I got a haircut today and other stuff

Yesterday I got a much needed haircut. My hair wasn't in awful shape but it was looking a bit fried on the ends from too much dye (for the record, I decided to quit dying my hair a few months ago and just let my natural hair colour come back).

Actually, she cut it shorter than I originally wanted but I like this more. And I think this cut softens my bone structure and frames my face better than long or medium hair. Anyway, I have never had hair this short before. I did have a lob in 2011 or somewhere around that time so it's been a while. I had very long hair up down my back until Oct 2015, then I cut it and had a medium haircut which grew out past my shoulders and now...I have this.

Now, on to some other things. Tonight I'll take the ferry journey to Sweden to see my aunt. I'll then arrive in Stockholm in the morning and have like 7 hours there. Then I'm gonna be baaaack here the next day, but the travelling doesn't stop there. Nope, next I will take a long bus ride to St. Petersburg THE NEXT DAY. So I'm a busy bee. It will be my first time in Russia, and I will DEFINITELY be making lots of videos for that trip of all the cool stuff I'm sure I will see.

Visiting Piusa and Võru, in Southern Estonia

This past weekend I ventured into southern Estonia on a short road trip. Estonia is not a very big place as you might already know, and reaching one end of the country starting from Tallinn doesn't take a long time. It was about 3 1/2 hours driving time to Piusa from here - it takes a similar amount of time to get to Narva (around 3 hrs) in the east or to get to the island of Saaremaa in the west. I set out at around 9 am Saturday and arrived in Piusa that afternoon.

I first stopped at the visitors' center of the sandstone mining caves. It was hot as hell down there (by my standards, because I wither in the heat despite having grown up in NC), like 21 degrees C and there isn't the Baltic sea nearby to keep things cool and windy. Now, about the caves - I have to say I liked the looks of them, but it was a bit underwhelming since you're not allowed to actually go in them due to risk of collapse, only to see the very entrance. So you get a short glimpse with a guide and then you're ushered out. That's fine though, since the nature surrounding that area is lovely and there are great trails for walking, hiking, photography.

So after that I spent the night in a rural hotel owned by a small family. Their property was beautiful, with a big pond, surrounded by the forest. Plus, they had a cute little dachshund dog that was slightly overweight and a bit grey in the face. Aww. But I don't have a photo of him.

Sunday morning I checked out and drove to Võru to walk around and whatnot. It's a pleasant little town with a small beach by Lake Tamula. There is a local museum about the history of Võrumaa county and the Võro culture and history, all housed in a little grey building with a colorful mural on the side. Admission was only 2 euros, and I was the only guest in the museum the whole time. The old lady working the front desk was very enthusiastic and friendly and told a lot about the history of the town.

The first level consisted of some cool contemporary art from the region, while the rest of the museum gradually took us through their history, from some ancient skeletons (from the bronze age I think it was) and onwards. I was really quite inspired by the beautiful antique things on display there from different periods of time. Dusty old books, farming equipment, instruments, clothes, household items. 

 Catherine the Great 

Various photos from the museum:

A local artist was inspired by rice paddies during their stay in South Korea. I like these pillows.

 

Animator is a small god, God is a big animator

I have loads of other pics too but I'm lazy. Anyway, after that I drove to Tartu and stopped to eat, then went back home to Tallinn. All in all it was just a peaceful weekend of cool sights.