Otepää, South Estonia and I

It has been quite some time since I last posted anything to this blog. This will change, I promise. Originally I started the blog to have a place to post photos for Darren Rowse's Photography School. Since I have been a lazy pupil, there have been no photos either.

This does not mean that I haven't been photographing, on the contrary. Should you wish to see my recent production, if they can be called that, visit my Finnish blog: Suomalaisena Virossa. If the language is mumbo-jumbo for you, look at the pics. After all, one photo says more than a thousand words...

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Let me begin the revival of this blog by telling you something about myself.

I am a Finnish woman living with my husband in Otepää, South Estonia. How we ended up here is a long story. I will tell it later, probably bit by bit. However, here we are, and if things go as well as they have been going so far, here we will stay.

In a quiet valley there is a white house called Villa Ottilia. It is ours. We have been keeping a cosy B&B for six years, and people seem to like it. We like it, too. Being a hotel keeper is fun; at times you are very very busy, and then again there are quiet periods when you can do other things, like photographing.

Villa Ottilia B&B - the address is Oru 4, Otepää, South Estonia

The decision to settle down to Otepää was by no means accidental. Before moving we carefully studied all the various holiday resorts in Estonia and decided that Otepää is the best. Unlike many other holiday resorts it has two seasons: summer and winter (actually we prefer spring and autumn, which are really beautiful seasons, too).

The nature in South Estonia is incredibly beautiful and all the needs of a visitor are well catered for in the small but active town of Otepää. There are several restaurants, clubs, cafés and beauty parlours to look after the tourist. So we in Villa Ottilia B&B provide a comfortable stay in a home-like environment and the town of Otepää and its surroundings takes care of the rest. Neat.

The winter season has already started - it starts at that precise moment the first snow falls down. There are a good many winter-related activities going on - the best skiing tracks of the country are open. The slalom hill Kuutsemägi caters for those interested in downhill skiing or snowboarding. For children there are two tubing facilities where you go down the hill with huge tires. Great fun, that too!

Having lived here for six years one might think that we have seen it all, that we are saturated by the beauty of our new homeland. That is not the case! The beauty of South Estonia never stops to amaze me. Like the other day when we made a small trip to the surrounding countryside. The day was ideal. The sun was shining, the sky was blue and the snow glimmered.

Here are a few pics of that day - judge by yourself:

 The Church of St. Mary in Otepää.

The Church of St. Mary seen from a distance.

Tehvandi stadium provides the best skiing tracks of the country.

This is how you come down the hill in a professional way.

Tubing is great fun, too!

Take a ride to the countryside!

A creative electricity solution.

A huge tree protecting a small farmhouse

You also encounter some sad sights that tell about the history of Estonia. Whoever lived here once, no longer does.

Larches in the evening sun.

Spruces are carrying an ever-increasing burden of snow.

Uplands in the evening sun.

Tha last rays of sun set the trees on fire.

Purple uplands in the dusk.

The sunset turns the sky into a mass of gold.

The sky turns from gold to red just after the sunset.

And the red is intensified minute by minute.

Until the entire sky is a massive canvas of dramatic colours.

I trust I managed to convey some of the beauty and magic of South Estonia and Otepää.

Should you wish to explore it by yourself, please do not hesitate to contact us and Villa Ottilia. Send an e-mail to: reservation at villaottilia dot ee. For more information of Villa Ottilia go here: Villa Ottilia B&B