to remember: a precise map is priceless…

After some time I felt so comfortable that I didn’t even bother to take the map with me. One day I met truly nice New Yorker who missed his train and asked me to show him the city from my perspective. Kinda hard task, since he had already seen it. We decided to have a cup of coffee in order to wait until it gets darker to see the beauty of Old Town at night. Long story short: he needed to show me the way back, because I got confused. What a fail! But it was just for your information, got it, right?

That gentleman also had an interesting observation about the view on the Old Town from the terrace. He imagined that in such place Margaret (from Bulgakov’s masterpiece) was flying on a broom.

The next photo contains 5 elements that are close to my heart. At first glance there is nothing special in it at all. But it takes one moment spent there to understand it well.

(1) The picture was taken in a small, but cute park I like to visit.

(2) Starting from the bottom of the picture – there is a sculpture of a man without any particular name. I saw it for the first time in the guidebook that my friend gave me as a gift for my trip. My first task was to find it and surprisingly I did. But what is interesting, I found it by a chance. That man has a huge foot comparing to his head. With my friend we came up with a story that fits best to this anomaly. We decided it’s not perspective that makes it so strange, but… It’s a midget ninja assassin, killing some guy (yeah, my creepy imagination). That seems to be realistic somehow…

(3) A little above you can notice very small bridge. What you may not see is a swing. I don’t know who made it, but I would like to hug him and thank for so much fun I had there! Well, since I’m tall I have literally high demands for swings. Honestly, that piece of wood and the rope is made for me!

(4) At the top of the photo there are terraces – excellent viewpoints to admire the Old Town or to think through the meaning of the life.

(5) Above the bridge there are some threes that perfectly hide a path I like wander unnoticed. If you don’t believe me, than check it out:

I told you… More faith in me!

It’s just a massive concrete. I was told it’s a heritage from Soviets. Somehow it seems to be monumental. It’s huge and ugly. I have no clue why I do like it. It’s not the first time when ugliness attracts me. The finest example is Polish city Łódź, but maybe some other time about it.

Maybe the key to this issue is a dual contrast. From the one hand the beauty of the city and its modernity, and in opposite side the splendor and the power of the sea, the overwhelming sound of the waves… Dunno.

to be continued…