Mountain meadow

Thursday

This post will be a little short, as we haven't got much time before meeting the vans and heading to our final Laulupidu rehearsal.

Yesterday was fantastic.

I woke up with cool mountain air drifting in through my window, shortly followed by the sounds of the Saaremaa mees koor rehearsing a few floors below. We made our way down the mountain to the theatre in town for a quick warm up, and put on a fantastic concert for a rather enthused group of mostly older Estonians.

The final song, Bridge Over Troubled Waters, is a stunner. Always has been. It drew a pretty touching response from our audience, which was followed by a stop at the nearby Olympic rings from the 2010 games for a photo.

Afterwards, we stopped back at the hostels to grab our things, and set out for a free afternoon. I switched groups a handful of times, but managed to enjoy the best IPA I've ever had, some solid mac & cheese and a ice cream at a corner shop by the small artificial river that flows through the village.

We made a few final purchases, and two friends and I decided to forego a taxi ride back up the mountain in favor of walking. We explored part of the upper village and discovered an adorable pond at the base of the town-bound river before heading across a covered bridge and making for our hillside homes.

The trek up the mountain was breathtaking -- in more ways than one. It was steep, basically a straight shot alongside one of the chair lifts. Behind us, as the village grew more distant, the incredible sunset became more visible.

The sun began to slide behind the hills across the valley, shooting lines through the mountain air. Wildflowers dotted the meadow. It was beautiful, and I'll definitely be making the climb again.

The evening was finished off with time spent among friends, dancing our worries away before skipping back to our own rooms before lights out.

Today, which I think is Friday -- I've lost track already -- includes one more rehearsal for Laulupidu, and then the celebration itself at 1 p.m. Tonight, we'll have a little more free time to enjoy the company of our fellow magic-makers. Terviseks!