beatrice1

http://www.economist.com/world/europe/displaystory.cfm?story_id=16103267

http://www.economist.com/world/europe/displaystory.cfm?story_id=16103267

We had +18 degrees yesterday! Feels really weird after this long and cold winter. Today back to below 10.
Have not managed to write about our day out on Sunday yet. Some of you hopefully received the link to my Picasa album from that day. It's a small place called Keila-Joa maybe 20 km out of town along the coast. There is one of the few waterfalls we have here and now after this massive amount of snow the river is of course huge and the waterfall spectacular. There is even a small hydro-electric plant. We had my parents with us and took a great walk almost all the way to the sea - we could see it but then were cut off by a house and would have had to walk at least one extra km. Beautiful, along the river that runs really fast now, wild birds there and all. The trees are not green yet so the first spring flowers get even more attention. I haven't been in Estonia in the springtime for so many years now so these childhood memories of picking the spring flowers came rushing back. So glad that I could share this early spring experience with the kids. Including the ants trick! The small blue flowers (on the photo below) change their color when put into the ants nest from blue to pink! And the smell - obviously it's the ants pee that causes it, so after the treatment the flowers smell like strong vinegar. Lots of fun doing it! You have to tickle the ants to make them treat the flower.

On Monday went to the movies to see the last part of the Millenium trilogy - the Swedish film. It didn't get better than the previous episodes and a movie is almost always a disappointment compared to the book. Will be interesting to see what Hollywood makes out of it. This was a bit confusing and I don't like it when they change the storyline. Liked Noomi Rapace as Lisbet but really not Michael Nyquist as Michael Blomquist. The book character leaves the impression of being a really handsome guy, a heartbreaker but a tough cookie at the same time. In the film he is not that good-looking and a bit fake, even pathetic.

Spring flowers

Spring has finally arrived in Estonia

Finally finally the snow is gone and we have a beautiful spring here. Have had fab blue sky for a few weeks now with the exeption of the days when the ash cloud was here. Days are long now, well after 9 pm it is still light.
Last week was a bit crazy in town with the ash cloud forcing air traffic to standstill and NATO foreign ministers meeting due here. But as mirracles go for this meeting to go ahead the sky was free by Wednesday and half city centre blocked off for normal people and all traffic.
Anyway with warmer weather and sunshine we really want to get out of town more. We took a spa minibreak last weekend in Haapsalu - a small town on the coast about 100 km from Tallinn. We keep driving through Haapsalu on our way to Hiiumaa, the island, but haven't been in the town for years. It has developed quite nicely with lovely small coffe shops and they are just reconstructing the coastal promenade. The Fra Mare Spa is a bit outside just on the beach - sand and pine trees and "ionized" air as they say. We used the different saunas and pools. They even have an outdoor heated pool. And then the famous mud treatment. Have to lay down on a plastic sheet and then get a bucket of fresh warm and smelly mud poured over you. The mud-lady spreads it all over except face and wraps you in plastic sheets and blankets for 20 minutes. Very nice! It is supposed to cure all sorts of ailments and remove toxins. However, even after shower and sauna the smell is still there. Took a few days to fade.