Estonia 2003 by Judy Graham (nee Kerbes)
I am first generation Canadian on my mother's Danish side, and second generation Canadian on my father's Estonian side. My mother was born in Denmark and my father was the first of his family to be born in Canada in Alberta in 1915. My grandparents, aunts and uncles from my father's side were all born in Estonia except one aunt who was born in Russia. For many years I hoped to visit Estonia, meet family and connect with my roots. My dream came true when I was given the opportunity to present at the European Reading Conference in Tallinn in July 2003. I was extremely pleased when my husband Bruce decided he would come with me.
When I traveled to Estonia for the first time, I felt like I was home. How could I feel that way visiting a country I had never visited before? First of all, the Estonian people were friendly and welcoming, whether they were newly acquainted family members, or strangers on the street. Also many are brown-eyed blondes, like myself, a common appearance in Estonia, but with those traits I am an oddity on the west coast of Canada. My husband and I enjoyed the history and culture of the Estonian people, who despite being under many years of occupation have preserved a unique identity. The land reminded me of the prairies in Alberta, where I was born, and the seas, of our beautiful British Columbia coastline, where we sail our boat. Estonia is certainly a warm place, rich with history and culture.
The people of Estonia are the most valuable resource. We only knew a few Estonian phrases, but people everywhere welcomed us, and answered our questions in English! The staff of one youth hostel helped my husband find a place to buy a new camera as ours had broken (the shutter gave out), and the staff of Vana Tom Hostel spent many hours translating Russian and Estonian to English and back again to help us communicate with my relatives. They also stored gifts for us that were delivered in our absence when we were traveling, and had a bed ready for us at 7:00 am when we had just arrived in the train from Russia. They always had a pot of coffee to serve my relatives!
My family, whom we met for the first time (about sixty of them - the tip of the iceberg!!!!) were warm and friendly, sharing hugs, gifts, feasts, (what wonderful Estonian food! !!!) and spirits Liiviman (excuse my spelling ... a keyboard problem), Vana Tallinn, Champagne, and Estonian Vodka! Every day we visited family it was a call for a celebration. They took turns making sure that we saw and experienced as much of the country, history, and culture as we could fit in, and chided us for renting a car! The next time we should buy one!!!! We had many long talks about family history and many facts to add into our family tree. Listening to my Estonian relatives tell the same story that I heard in my childhood about my brave grandfather Peter Kerbes wrestling a bear with his bare hands outside of Tallinn before he immigrated to Canada, made me feel a real connection to this far reaching family.
We began our first full day in Tallinn (July 1) sailing in the Baltic (fulfilling a dream I had) from the Pirita Yacht Club to a small island off the coast called Naissaar. The day began stormy, cool and drizzling, but by noon the sun came out to warm us. We were surprised at how shallow the Baltic was, but the winds provided us a good sail. We raised our Canadian flag to fly with the Estonian one. Naissaar was a beautiful island, but peppered with historical reminders, a monument from the Danish Queen forbidding anyone from cutting trees, as the island would be difficult to find as it is so flat, clusters of mines, war buildings in disrepair, and a German burial site. I must buy myself a blue and white striped shirt as I was told that is what Estonian sailors always wear at sea!!!!
We traveled the next day to Hiiumaa where we experienced our first Estonian sauna (I had to practice pronouncing that word correctly!), our first swim in the Baltic, and climbed the stairs at Kopu Lighthouse for a fabulous panoramic view. From there we traveled to Saaremaa where we visited the famous Angla windmills, St. Catherine's church Kaali craters, Kuressaare castle and almost hit a wild boar crossing the road as we drove to the early morning ferry. In Pärnu we absolutely loved the beach, and the inviting warm water. The Pärnu Uue Kunsti Museum had a very interesting exhibit of modem Estonian art, and we enjoyed the ambience of the outdoor restaurant pub at the marina where we stayed.
As we visited historical and cultural sites, read information, and listened to personal stories of my relatives and their extended family, we felt a great respect and admiration of the Estonian people. We listened to stories of families forced to move a great distance away, of families split apart with these moves, never hearing from family members again. We heard the story of why contact by letter was stopped to our branch of the family that moved to Canada. The interrogation by officials was too grueling. We heard about men being conscripted into the Russian army, and fighting for a cause against personal beliefs. We visited Tehumardi, the site of an overnight battle in 1944 where 300 Germans and 200 Russians were killed. The only way to tell the enemy, either Russian or German apart on that black moonless night was by the length of their hair. In all these trials, the Estonian people never had a bad or cruel thing to say about the Russian people, only positives. We also learned about Estonia's baby boon in 1992, when couples celebrated independence, and met one of my cousins born in that year.
We returned to Tallinn to attend the Reading Conference and immerse ourselves in more history and culture. I welcomed my Mac computer facilitator for the conference and learned about the Estonian Tiger Project designed to promote technology in the country. We also embraced the culture of Õllesummer, the largest Northern European beer festival, found our favourite beer, Saku (sorry Mom it's not Danish FAXE any more!), danced Estonian folk dances on stage, and listened and danced to a variety of bands on numerous stages. We drank champagne and listened to a band concert on the grounds of Kadriorg Palace, Catherine I Summer Palace, built by Peter the Great, and later went inside for a superb feast that finished with cakes with that fine cottage cheese that melts in your mouth like whipping cream! After dinner we were treated to a private tour of the Foreign Art Museum.
We appreciated the cultural immersion at Rocca al Mare Open Air Museum seeing historical buildings, including one that was similar to one of my grandparents, aunts, and uncles lived in. There we enjoyed sprats served on slices of potato and Liiviman while we watched folk dancing. The evening was full of food, beer, entertainment and more folk dancing. At the National Library (Eesti Rahvusraamatukogu) we listened to choirs and learned the Estonian culture under occupation was kept alive through literacy by song. This reminded us of our relatives relaying their powerful experiences when the people of Latvia, Lithuania, and Estonia joined hands together to sing for freedom!
In Tallinn too, we visited museums, universities, churches, the Old Town, my relatives' apartments that were built in the time of great industrial growth, and some new malls. We appreciated the old buildings, and the construction boom that seemed to be happening on every street where restoring rather than building anew was the theme. We enjoyed the stories of the wife who blocked the path from the army with boulders, the fellow who was entombed beneath a church entrance so ladies would walk over his burial site, and the modem tale of the million-dollar toilet. We ate delicious medieval food at Olde Hansa and ate Russian food at Navarsky while we listened to my cousins play violin and keyboard. We drank Saku beer at an underground pub while we watched scenes of Whistler on T.V. during the time of the Olympic bid.
My husband and I loved Estonia and the courageous, friendly Estonians. We would love to go back one day, and while at the Reading Conference, we began to consider the possibility of me taking leave of absence and working in my teaching field for a year. One way or another, we hope to visit again, and hope our children will as well.
Judy Graham
Teacher for L.S.T., B.A.S.E.S.
Special Services Department Head
L.A Matheson Secondary School
