Whenever we met friends and told them that we were going to be doing this tour today, they consistently said: "You are in for a real treat." And that was by far the biggest understatement of the trip! We learned so much about Estonia and ourselves - an experience we will not soon forget.
Haapsalu is about 1.5 hours from Tallinn. It is a seaside town which boasts many unique attributes which made it an important location in secular history. On a major trade route, this town hosted many noblemen over the years in search of a good mud bath. Or ladies who wanted nothing but the finest hand knitted Haapsalu lace shawl.
The Haapsalu lace shawl knitting tradition is over 2 centuries old. Girls learn in 8th grade but several men also knit - including a 74 yr old man who has been knitting for past 10 years. It takes about 80 hours to knit one shawl. It was the means for women to earn a living while the men were out at sea.
There is a time to laugh. . .
There is only one Kingdom Hall in the town which hosts one Estonian congregation and one Russian group. I was the first one in the Hall to an overwhelming expression of love and welcome from the local friends. Just the first of many moving surprises in store for this day.
With Susie, our tour guide for the day.
. . . a Time to Weep. . .
Next was a very sobering experience. We were taken to a train depot that was the very sight more than 30,000 people (300 JW) were deported to Siberia on one night. The train depot is over 100 years old - the oldest in Europe. The platform is 136 yards - Stacy says that's longer than a football field.
Families were exiled separately to not be united for several years. No trials or explanation. Even a 6-mo old baby was arrested as an "enemy of the state." Today, we got to see and experience the boxcars that are similar to those used during this time of great test. The local friends did a fantastic job re-creating the scene for us. And helping us to walk a mile in their shoes.
They closed the doors on the boxcar for just a minute to help us better understand what our friends went through during the deportation to Siberia.
. . . and a Time to Skip About. . .
After a beautiful lunch at a seaside cafe (where the friends were also on hand to provide entertainment), we went to a medieval castle where I got a quick lesson in clay jewelry making. After a leisure (albeit rainy) stroll through the many shops and cafes in this little town, we were surprised yet again to enjoy more hospitality with the friends before we tore ourselves away to make the trip back to our hotel.
Talk about a roller coaster of emotions in one day. And tomorrow the convention starts.
It was such an emotional experience-- some sisters in our group were sobbing😢
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