When the sun is setting, between dusk and darkness, there is a moment when the light turns blue. And the world stops for a heartbeat.
Alanna and Kiara started extra lessons in English as a native language this year. The classes are held in another school, so we have been practicing taking the bus.
The have almost mastered it. Now they just need to remember to keep on eye on where they are going.
Cycling slightly longer distances is easier when you have a fun destination. Even if it is just a picnic in a park.
I nearly craned my neck keeping an eye on the rainclouds. The forecast promised rain only later, but the 6km back home would feel long in the rain.
We made it with at least 4 minutes to spare.
First day in the second grade.
New backpacks, pencil cases, and sweaters.
I wonder how many years we are still allowed to walk the girls to school on their first day.
Ever since I was a kid, we have celebrated special days by waking the star of the day with a song, breakfast and presents in bed. The unintended consequence is that if the person is the first one to wake up, they need to stay in bed until they are woken up.
In case you wondered why Kiara is in bed fully clothed for her name day.
To honour the occassion, she got a few small presents – including a capybara eraser and a lip gloss I grudgingly got her after a month-long full-on campaign – and a trip to an indoor playground with Alanna and another friend for 6.5 hours.
Fun day for me.
The drive home from a holiday, especially with forecasted rain, is rarely fun.
But when it is, it is a lot of fun.
A morning walk (with a breakfast that, according to Kiara, is worth moving to Haapsalu for), a submerged limestone quarry, an abandoned prison, and a real submarine – a few worthwhile stops. And Stuart drove faster than the wind, as the rainclouds never quite reached us.
And at the end is home.
For good and bad.
On the drive to Haapsalu, we drove past a gorgeous ruin – I forced Stuart to turn around (in traffic) and go back. If there are ghosts, they would definitely live here! But we didn’t meet any. And we looked.
The girls, on the other hand, found their sense of whimsy in a museum/craft and playhouse based on illustrations by Ilon Wikland. I, especially, loved all the joyful images from Astrid Lindgren’s books. They took me straight back to my childhood. With rain pouring down, there was no-one else.
The magic uninterrupted.
Whenever you ask the girls what they liked the best, their standard answer is “everything”. Same today. After some considerable pressure, they concluded their favorite was climbing the lighthouse. And the weirdest playground they had ever visited.
Hiiumaa has great lighthouses. We only visited three – all seven would have felt like overkill. Climbing the Köpu one, with its incredibly steep stairs and windy platform, was, indeed, more adventurous than it sounds.
Stuart’s favourite was the series of abandoned WW2 and Cold War coastal bunkers and military posts in the middle of the forest. The underground bunkers and remaining structures, including a watchtower, were free to explore. One needed a flashlight, good shoes and a real spirit of adventure. They were creepy! And not just for the girls…
And the playground… The random collection of wooden structures, all built by one (sligtly obsessed) man, was quirky and the scale was impressive. Clearly it had been amazing – at some point. However, now they teetered between unkempt-but-charming and unkempt-and-not-safe. The girls had a blast, though, exploring every structure we allowed them into.
My favourite part was all the photos. And the coolest bus stop ever.
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.
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.
We told the kids they can get a little wet.
They got soaked to the bone.
Best thing ever.
Blue Moment 