hello once again! last time i said i wouldn't write such long emails, but alas, it has happened again. one a week seems fitting. reading the weblog every work-day though (weekends are usually pretty booked). a structured parasocial routine develops. Dangerous.

tartu

cool carpets. looks hand-made, but maybe it's just manufactured to look like they're hand-made. either way, very nice. i like that you're adding more pictures to go along with the weblog content. the images embedded on the page itself are nice too, but often lack details where details are wanted. nice styling choice though, i must admit, and fits the whole theme of the website and yourself too. slightly old-internet in a good way. feels intentional, not accidental. many websites nowadays look like they were assembled inside a sterile laboratory environment by committee.

funny you ran into the same conductor on the train to valga as the day before. i can't explain why, but the short buzzy feeling when recognising someone in public always warms me with joy. a confirmation you are physically existing somewhere consistently enough to become part of the background cast. speaking of recurring encounters, jonas from switzerland, how nice. even though you were info-dumping, i'm sure he enjoyed the company, the kinship and the shared stories. sometimes you don't want to speak and just listen. a real connection formed, a bond, one might say.

great pictures of the trees in valga. looking at the background, seems like you're once again in an area with plenty of nature. hope the temperature is better though. reading the rest of the chapter, sounds like a peaceful and quiet town where you can roam around in (almost) silence. nice! silence as an amenity. increasingly rare feature.

tallinn

questionable bathroom layout and decisions. probably hindsight. but sadly, not that uncommon. somewhere, somebody looked at that floorplan and thought “yes. optimal.” anyway, tools were provided, wash was completed, at least it's better than going without a shower. a botanical garden is hard to maintain. and even then, if well maintained, can still look bad. but it's good to see people take time to take care of plants, even if they don't belong in our direct environment. plants have a kind of honesty to them. they either survive or they do not. no pretending involved.

train ride to tallinn sounds like your run-of-the-mill one. any good views along the way there? more urban metal-graveyards or lumberyards? or was it more nature this time? there is something deeply eastern european about endless stacks of lumber appearing at random intervals.

the hostel situation would get me in discomfort too. especially when trying to be understood is so hard. before reading the rest, i hope your stay is good and you don't get robbed. maybe even some better sleep here. sleep quality rapidly becoming a secondary currency throughout this journey.

tallinn 2 (or maybe "reval"?)

i write this a few (2) days after reading the previous passage and almost forgot about the fact your hostel here is one for worker people. i got reminded when you said that everyone wearing a high-vis outfit in the passing-by vehicles could be your roommate. theoretically that's true. statistically even likely. you make it sound like a very busy city, at least by the description of all the traffic. getting sidetracked.

i am looking forward to reading about your conversation with freestone. i hope he is doing well. i would've said "pray" instead of "hope", but i don't want to be pretentious. gradual mormon side-quest progression continues.

the tour group (of mostly old people) is the perfect example of why i don't want to ever be part of a tour group. the illusion of free will. it takes away about 98% of the joy of travel. percentage based on nothing, really, just a measure of how drastic i feel about it. walking twenty meters behind a person with a raised umbrella or little flag. spiritually devastating.

i was intrigued by your descriptions of the art that i have looked up the "köler prize" exhibition entries. i found the pieces you described. it's hard to see the motion in the second piece you described (negotiating balance) from just 2 photos, and the photos from the "will i die a violent death?" have weird angles on the piece, so i can't really tell what is where. the meaning is lost on me, because of it, sadly. i did actually like another piece from that exhibition. let's see if your vote made the difference. democratic art participation. dangerous concept.

too bad you lost your dutch streak (again). who would've thought that even a coffee machine can beat this game. machine-assisted cultural sabotage.

new movie added to list, kokohu. your description, together with the trailer... interested to watch it. i'm a fan of non-american traditional-spoken movies. very immersive. people speaking like actual humans instead of screenplay delivery systems.

narva

being afraid, as inexplicable as you describe. the fact you feel it, means there's something there, consciously or unconsciously. no clue, i'm not a psychiatrist. anyway, glad you both survived the ordeal. humans are very good at detecting weirdness before consciously understanding why. unfortunately also very good at imagining weirdness where there is none. difficult mechanic.

the beach day sounds like one you could use more, seeing as you're tired and everything hurts, this could be a perfect environment to take a breather and relax. you have been actively travelling for quite a while now. you have your "rest-days", but even then you are not really resting. maybe this is wrong, but it appears so when reading. “rest-day” meaning only walking twelve kilo-meters instead of twenty.

