Baltic Sea Day Programme in Estonia
Text Timo Raussi Photos Aime Estna, Kaupo Kalda, Paulina Rökman
Tomorrow, 27 August, is Baltic Sea Day. In Estonia, most of the day’s programme can be enjoyed at Tallinn Harbour, the Estonian Maritime Museum and the Viimsi Open Air Museum, or, for example, on a cycling trip connecting the latter two.
In the tent next to the Maritime Museum at the Seaplane Harbour, a wrecked approximately 700-year old Hanseatic ship, or cog, is being conserved. Tomorrow, the tent will open its doors briefly and the four-person team will present the progress of the project. Eero Ehanti and Heikki Häyhä from Finland, along with Estonian Maritime Museum archaeologists Priit Lätti and Lisette Reinvars, will talk about the cog at 13:00, 14:30 and 16:00 during free guided tours in Estonian and English, and in Finnish if necessary. There will also be a pop-up exhibition on the conservation of the cog at the tent, which can also be explored via the project team’s website.
From 15:00 onwards, World Cleanup Day Estonia and various departments of the City of Tallinn will organise a Baltic Sea Day clean-up, during which the natural environment at Pikakari Beach will be cleaned. A limited number of volunteers can also join a free guided nature excursion to Paljassaare at 18:00, in Estonian. Registration is available here.
Tomorrow, Tallink and the Tallinn Volunteer Sea Rescue Association will organise paid speedboat excursions in Tallinn Bay. Departures from the Admiralty Basin will take place every hour on the hour between 14:00 and 20:00, with ticket proceeds supporting the activities of the sea rescue association. During the €30 excursion, participants will also get to try out various sea rescue tasks themselves.
The free Baltic Sea Day cycling tour will head from the Seaplane Harbour to the Viimsi Open Air Museum. Departure is at 15:00 next to the cog tent, but participants can also join the group along the way. The leisurely ride, using participants’ own bicycles or bikes rented from a rental service, includes stops to hear stories related to history and seafaring. Guidance is also available in English. Check the tour’s Facebook page as it also contains a link to the SULPS! swim taking place at 18:00 on the shore of the Viimsi Open Air Museum: a simultaneous dip in the Baltic Sea by coastal communities from different Baltic Sea countries.
The Viimsi Open Air Museum will otherwise be immersed in the Baltic Sea atmosphere from 15:00 to 20:00. There will be creative activities and exhibitions for children. Folk dancing and stories about fish can be enjoyed alongside fish tastings and a lottery, and there will also be a storytelling session focusing on Baltic Sea legends. More information here.
If, instead of Tallinn, you happen to be in Pärnu tomorrow or driving across Estonia towards Latvia, make a slight detour shortly before the Ikla border crossing to KablI beach and the RMK nature centre located there. From 10:00 to 18:00, the centre will host an exhibition sponsored by the Embassy of Poland, consisting of illustrations inspired by the Baltic Sea by Estonian artists, as well as three ceramic installations: “A School of Baltic Sea Fish”, “The Baltic Sea Fish – the Daily Bread of Coastal Communities” and “The Baltic Sea Dining Table”.
Baltic Sea Day events in Estonia are coordinated by the Finnish Institute in Estonia. This year, the Estonian embassies and cultural institutes of various Baltic Sea countries have taken part in the organisation together with the Coastal Folk Museum and the Estonian Maritime Museum. More information in four languages is available at https://balticseaday.com/.
To learn more about this and similar topicsclean-up cog cycling tour events Exhibition nature excursion Viimsi Viimsi Open Air Museum
