Aloha, fellow sufferers! Let me remind you a bit. So, on the morning of October 10th, we headed towards Ikla. What was rare was that the sun was shining. This might have been the only sunny day this autumn in Estonia, and we turned left, jeep-style. Felt a bit like FOMO, you know? But seriously! We were going on a trip! Goodbye mundane routines, and hello freedom!
I must admit, Muti did her homework and nailed it with an A+. On the first day, our mouths dropped open. Somewhere in the middle of nowhere, there were quirky, one-of-a-kind buildings and sections of town. For movie lovers, a place called Cinevilla probably doesn’t need much introduction, but for me, I was like a cave-dweller seeing color television for the first time. It’s the most important filming location in the Baltics, where everything looks so real through the camera lens, but when you start poking around, you find foam and, peeking behind the corners of buildings, you see the skeleton that holds the fake beauty up. Anyway, very impressive artistic work and a chance to be in 3D in the middle of a fantasy world. My favorite was the foam church, which was full of blood, intestines, and other such beauty inside. This beauty was set up for some horror film. And as a cherry on top, guests were fed in a simple local diner with a full meal for almost nothing.
We stayed in the small town of Tukums, where after combing through the tiny old town, there wasn’t much else to do, but on the plus side, our guest apartment was pretty cool. Since we have a similar spot in our hometown of Viljandi called Kantreküla apartment, Muti checked out every square inch and made mental notes of the cool tips she noticed. The vibes in Tukums were lovely—kind of especially charming for a Viljandi local. Narrow streets winding along the hillside, and you can walk to any part of town in just about twenty minutes. Everything feels distinctly safe and cozy. Even in front of the police station, young people in tracksuits, listening to booming bass from an old BMW, seemed oddly endearing.
Next up, a place you definitely shouldn’t miss is the Engure Lake Nature Park (Engures ezera dabas taka). Essentially, the lake is located right near the coast and used to be part of the sea millions of years ago. Nowadays, it’s where all the migratory birds gather that come through our area. Of course, all the ornithologists are there too. The bushes are full of binoculars, and the shores are kept tidy with vast areas where cattle and horses roam, all subtly controlled by an invisible electric fence.
The highlight of my second day was Kolka Cape. To be honest, this place was really in the middle of nowhere, and the village of Kolka that welcomed us definitely lived up to its authentic and no-nonsense name. At the very tip of the cape, I was surprised to find that they charged for parking. But, you know, a couple of euros to keep the trails clean and the platforms maintained isn’t much. The weather was windy, and swimming was definitely not inviting. In fact, swimming there wouldn’t have been an option because the two large bodies of water meet at Kolka Cape, making it dangerous to swim. It was pretty wild to watch as the furious waves from different directions clashed with each other—nature's own battle scene.
Ventspils Castle was a bit of a so-so place for me. Everything was a bit too clean and polished for such an old building. But at least we got to warm up for an hour or so from the storm. We also spent the night in Ventspils. The area where our accommodation was located was quite charming—narrow little streets and old wooden houses. But the city itself didn’t really give us much. We did manage to find an old town-like area while dashing through the rain, but it didn’t have much character. At least now I know that their port is of great importance to Europe.
Alright, I’ll take a breather and grab a cold beer from the pantry. Muti got me a whole case of unfiltered Staropramen from somewhere. She’s a grounded angel.
You can find a video post to illustrate this on our Instagram. Don’t forget to follow us there ;)
What happened next? You’ll find out in the second part.
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