Spring recommendations for what to do in Estonia #3: Ada

Ada Hisunova came to Estonia from the glorious city of Kyiv, the capital of Ukraine, and has been living in Estonia for over 2,5 years. She says, “Even though this country is relatively small, it never ceases to amaze, and I am sure that in 5 years there will still be some secluded corner that will make me shout “Wow!” and get the camera right away.” You can hear her episode on “Found in Estonia” here.

This is what she says you could do in Estonia:

• Start or keep learning Estonian!

For those who doubt, are lazy or don’t know which courses for studying the national language of this country to enroll in, there is a pretty good option. I’m talking about free courses that are organized by the state, namely the Integration Foundation (Integratsiooni Sihtasutus). Learning is well organized, there are interesting topics to discuss, including Estonian history, geography, curiosities and much more. It was very important for me to find a competent teacher there. These courses did not let me down. At the moment, classes are, of course, online.

More info: https://www.integratsioon.ee/en/estonian-language-studies

• Release your inner beast

It is worth clarifying that I’m talking about creativity and not about practicing ominous glances from around the corner. The situation of self-isolation taught me not only to allocate time to streamline my thoughts, but also to devote myself to what I like and what I wanted “to try one day”. Thus, I began to work with acrylic paints and now it brings me great pleasure, peace of mind and satisfaction with the result. You can start doing whatever you want: origami, sculpting, drawing, painting, modeling, embroidery, beading or threading, papercraft… it is truly an inexhaustible source of ideas and inspiration. Even if the specialty shops are closed, all creative materials can be ordered online and will be delivered in a few days. I love Estonia for this possibility.

• AI Dungeon

If you are an adventure lover, a passionate treasure seeker, but you don’t like to go outside your room, then I have good news. There is an app that, without any high-quality graphics, only with the help of your own imagination and creativity will take you to the world of fantasy, zombies, apocalypse, cyberpunk and other locations. This is a multiplayer/single-player text game which uses artificial intelligence to generate unlimited content. Yes, sometimes the connection between events during the game is not clear at all, but who said that it should be simple?

More info: https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.aidungeon

• Board games

This is a fairly simple idea, however, many people forget about its existence or have never come close to this kind of entertainment at all. I’m sure that every house has a deck of cards lying around, “Uno” game is lonely collecting dust in the corner, or “Catan” just takes up space on the top shelf. Board games develop memory, strategic thinking, critical thinking and simply cheer up. It is ideal activity for a cozy family evening with children, for a circle of friends and even for a 1 on 1 game. New games can be selected both in the store and online, there are several big game providers in Estonia. (For example lauamangud.ee, brain-games.ee, and there is also a website about board games made by Estonians, but it’s in Estonian.)

• Watch and understand

Estonian films are also noteworthy: not only a wonderful language practice, but also it is a key to understanding culture, history, some jokes and habits of Estonians. “Ukradena!!” – do you know where this famous quote comes from and what situation is it connected with? I advise you to watch the trilogy based on a very popular books about a small village school by writer Oskar Luts –  “Kevade” (“Spring”, 1969), “Suvi” (“Summer”, 1976) and “Sügis” (“Autumn”, 1990) if you are confused, but it still ignited the spark of interest. Also do not ignore such films as “Seltsimees laps” (“The Little Comerade”, 2018) and “Tõde ja õigus” (“Truth and Justice”, 2019). A good source for many Estonian films with English subtitles is Netikino.

• Hiking

There are well-equipped hiking trails all over Estonia. These places are notable for their picturesqueness, there you can breathe easily and freely, the pure forest air fills your lungs and clears your mind of heavy thoughts. In any season, you can go to look at the swamps and lakes: in winter you find yourself in an incredible fairy tale, which is difficult to believe until you see everything with your own eyes; in summer you will find a variety of herbs and berries, as well as birds. 

I recommend using this website for further travel: https://www.loodusegakoos.ee/

• Hippotherapy

For those who want to surprise their dear ones, there are not only bouquets of flowers and sweets. All over Estonia there are stables, farms, riding schools that offer horse riding services. It is an indescribable feeling of joy, freedom and awe when you sit on a strong and obedient horse, which takes you through lavender fields or green forests. This is a complete relaxation of the soul, in such moments you feel the happiest. A list of places where you can go riding is here. Worth to note, there are several Estonian horse breeds, some of them very rare. You can read more about them here.