On Saturday, we joined Lesley’s relatives for a wonderful day touring the Lahemaa National Park area which is located east of Tallinn on the Gulf of Finland. It was a beautiful, sunny, warm day – the perfect weather!
Our first stop was in Rakvere were Lesley’s father and two brothers were born. The town is famous for the Rakvere Castle, which is open to the public. This medieval castle is complete with knights, horses, chickens, a torture chamber and a number of re-enactments to show how life was in this castle’s heyday. Lesley’s cousin, Tonis, (who was with us) was born and raised across the street and spent many hours in the castle (probably before it was enhanced for tourists). We also visited the gravesite of Lesley’s relatives and her father’s brothers.
Next, we drove along many tall pine forests, rivers and a few secluded windmills to reach an elegant and secluded baronial manor house in Vosu called Vihula Manor. It was originally built in the 15th century and has many historical buildings, extensive flower & vegetable gardens and a scenic lake. Over the years it has grown; and, today it is a beautiful 5-star resort and spa.
We also visited Altja, a typical seaside fishing village along the Gulf of Finland. No professional fishermen live in this former fishermen’s village anymore. The village has a number of old fishermen’s houses that have been well restored. All of the homes, both old and new, are the typical Estonian wooden houses. We were told that these houses have been sold to families in Tallinn and surrounding areas who use them as summer homes. The scenic beach here has many marshes and a few fishermen’s huts which have been reconstructed on the basis of old photographs and memories of the villagers. These huts were only used by the fishermen to dry their nets. The reeds along the shore are used to make roofs here which last up to 100 years! Like Haapsali, the shoreline reminded us of parts of Cape Cod in Massachusetts. No wonder why Lesley’s parents loved and lived on Cape Cod! The village also has its own little local tavern offering local Estonian dishes.
As we continued to drive through the national park area, we saw many more farms compared to what we saw when we visited the area west of Tallinn a few days earlier. The park takes in a stretch of deeply indented coast with several peninsulas and bays with pine-fresh hinterland including pleasant forests, lakes, rivers and peat bogs. The landscape throughout this area is mostly flat or gently rolling. We made a short stop at Kati’s summer house and then had to say our goodbyes to our wonderful Estonian relatives. It was such an amazing experience to meet the relatives; as, they were so kind and generous. We look forward to seeing them again soon. The boys and their (upcoming) wives are anxious to do a family trip to the “Homeland” in a few years.
