Hello my beautiful readership,
another town that is worth visiting is Viljandi in the South-East of Estonia. Check out our tour and get impressions of Viljandi here in the following.
Approximately two hours driving away from Tallinn lies a town called Viljandi. For me personally a very familiar place because two members of my most favorite band, that actually made me discover Estonia, Vanilla Ninja, the sisters Triinu (former bassist and vocalist) and Kerli Kivilaan (current, guitarist and vocalist) come from there. Of course, you do not have to visit every little village of Estonia to embrace a country and its uniqueness just like you do not have to examine every place of origin as fan. The intention to travel there rather grew out of a lucky coincidence as one of my best friends suggested me to visit this place when I asked her which towns and cities are worth visiting in Estonia apart from the typical famous ones such as Tartu which I wrote about here. On top, the (intentionally) only concert I visited found itself in the region of Viljandi which made the trip even worthy.
In the following I am going to take you to our tour through Viljandi.
Viljandi: a Tour
We left for Viljandi in the late morning so we would arrive there during the noon. Knowing it would be become late with the concert following we did not want to be there too early. Sadly during our one-week-stay in Estonia the day when we were off to Viljandi was the only one that started and firstly remained cloudy, wet and gloomy. Having arrived in Viljandi the first thing you would do is equipping yourself with drinks and according to my tradition my daily dose of Vanilla Ninja ice-cream. Therefore the complex of the Viljandi Center AS was perfect. I also used the chance to make up buying some last souvenirs of Estonian delicacies.
Sadly it was still cold so the question was: what now? You did not come this far for nothing. My husband discovered an or rather the Armenian restaurant Armeenia Köök Soso Juures which was located almost next to the center. Thinking that we would discover the town with a complete different motivation after an unbeatable Armenian meal we went in. The apart from the famous welcoming and embracing Armenian guest-friendliness especially among same finding themselves in the strangeness the restaurant had the authentic, honest and homeland loving flair that you would expect from such a restaurant: Apricot-colored walls, images of the beautiful motherland decorating the interior and as highlight our playlist. The owner of the restaurant welcomed us with self-made Armenian Xachapuri (pastry filled with cheese) and yoghurt as a dip. We very much enjoyed this kindness. I must say that it is one thing if food reminds you of your childhood and what your children love to eat because you cook it for them but it is even more a bomb if it is even better prepared!
I already noticed that the restaurant had a poster with STEFAN in a frame behind their bar. I was first thinking that it was simply the pride of someone from your country of origin living in the same foreign country as you do. But as I got into a conversation with the staff it turned out that this restaurant belongs to Stefan’s family and that he also helps out there sometimes. As a big fan of him and his music I had a blast at that moment. My husband was my whole pride enchanting with his great Armenian speaking-skills!
This was exactly the motivation we needed to hit on Viljandi! We started from the point where we parked our car behind the Felin cafe heading towards the town hall. On our way we have passed by the Viljandi Museum and saw the Viljandi Vana Veetorn (Viljandi old Water Tower). After that we could make a turn to the Johann Köler monument. Johann Köler was an Estonian painter and leader of the Estonian national awakening having lived in the 19th century. Back at the main-street we headed to the circle where we first passed by the Viljandi Sports Center (Viljandi Spordikeskus) along with the Martin Klein monument. Continuing the way we stumbled across the St. Paul’s church (Pauluse kirk) as my husband loves churches. At the end of the street which basically was down the hill we still discovered the Ugala Theater. A beautiful light pink building next to the theater led us to the other side of the street.
It turned out that this building was basically a school – well, schools in Estonia are simply beautiful, that is nothing new any longer. On the other side of the street we walked back up the hill where we could see the Viljandi castle Fellin and last but not least the beautiful Vabaduse Plats of Viljandi which is a smaller counterpart to the Vabaduse Väljak in Tallinn. The Equestrian statue of General Johann Laidoner which caught my eye because it was given a scarf in the colors of the Estonian flag made us discover the Laululava (song stage) which is basically a smaller version of the Lauluväljak in Tallinn. People all over Estonian sang their nation to freedom. Close by there were two more sights: The Viljandi Castle Hill (Viljandi Lossimäed) as well as among others the cherry hills (kirsimägi) and many more ruins of the Felin Order.
Another sight worth seeing would have been the lake of Viljandi but as it was too cold and we had already been a little bit tired from our tour we passed it by car and enjoyed a view.
Insider Hint: Suure-Jaani
For my trip to Estonia I did not want to miss at least one concert. The only concert I found in the time where we would have been there was in Suure-Jaani. Suure-Jaani is a small village belonging to the area of Viljandi 30 minutes driving distance in the direction of Tallinn. So already on our way to Tallinn we saw the signs to Suure-Jaani. The concert Birgit had given with the musical actress and music teacher Ele Millistfer who comes from that area in the Johannese Kirk (St. John’s church) was a charity concert to restore the roof of the church. This was the time when the bright sun started to fight its way out among the clouds and warming up the day in addition. Apart from the blasting experience with Birgit and her husband Indrek (on the piano) before and after the concert the dreamlike sight on the village is definitely worth passing this hidden treasure.
Hidden Treasure Viljandi
Viljandi definitely is a hidden treasure to be discovered. Finding yourself in between these old historical and meaningful stones made you literally feel the proud Estonian spirit along with their history and what these people have went through. Viljandi also made me put my Estonian skills more into practice as no one whom I talked to spoke English (when I did not speak Armenian) at the same time I felt home thanks to Stefan’s great relatives. In addition: If you are a cat or- strawberry-lover (like my children) you are going to love Viljandi as you will find strawberry statues all over the town center as well as cat statues. I cannot tell if it was actually the gloomy atmosphere that made you actually feel nostalgic during our trip to Viljandi but I do believe that every inch is something you would not like to miss.
Love, Johanna
Strengthen Your Spirit 