you make the park you visited, walked straight through and would've enjoyed more were it not so busy sound like some post-apocalyptic beach resort. in any case, worth exploring. ignore the masses (especially the tourists, yuck).

on the train to narva, seems you are once again blessed with luck. again, a ticket not checked on accounts of the interrail ticket (application). what i do wonder is why the zero-euro ticket printing on the train? is it instead of buying a ticket in a station? screw that person sitting directly across from you when the seating situation called for a different spot for her to sit. don't they know standard etiquette in trains? this is the first instance i've heard though, so maybe the exception that proves the ruling. there is an unspoken geometry to public seating. violating it causes psychic damage.

i now read you're practically already in russia (what with the russian emigrants restoring the city of narva after the war). i read your writing you'd be careful, so i'll take your word for it.

tallinn 3

the mormon-arc, a continued adventure. i love reading how open they are to welcome even people that are not native there. so funny they know each other, even across the borders. maybe funny is not the right word. you probably get what i mean. the church you visited indeed looks and sounds like an underfunded school building. no matter, as long as the attendants are protected from the weather and preachers have ample means to vocalise the scripture. many americans as i read. surprising. pilgrimage? or are they all on some kind of "internship" like the two you met in dauvagpils? spiritual exchange students.

i read the whole experience and all encounters with a smile. it's good to hear and see you're doing so well. even though you are not really a believing person, showing interest in things is enough for a lot of faiths. gaining understanding, sharing experiences and thoughts. it's maybe even better than being a believer of the latter-day saints' viewpoints. how good would the world be if everyone was as open to these kinds of interactions, instead of trying to be better than one another or speaking ill of one or the other... impossible utopian thought detected.

the narva-branch-of-the-church-of-latter-day-saints episode sounds like it lasted all day, but apparently, it's only noon now. sounds like you found the perfect lunch spot. time behaves differently during highly specific social encounters.

crazy toilet-room! never seen anything like it.

helsinki

you write the baltic chapter is concluded here. even though it is an area i don't have any intentions of visiting, i enjoyed reading about your adventures there. many great experiences and places visited. excited to see this scandinavian chapter start. new biome unlocked.

at the boat terminal, the bus of tourists, another prime example of traveling done wrong. at least, i'm assuming this is another organised trip. anyway, i hope they enjoy it too. the tediousness of getting into some form of transportation like a plane, or in this case, a boat, is always off-putting. it seemed you had ample to watch and observe though, from the obnoxious advertising to the skittering of mammals around you. ferry terminals have a uniquely transitional atmosphere. nobody truly wants to stay there longer than necessary.

the phone app situation, relatable. it is the new way to forage for data. but, at least it makes life a bit easier. it saves time and the gamble that the person on the other end of the ticket-buying-counter speaks any form of a language we understand. ticket machines are a good middle ground between that situation and an app, but they are not everywhere. i guess this is also a part of the travelling experience. i enjoy figuring out the system and teaching others the ways. the attached video of your dinner at the sloped rocky surface is reviewed. it looks like a perfect lunch spot, once again. you're very good at picking those, i have deduced. there is definitely a strategic instinct to it.

helsinki 2

the supposed "sledgehammer" shaped green-area sounds nice. also funny, having such odd shape. sounds big too. i have shown the hello kitty image to a hello kitty afficionado, the first reaction being "wtf!?", and after some more contemplating, resulted in "i don't know how i feel about this". shock value > 100. probably the desired outcome. psychologically effective design.

photos of the environment look good! fine weather too, as far as i can tell from the images. i have located the green-area on the map. many trees. lots of "stargazing" rock outcroppings too. looks like a nice walk. nordic countries always seem to accidentally generate beautiful walking areas simply by existing.

another chance encounter with jonas from switzerland! what are the odds of all these random encounters? it's good to read how easily you gathered a party of bystanders and went on an adventure together. the fish-soup may not have been that good, but i'm sure the company made up for a whole lot! many such cases. mediocre food elevated through circumstance.

i hope you enjoy your time in scandinavia. it is one of my favourite regions to go on holiday (although i haven't seen much of finland yet. very interested to read about it from your perspective). hope you are doing well and get some better sleep the coming days. nothing as worse as going about your day with your eyes half closed due to sleep deprivation. eventually every bench starts looking spiritually inviting.

with kindest regards, your loyal reader,

björn broer

p.s.: i have asked frans about his thoughts on the weblog. he is only aware of some of the entries and is not actively reading. sadness. but he wishes you well either way. scamwell is still in avoidance mode. ongoing character arc.