“Haapsalus on hea” means “It’s good in Haapsalu” and it’s the theme sentence of our town because it’s true.
Haapsalu is a really nice summer resort and it is hidden on the western coast of a small country – Estonia. Haapsalu has a long history and it was first mentioned in written documents in 1279. So that year has been considered the birth year of the town and in 2016 it celebrated its 735th anniversary. The main thing that reminds you that you are in historical town is the old Episcopal Castle which is also the venue for lots of well-known and amazing summer events.
Haapsalu became a summer resort in the middle of the 19th century when the local doctor Carl Abraham Hunnius discovered that the local sea mud had lots of treating ingredients in it and after some research, he founded the first sea mud spa in Haapsalu in 1825. In these days Estonia belonged under the rule of the Russian tzar and Haapsalu became the beloved place for the Russian nobility to prove their health and rest from their busy lifestyle. Because of that, the railway was built, and even if the trains are not in run anymore, we have the most beautiful old railway station, which platform was once the longest in Europe. That was the birth of the summer resort which is one of the most peaceful places in the world and still famous for its sea mud and spas.
In summer time the small town, with only about 10 000 inhabitants, is full of small street cafes, concerts, festivals and summer people, who might be the tourists, visiting the town for the first time, the youth who have been brought up here and come to enjoy the summer in their hometown, people who go to the islands and stop for a cup of coffee and tasty range of cakes in their favourite cafes, and lots of fans all over the world, who keep coming back, wherever their life takes them. The most well-known events are the Festivals of White Lady and August Blues, which have been held here for ages, but also the newcomers like the Street food Festival, Italian Wine Days, Yoga Festival, Old Music Festival and lots of others.
Did I say that we don’t have a train anymore, actually we have one and it takes you slowly through the whole town and introduces you with the sights where you can come back walking when you have taken your coffee and cake from your favourite cafe and ready to go and discover this seaside town on your own. The train is called Peetrike, which is a childhood nickname for Little Peter and it starts from the real old train station.
But if you really really like trains, then just turn around the corner, behind the Train Station, and have fun with the old engines which belong to the Haapsalu Railway Museum, which is located in the same building. We did it some years ago.
It has been nice here, what else do you expect from a summer resort town at the seaside. We have got just these three summer months and sometimes the weather is not on our side, but this year it has been and it’s possible to feel the peaceful spirit of this little town which is so quiet and abandoned during the winter time. All the cafés are open and the tables are set outside, each one of them is offering tasty cakes, so it is hard to choose the one you really want because they are so filling and melting in your mouth and unfortunately you are not able to eat more than one at a time. The promenade is beautiful as always and people are just wandering around without any reason and finding their way on the terraces of the cafés. And the most important – the sun is shining and it’s warm and you can wear your summer clothes at last.
I really hope that it will stay the same until August when we are coming back and we will be able to enjoy the warm and dark August nights. I am a bit afraid that I will be missing my new bicycle because I have had it just for some days and it looks so very summer resort like and fits here so well. But at the same time, I am longing for Dublin and Ireland and my month ahead and all the nice plans which all I even don’t know at the moment. That’s the best part every time – just follow your inner feeling and it comes out the best. Actually, I like to have two homes, the better thing could only be to have two summers as well.
The second summer in Dublin is ahead and this year I have lots of time to wander around on my own. Actually, that’s exactly what I have dreamed about – to stay somewhere as long as you get to know the place, have time to walk around, notice the things around you, go back to the places you’ve already been, understand that you are able to take short routes and not get lost and have someone waiting for you at home asking about your day and being happy to see you.
Dublin Accent 