The weather has been glorious the last few days. Just overwhelmingly warm and lovely.

Estonian celebrated the start of summer on the 23rd of June (even though summer technically started on the 21st). This year for Midsummer’s Eve we went to the Estonian Open Air Museum, a lovely space by the water that includes many old farmsteads, windmills, and other structures. There was music, folk dancing, and of course a few bonfires.

I don’t have any pix highlighting the nature in that area, but many of the trees in the background are birch trees, which are my favorite trees ever (and very common in Estonia).

There was also a staged meeting of the characters from Estonian folklore Koit (Dawn) and Hämarik (Dusk), the keepers of the sunlight, who usually do their jobs at opposite ends of the day but for one period each year Koit (the boy) and Hämarik (the girl)  meet at midnight and share a kiss. They’re happy because their love is eternally new and fresh.

Koit and Hämarik rowing off together, carrying the light of the sun