Summer Break

I almost deleted this blog.

I've just lost the inspiration to keep blogging anymore. It has become a chore for me to sit down and write a post. Plus, I'm a lousy writer and can never accurately express in words what I'm thinking in my head, so I'm always disappointed in the way my posts sound.

So over the last couple days I restricted access to the blog while I was backing up a few things I wrote that I wanted to keep. I figured no one would notice and my blog would just disappear unnoticed. But people started tracking me down and encouraging me to continue with my blog.

So perhaps I was a bit hasty and what I need is a summer break. We're really busy around here now anyway as I've just negotiated the sale of our summer house in Põlvamaa and if that deal goes through, we'll be actively searching around Pärnu for a new place to live. Those things combined with my daughters hobby classes and a little vacation to nearby Nordic lands will leave little time to sit in front of the computer over the next couple of months.

Regardless of what I decide to do with the blog, I'll still continue to host the Estonia Forum which isn't very demanding of my time.

So, you'll either hear back from me at the end of the summer with lots of new things to tell you about, or you won't. Guess we'll just have to wait and see.

Have a great summer!
Alex

Pärnu's Goodwill Ambassador

Be it backyard pools, the ocean or large lakes, a big part of my life has revolved around water. I was swimming before I could walk and won swimming competitions as a kid. In my early teens I got my first sailboat and before I graduated high school I had my U.S. Coast Guard certified Captains license. My dream was to live aboard my own boat and sail around the world.

These days my daughter goes to the pool twice a week and when she's older I hope to teach her the joys of sailing her own vessel on the open seas. So when I look at the ocean I see more than just a large body of water. I see my past, my present and my future.

I'm also a small town kind of guy. Big cities don't impress me. Pollution and noise aren't my cup of tea. I like smaller towns and villages. Places that fit their environment and don't pretend to be something they're not.

I also love Estonia. A country where I'm proud to live, raise my children and call home. Luckily for me, everything I desire can be found in one place, and that place is Pärnu.


If Pärnu had it's own Goodwill Ambassador, I'd like that job. I'd enjoy any job in Pärnu where I could promote the city. How about the Pärnu tourism department? How about a guide? Something. Somebody hook me up, will ya?


We spent last Saturday afternoon in Pärnu at the beach enjoying the sand and sunshine as well as walking through the beautiful and large tree filled beach park that runs all along the waters edge. The gentle breeze blowing off the sea filling the senses with the smell of salty air together with the aroma of freshly cut grass in the park was pure heaven. The loudest sounds to be heard were the plethora of birds chirping in the trees all around us.

By Tallinn standards Pärnu is a very clean city. It's as though the residents have pride in their town, something I'm glad to see. While there is some graffiti here and there, the park benches aren't ripped apart and no one has thrown the trash receptacles into the sea. You can see the grass in the park and the sand at the beach. None of it is hidden under mounds of litter.


Pärnu has a very cool vibe. It almost doesn't feel like an Estonian town. It's Estonia on Prozac. There is a palpable feeling of friendliness in the air. Strangers can smile at one another without assuming the other is drunk. People stroll along the streets as opposed to speed walk. Sure you can say that much of this relaxed mood is contributed by the holiday makers that are there, both domestic and international, but even outside the main tourist areas where the year round residents work and live, the feeling doesn't change.

Image my surprise while at one of the local Selver's the cashier not only looked me in the eye and smiled, but went on to make some light hearted chit-chat with me while she scanned my items. How odd! Was this a joke? Was I on Candid Camera? No, I was in Pärnu!


What helps the city maintain it's healthy spirit and ambiance of relaxation is the way the town is laid out. Pärnu is primarily low rise with it's historical district well renovated. I don't know if they've enacted any building height laws similar to those in coastal communities in the U.S., but there are no high rise residential towers along the water front and no new huge commercial monoliths elsewhere in town. It not a town that feels the need to "keep up with the Joneses."

Needless to say this is where we want to escape from Tallinn to and today we will be heading back to Pärnu on a reconnaissance mission to look at homes for sale. And while I may have a big list of properties to look at, we might blow a few off to stroll along the beach and picnic in the park. Because it is Pärnu after all. There's no need to rush.

Tallinn Lite ™

I thought of the perfect nickname for Tartu today while driving through on my way to Põlvamaa. After cruising past the drunk in the park, the new Kaubamaja, the Snail Tower and finally the horrific suburb of Annelinn, I came up with... Tallinn Lite ™. You heard it here first!




- in windows, hold down the alt key and press 0153 to get the trademark (™) sign. Also, alt + 0174 gets you the ® sign. I never knew that before today.

University wars

One less higher education choice in Tallinn. Audentes University has gone bankrupt and is being absorbed, or joining the way they're spinning it, by Tallinna Tehnikaülikool.

There is also word in the education grapevine for prospective students to not give a dime to Euroülikoolis because it's only a matter of time until they shut their doors, take the money and run.

So when my little girl is ready for college, I wonder how many choices she'll have in Estonia? I suppose it's a good thing the whole of the EU is open to her now.

Estonia's Rich List

I was reading on CNN.com about Britain's Rich List and wondered if any such list was published in Estonia?

Incidentally, I was walking around the Maarjamäe hill area today and looking at the huge homes surrounded by walls and security cameras along the top of the hillside overlooking the sea and wondered who in Estonia could afford such places?

So who has the big money in Estonia?