365 Project – Page 2

Day 183: The Weirdest Cottage in Hiiumaa

August 22, 2026August 22, 2026Posted in 365 Project, Alanna, Architecture, Europe, Family, Kiara, Nature, Outdoors, Stuart, TravellingTagged 365 Project, Alanna, Architecture, family, Holidays, Kiara, Nature, Scenery, TravelLeave a comment

We got an early start today due to a serious underestimation of how early one must book the ferry to Hiiumaa. Luckily, someone had come up with the idea of a few non-prebookable tickets.

But that gave us plenty of time to meander around the southern part of Hiiumaa. A short hike towards the southernmost tip, an old (sill functioning) wool factory, and a playground or two…

We decided to have a quiet evening and braai (BBQ) at the cottage – and luckily we did. The girls loved the place! The cottage looked like a pink Moomin house, with round walls, the main bedroom in a tower, massive cubby beds for the girls and an amazing floating sauna in the little pond. It even had a tiny playground.

The fact that it was totally impractical bothered only Stuart, who was cooking.

Day 182: Sea, Sheep, Skulls and Stones

August 19, 2026August 22, 2026Posted in 365 Project, Architecture, Europe, Nature, Outdoors, Travelling, WaterTagged 365 Project, Architecture, History, Holidays, Nature, Outdoors, Scenery, TravelLeave a comment

Ambling around Saaremaa gets you to some… interesting places.

Sörve Lighthouse and Peninsula were seriously majestic, albeit in a windy, rough and rustic way. But Sõrve Museum, with its three little “military, seafaring and natural history” buildings, was weird – in a good way. The themes were interpreted rather loosely, and included eg., material of Hitler and Occultism, and a wide selection of preserved bird feet.

And then there was the park with more than 300 stone sheep statues with strong political opinions. And the Viking playground. And the stone tree.

Kuressaare castle was cool, but quite ordinary castle… if you ignore the nun, the sceleton and the lions.

Travel diary: Saaremaa

August 18, 2026August 18, 2026Posted in 365 Project, Activities, Alanna, Animals, Europe, Kiara, Nature, Travelling, WildlifeTagged 365 Project, Activities, Alanna, Animals, Holidays, Kiara, Nature, TravelLeave a comment

The real post for this day (day 181) was about the fountains. However, I just had to include a “bonus post” for the rest of the day, due to the pure momentousness of it.

The girls met – and even petted – capybaras.

All little girls go through phases. Our girls, especially Kiara, are going through a major capybara phase. Her school bag, pencil case, favourite shirt, eraser… all feature capybaras.

As luck would have it, they are one of Saaremaa Zoo’s main attractions.

Kuressaare, the attractive capital of Saaremaa, was cool. But only “next level” cool.

Whatever that means.

Day 181: Fountain

August 17, 2026August 17, 2026Posted in 365 Project, Alanna, Europe, Kiara, Travelling, WaterTagged 365 Project, Alanna, Children, Kiara, Summer, TravelLeave a comment

We told the kids they can get a little wet.

They got soaked to the bone.

Best thing ever.

Day 180: Blue Fox called Katri Helena

August 16, 2026Posted in 365 Project, Activities, Alanna, Architecture, Europe, Kiara, Outdoors, Stuart, Travelling, WaterTagged 365 Project, Activities, Alanna, Architecture, Children, Holidays, Kiara, Outdoors, Stuart, Summer, TravelLeave a comment

Lotte is not a character I was familiar with. So we approached Lottemaa with some trepidation, especially as we knew everything would be in Estonian.

But children have an amazing ability to throw themselves into the parts of the story they understand – and just ignore the rest. The park had sufficient things to do, even beyond the story itself, especially as (totally out of character) I actually looked at the website beforehand and knew about the hidden adventure trail…

And everyone told us about the Finn in the village, the blue fox called Katri Helena.

The “quick stop” to cool ourselves off in Pärnu beach took a lot longer than expected. Mostly because even the girls had to walk about 100m in to the sea before the water reached their belly buttons. The shallow water felt above 30°C, though, so I didn’t mind a bit of splashing.

Day 179: Picturesque Pärnu

August 14, 2026August 14, 2026Posted in 365 Project, Architecture, Europe, Family, Outdoors, TravellingTagged 365 Project, Architecture, family, Holidays, Outdoors, TravelLeave a comment

Stuart and I visited Pärnu during our longer European road trip 10 years ago. I, however, had almost no memories of it, so I believed it to be a somewhat boring town. Stuart felt the same.

When we started talking about it, though, we realized we had gone there approximately a week after I badly hurt my foot. I was in a moon boot and on crutches. And having just hobbled around Tallinn for two days, I had no interest in even leaving the hotel. I remember driving along the beach the next morning before heading to Latvia.

So, maybe not something I can blame Pärnu for.

Now that I’ve actually seen Pärnu, I find it amazing.

Day 178: Transitions

August 13, 2026August 12, 2026Posted in 365 Project, Animals, Makro, NatureTagged 365 Project, Makro, Nature, SummerLeave a comment

Transition day: laudry, unpacking, preparation, cleaning…

One of the biggest disappointments of becoming an adult is that you don’t magically know how to do things right. For example, packing for a trip.

Or folding a fitted sheet.

Day 177: Perfectly Impractical

August 12, 2026August 12, 2026Posted in 365 Project, Architecture, Asikkala, Finland, TraditionsTagged 365 Project, Architecture, Finland, Summer CottageLeave a comment

There’s something special about a summer cottage sauna. Wood-heated, with water scooped from buckets to wash, it’s wonderfully old-fashioned and impractical. It smells like… summer.

My mum wants to build a modern sauna. We all understand it would be infinitely more practical – and object to it with our last breath.

Day 176: Washing Rugs

August 12, 2026August 12, 2026Posted in 365 Project, Activities, Alanna, Asikkala, Kiara, Outdoors, Traditions, WaterTagged 365 Project, Activities, Alanna, Children, Finland, History, Kiara, Learning, Summer CottageLeave a comment

Washing rugs on the summer cottage pier was fun as a child. Mum would throw buckets of water on my feet as I scrubbed as hard as I could. I still love the smell of Mäntysuopa (pine soap).

As we cleaned the wendy house today, the girls tried the traditional method of cleaning a rug.

Their comment was a dry, “Clearly kids in the old days had a different way of having fun”. Apparently, it was hard work.

Day 175: Little Big Adventure

August 11, 2026Posted in 365 Project, Activities, Alanna, Asikkala, Family, Kiara, Outdoors, Sport, WaterTagged 365 Project, Activities, Alanna, Children, Holidays, Kiara, Learning, Outdoors, Sport, Summer CottageLeave a comment

The best purchase of the summer – if you ask the girls – has been the massive, almost 5m-long swimming mattress Ukki ordered.

It easily holds both girls standing up, so, wearing a life jackets, Alanna and Kiara have been allowed to push it almost to the middle of the lake by themselves. This is, of course, infinitely cooler than doing it with an adult. Ukki even towed the girls and the mattress all the way to the other side of the strait.

In the deep, the mattress becomes a platform for jumping, diving, kicking, pushing and generally messing around in the water. The best game, naturally, is trying to stay standing when the waves from a passing boat rock the mattress.

Great fun and a great way to build even more confidence in the water.

Now we just need to figure out where an earth to store a thick, 5m mattress for the winter.