Get Rooted #5 – School’s Out, Let’s Travel!

With my exams finally coming to an end last week (woohoo!), I’m left with an immense amount of free time and not too sure what to do with myself. With only a month left, the panic started to set in that I haven’t gotten to do everything on my bucket list yet. With my new “now or never” mindset, I decided to soak up as much of Estonia as I can in my last few weeks.

SCUBA DIVING AT RUMMU: ESN TRIP

As a birthday gift from my favourite Estonians, I spent the last weekend scuba diving at the underwater prison in Rummu! Despite being terrified (I’m a tad claustrophobic), it was actually pretty easy and the abandoned buildings are definitely a site to see underwater.

We stayed at this beautiful wooden cabin just across the lake, and spent the entire weekend swimming and canoeing, and the entire evening BBQing, in the sauna and enjoying some nice Estonian company. The most beautiful and breathtaking weekend, I definitely recommend this trip to any exchange students!

WEEKEND TRIP TO TARTU

How have I not even gone to Tartu yet? Only a two and a half hour bus ride from Tallinn, I headed down with a few friends and explored the student-run city. We went to the University of Tartu museum, botanical gardens, and saw a ton of statues that are sprawled across the city. Now that it’s an exam season for the students, it was pretty quiet but a nice escape from the big Tallinn city!

DAY TRIP TO HAAPSALU

One of the perks to having Estonian friends is that they have a car and know the best places to go. Yesterday, a group of us headed down for a day trip in the picturesque town of Haapsalu! We enjoyed the seafront promenade, second-hand shops, castle ruins and estonian cuisine. We even got a little creative at our restaurant and made our own mimosas to celebrate the sunny day!

It was also Tallinna Vanalinna Päevad (old town days) this past weekend, with a concert playing all day in the square, cultural celebrations around the old town, the Estonian markets and even a medieval fight!