I really liked Tallinn. I bet I’d really like the rest of Estonia too, especially what I’ve heard of the forests and wild places, but for now I can definitely say that I really liked Tallinn.
I’m making a point to visit a lot of awesome places on this adventure, but I’m also making a point to go with the flow, and let myself smell the roses on the trails I set myself on. Kadrioru Park was a good example of succeeding in that goal – I was originally aiming for the Kumu Art Museum, but had to walk through Kadrioru to get there…
Which meant that I spent a few hours wandering an absolutely glorious city park!
The park is built around a massive palace built by Czar Peter the Great, and so it was this really interesting combination of a palace garden and a public park. There were causeways with huge flowing streams, flower gardens and broad walkways that were clearly intended for nobility to stroll around… but there were also semi-wild sections where you could be forgiven for almost forgetting that you were in the capital city.
Definitely a lovely park, and an excellent diversion on my way to the art museum!
(Ironic note – while writing this post, I learned that the palace build by Czar Peter the Great now houses it’s own art museum! So… I got distracted by an art museum on my way to an art museum. But didn’t go into the art museum, because I was going to the art museum. Ohh the trials and tribulations of Ben)
One of the big spots on my list of places to visit in Stockholm was the legendarily-huge park, the Djurgården. I’d heard stories of it before, from family and friends, and was looking forward to taking a good long walk in the woods. I’d been rocking the city life since Reykjavik, and some clean air and animal sounds were sounding pretty great to me.
After leaving the Vasa Museum, I knew it was a bit too late to kick off a true exploration of the gardens… but I am a pretty big fan of recon missions… and the Vasa Museum is right next to one of the entrances…
I checked my map, grabbed a quick snack, and headed in.
Stepping into Djurgården proper, or at least the nature section since technically the Vasa Museum is within the bounds, wasn’t much different from stepping into any city park – There were beautifully flowering plants, people picnicking, and some folks playing various lawn games. It was pretty, but nothing especially unique… at first.
As I continued walking, the garden became more and more wild. Where most city parks will maintain that base level of “tamed nature”, the Djurgården became less tame. I passed one last restaurant, and found myself in a forest of oak trees and wild underbrush. I could almost, just barely, hear some city noises… but I was essentially insulated, hearing mainly the wind in the trees and the birds chattering to each other.
I’ll admit that I didn’t wander for too long – I hadn’t had too much to eat previously, and the day was quite warm. I got some good exposure and exploration in, came up with a good plan on where to go when I came back, and started to slowly forge my way back to civilization.
Ohh! One quick extra – Something that I’ve noticed in both Oslo and Stockholm. Vegetarian Roombas! AKA automated lawnmower robots! They’re cute, but also just a little bit scary.
Who are the Mazamas, you may ask? And what’s BCEP, you may enquire? Well, let me fill you in dear reader. When I first moved to Oregon, I pretty quickly heard about a mountaineering group in town called The Mazamas.
Similar to the AMC back in Boston, they teach classes and do conservation outreach projects. Over the years, I’d interacted with them tangentially – attending a few classes, volunteering with a few groups, but I’d never been able to actually take a course officially. I’d applied to their Advanced Rock climbing class, but wasn’t accepted for one reason or another.
Now, nearly seven years after first moving to Oregon, I was trying again. This time beginning at the bottom – while you may notice that I’m not quite a beginner when it comes to the outdoors, I was tired. These last few years haven’t been easy, and I was just tired of fighting… the chance to just sit back and meet new people while enjoying a few group hikes was more than worth the price of admission.
Friday, 01-Apr-2022
No, really, this isn’t an April Fools joke.
Yes, I know that Mt. Tabor is only like… a single square mile. And it’s in the middle of the city. And I had a clear map that I’d printed out earlier.
But you know what?
The whole fun of BCEP for me is to practice things… Some of them I’ve learned before, but haven’t used in ages. So today, I was orienteering! Reviewing my old land navigation skills, and pulling out that compass that’s been hanging in my room for years.
I met up with two of the group assistants in the morning, relaxing in the sun by one of the reservoirs at Mt. Tabor. The weather report hadn’t been perfect, but the day had come through with shining (literally) colors… Breaking beautifully warm and bright, with more flowers blooming than I could have imagined.
We hopped to it, working our way through the land-navigation packet one step at a time. We didn’t rush, but didn’t slouch either… Both of my companions being amazingly supportive and fun, letting me take the lead and helping me work through the process using my older model compass. I can’t even remember when I bought this compass, but it’s one of the old-style Lensatic Compasses – no magnetic declination setting or anything, so I had to manually adjust the declination reading every time… which isn’t really that hard, but I did get mixed up a few times due to the negative modifier for Oregon…
Anyways, my inability to do math aside, we had a great time. We walked through the steps, chatted a lot, and enjoyed a perfect walk in the park. Smelled the flowers, took in the sunlight, and… just appreciated.
After finishing up, we parted ways. They headed out, and I took a bit of a walk around… just relishing the chance to stretch my legs and enjoy the spring weather. I even stopped by the garden shop on the way home, picking up (possibly too many) new plants for the balcony!
It’s been a rough few years, but simple and fun trips like this are helping me feel some confidence in the world ahead. I think it’s going to be pretty excellent.
