May 25 – Nick Baker, senior tenor, marketing major
It’s been just under a week since we arrived in the Baltic States, and the surprise of sunlight streaming through my hotel window at 5:00 AM has yet to wear off. I’m amazed at how long the days are here. As I am writing this, the sun is just starting to set and it’s almost 10:00 PM.
In reflection, these last several days have been incredible. Latvia and Estonia are truly hidden gems, and it is such a pleasure to visit these countries that are so rich is history and culture. It constantly occurs to me that, if not for this international tour, I might not have ever even given thought to visiting this part of the world, and what a shame that would have been. I’m positive that the rest of our stay in Estonia and Finland will be life-changing.
Today, we had an early departure from Pärnu, the seaside holiday destination, and traveled about 80 kilometers to the ancient town of Viljandi, Estonia. My group was greeted by an energetic tour guide who proceeded to show us many notable landmarks in the hilly city. We’ve been privileged to spend our time with a number of city guides since our arrival in Riga, but I have to say that today’s guide not only told us facts, but let us in on personal stories and truly showed her passion for the country of Estonia. I was particularly touched by her comments about the rich choral music tradition of Estonia, one that is marked by a sense of perseverance, community, and beauty through some of the darkest times in the history of our world. She offered us a piece of advice: don’t think about our impending choral performance as a concert. Think of it as a back door into Estonian culture. In effect, she was threading the needle for us to sew our own thread into the rich fabric that is the Estonian choral tradition. These comments stayed with me through the duration of tonight’s performance and will likely remain in my memory as we progress through this tour. We can’t all be Estonian, but we can try.
I was fortunate enough to have a rather quiet afternoon with Taylor Donaldson, one of my best friends. Though traveling with over 70 people can be an exhilarating experience, it is also exhausting. In an effort to recover from physical and social fatigue, we opted for a quiet lunch at a small café, a much needed cup of coffee, and an ice cream cone that was accompanied by a walk in a small park and a quick game of hopscotch at a children’s play area. As a graduated senior, it has become apparent that my time with such great friends is now limited, and it was an honor to spend time with Taylor before I return to the “real world” in Omaha, NE and she travels to Morocco as a Fulbright fellow. I look forward to having more experiences with my close friends as we continue to enjoy our time here.
Tonight’s performance St. John’s Church in Viljandi was festooned with the ringing of mobile phones, the crying of babies and the playing of church bells. Nevertheless, I think we gave a great performance, one that I could tell was touching to several members of the audience. One of my favorite parts about these international tours is interacting with the audience members. Though we are separated by a vast language barrier, the smiles and inherent gratitude of the audience is apparent and touching.
Tomorrow, we travel to Tallinn, Estonia, our third stop. We truly are living the jet set life on this tour. It’s so exciting to see new sights and experience new things in these cities. Thought I don’t want to think about it, this trip will come to an end in just a week’s time. Between now and then, I look forward to the singing we are privileged to do, and the friends I’m so blessed to be with.
May 25 – Mollie Lawler, sophomore soprano, music major
Wednesday! It is weird to think that one week from now we will be in O’Hare airport, desperately waiting for the seven-hour layover to end and the plane that will take us back to Des Moines to depart. Time surely flies!
This morning was a little rough for a few reasons: 1. I like to sleep (particularly, nap) and understandably, there is not a lot of napping time built into our Grand Baltic Tour. 2. Despite pulling the curtains closed every night I have been consistently poked awake by an eager sun each morning, wishing to start the day. The day in Estonia, apparently, is enthusiastically in full swing by 4:30 am. I am neither enthusiastic or seemingly alive at this time. 3. The Adventure Course yesterday left me pumped with adrenaline! It also left me unable to move, as my body generally views a fast walk as sufficient movement. I am not sure how it viewed me zip-lining and climbing and (heaven-forbid) using my core, but I do know that it still hurts to breathe as I type. Anyway…
We started the day with breakfast. European breakfasts are one of my favorite things, since they are so hearty and full of wonderful things (such as chocolate cake today!) However, unlike western Europe, I have been disappointed in the Baltic states by their lack of a constant flow of chocolatey-hazelnut ambrosia known as Nutella. There has been no sighting of that brown goodness over the past six days, but I will continue to look forward to the future. I digress. A fun fact! My roommate, Caity Carr, and I discovered that one can buy a 2-liter bottle of water here for about €0.38. If a 2-liter bottle of water seems hard to imagine, reflect on the size of an average infant and there you are.
Child-sized water bottle in tow, I moved onto the first thing on the itinerary today, which included a quick walking tour around a few spots in the old town of Pärnu. It has a fascinating history; I learned that it was actually a popular pilgrimage site to a black cross about 500 years ago. We also had the chance to see a monument that was erected in the 20th century under Soviet rule for a writer born in Pärnu who was a writer supporting the Communist party. Seeing this made me reflect on a difference between America and Latvia and Estonia. Our tour guide mentioned that the town had discussed removing the statue as it clashed with the newfound freedom the Baltic states had found. She said “It is our history, and so we have kept it.” I have seen in both Latvia and Estonia that they firmly acknowledge their past – yes, even the black, ugly stains that still haunt some of the older generations. These people keep these things, such as the remains of a Jewish ghetto, a former KGB house, and this statue to a communist propaganda writer, to acknowledge and to remember.
We moved on with our day with an hour bus ride to the small town of Viljandi, where we spent the rest of the afternoon and evening. Viljandi is a charming medieval town complete with castle ruins, moats, and an entirely hilarious tour guide. Our guide for the day was actually Finnish and had moved to Estonia some 20 years earlier after falling in love with the country and the people. I have not, perhaps, met a more sassy, spunky, and loud person before and she made the tour delightful! It was amusing to learn that the people of Viljandi were historically a very stubborn people. Apparently, they were one of the only Estonian towns that were not overtaken by statues and flags venerating Stalin and Lenin and the Soviet Union as they simply refused to allow any of the propaganda within the city walls, and it was forcibly (and repeatedly) removed. (The town was also one of the first to have indoor plumbing in Estonia in the 19th century as the people decided they would rather spend the taxes they should be sending to the Tsars on their own city instead.) It was wonderful to listen to our guide discuss why she moved to Estonia and how she fell in love with their pride in their independence, their humility, and their resilience and it was moving to see how she had been touched by this land and the people. She made it clera that singing is the soul of Estonia and that one cannot understand this country without understanding the that singing together is the ultimate expression of the national character.
The rest of the afternoon was spent eating lunch at a quaint restaurant, which we learned was dubbed one off the best in Estonia! I had buffalo mozzarella, and I swear, the cheese had never tasted so fresh, the tomatoes so sweet and the bread so…bready. Many in the choir quickly descended upon a small, unassuming ice cream shack (as there has been a lack of that delicious dessert along the way so far). Many spent their money on a “special” banana flavored ice cream… it was bright yellow and horrifying to anyone with a set of standards for their taste buds (apparently, only myself), but to each their own.
The day ended with a concert in St. John’s Church located just beyond the castle ruins in Viljandi. This church, built in the 1460s, was large and had spacious, white stone walls that were accented with simple flower arrangements and tarnished gold chandeliers. During Soviet rule the church was actually used as a storehouse and the altar and organ were completely removed from the space.
The concert was lovely! We had a smaller crowd today, but that did not make it less interesting. Attending the concert was an old woman, who, although owning a cell-phone, did not seem to know the first thing about the noises it is capable of making. As such, it went off no fewer than three times during the concert, each time making an appearance with a new jaunty ringtone, which precipitated an astonished expression from its owner. Nevertheless the crowd was appreciative and kind and the concert was enjoyed by all. Many audience members gave “thumbs up” signs as they left, while others provided hugs as a sign of gratitude for our music.
We followed up the concert with a group dinner at a local hotel and enjoyed a wide array of fish, meat, bread, and (most importantly) apple crisp. Tummies full, bladders empty, and hearts warm we clambered back onto the bus for the hour-long drive back to Pärnu, eagerly awaiting the adventures to come with the next day, when we will travel to Talinn, the capital of Estonia. And now, off to pack!