Towerrunning

As one of this year`s new experiences I chose to try towerrunning. I have though about this for two years now. I discovered that kind of competitions two years ago but then the season was over. Last year again I remembered it too late but this year I was right on time.

The first etape was held in Radisson Blu Sky Hotel on 9th February. As this was my first ever towerrunning competition, I did not quite know what to expect. I have used stairs as a training method during my regular training (quite some time ago now but still). I was anxious. The start of the run was behind the building so we had to take a short run outside, got my chip that is used in orienteering and off I went. Swisshotel (official name being Radisson ...) has 26 floors, I managed to finish with 2.49 being second woman and second in my age group. Kaisa Kukk, who was the best Estonian woman in 2014 in Teletorn was the winner. The hardest bit was coughing after the run, and my legs kept shaking so much.

The second etape took place in  Radisson Blu Hotel Olümpia on 2nd March. I had the feeling I did not give my all in February, mainly because I did not know if I would last to the finish. So this time I tried my best not to hold back. 26.5 floors, made it in 2.29 and was the best woman. The run itself was kind of harder, my legs did not shake nor did my muscles hurt but breathing was so hard.

Today was the last competition in Teletorn which was a part of the World Championships as well. The staires were so narrow. 65 floors, oh breathing again was the hardest bit. Legs are just fine (I`ll see tomorrow). Took me 7.08 to get up, was 7th and 5th in my age group.Received my first World Cup points.

A mini break in Ida-Virumaa

Last weekend we spent a relaxing day-off in Ida-Virumaa. We visited Saka Manor, a restored manor in Northern Estonia. Now it is a beautiful hotel and a spa. Located on the coast, truly beautiful all year round.

After checking in we took a short ride across the shore. The roads were quite icy. Our first stop was at Valaste Waterfall, the highest waterfall in Estonia. I have seen it once before in summer but I never knew how beautiful it is in winter when it is partly frozen. I wish I had my camera with me. One of the few times I did not take it with me unfortunately.

Then we drove past Ontika Manor and ended up in Narva-Jõesuu, mostly visited during summer. We had lunch in a charming cafe, Lemmik. As Narva-Jõesuu is so close to the Russian border, it is natural people speak Russian there too. But it was interesting that the caterers did not speak nor understan Estonian at all. Pancakes were delicious and so was the tea.

Our spa time began at 15.30, so after lunch we headed back to Saka. The spa was quite small but charming. It contained two pools (one for the adults and one for children), hot and cold water minipools and three saunas.

We had dinner in Saka Manor`s restaurant. Good food.

And our day ended with watching Eat, Pray, Love. As a part of this year`s reading challenge I recently read it. Oh, what a wonderful book. I found myself (or recognised myself as I used to be) on quite a lot of pages. And watching the film with an excellent company was so nice. The entire day had been so enjoyable.

Next morning we had breakfast, walked up to Saka Waterfall and headed back home.

Thranduil vol2

Just because I had some extra time for a chance I decided to draw Thranduil (Lee Pace) once more. Much more happy with this one :)

My 2014

Jälle see aeg käes. Ma ei suuda uskuda kui kiiresti aasta teine pool on läinud. Pole olnud sellist aegagi, et kirjutada.

Minu 2014
Trenn. Jooksin 1684km.
Joonistasin 8 pilti (alates 2007 aastast ei ole nii vähe veel joonistanud :( )
Käisin 2 riigis. Nädal Kuopios, Soomes. Nädal Iirmaal. Valepoolne liiklus :D Ei jõua järgmist suve ja Cornwalli ära oodata. Sotimaa peab veel aasta ootama.
1 kontsert, One Republic.
Sain Goodreads`i väljakutse tehtud, 50 raamatut. Ei kujuta ette, kuidas mõni inimene suudab reaalselt lugeda a la 120 või 300 raamatut. Ma puhtfüüsiliselt üle 50 ei jõua. Kas neil tööd või ma ei tea, muid tegevusi ei ole?

Uued kogemused
Jaanuar Põhjaka. Sotsiaalainete juht
Veebruar Käsitööring. Keedutainas. Brownie
Märts Kuopio. Kringel. Toidukoolitus
Aprill Makroonid. Sefiir. Tordikoolitus
Mai Sefiiritort. Rummmipallid
Juuni  Sokolaaditort
Juuli Vasakpoolne liiklus. Plaatisin täiesti üksinda ruumi
August
September
Oktoober
November Suhkrulilled
Detsember Sushi valmistamine

This time of year again. I cannot believe how incredibly fast the second part of this year has passed. I have not even had the time to sit down and write.

Summary of my 2014.
Training. Ran 1684km.
Made 8 drawings. I have never drawn that little.
Visited 2 coutries. A week in Kuopio, Finland. A week in Ireland. Wrong side traffic :D Cannot wait for doing that again in summer.
Saw only 1 concert.One Republic.
Completed my Goodreads reading challenge of 50 books again. As much as last year but realistically I am not able to read any more. I simply do not understand people who read 120 or 300 books a year. Don`t they have jobs? Lives?

New experiences in 2014.
January. Põhjaka Manor.
February. Handicraft course
March. Kuopio.
April. Divinity. Macarons. Cake training
May. Divinity cake. Rum balls
June. Chocolate cake
July. Wrong-sided traffic. Plastering a room by myself
August.
September.
October.
November. Sugar flowers
December. Making sushi

Reading resolutions for 2015

Done ^_^ 
I found this reading challenge. And since my Goodreads goal for this year is 50 books again, I thought to try it. To keep track of the list:
50 categories (51 books)
* 30.08. finished my 50th book this year ^_^ *

1. A book with more than 500 pages  The Other Side of the Story by Marian Keyes                  
2. A classic romance North and South by Elizabeth Gaskell
3. A book that became a movie The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel by Deborah Moggach
4. A book published this year Kuninglikud armastuslood. Tõeline armastus kuningakodade suletud uste taga. Gill Paul
5. A book with a number in the title The Five People You Meet in Heaven by Mitch Albom
6. A book written by someone under 30 Kristiine Kurema Liblika lein
7. A book with nonhuman characters The Last Continent by Terry Pratchett
8. A funny book Wtfudge am I supposed to read? Supposed to be How to be a Woman (didn`t find funny the slightest). Downloaded Free the Shorts from Amazon Humour section. What the fude was that? Others claim those to be funny, so be it.
9. A book by a female author Local Hero by Nora Roberts

10. A mystery or a thriller Crooked Letter, Crooked Letter by Tom Franklin

11. A book with a one word title Finale by Becca Fitzpatrick
12. A book of short stories Miss Marple kogutud lühijutud Agatha Christie
13. A book set in a different country Delirium by Lauren Oliver
14. A nonfiction book Kuidas panna inimesi tegutsema by Susan M. Weinschenk
15. A popular author`s first book Sense and Sensibility by Jane Austen
16. A book from an author you love that you haven`t read before The Casual Vacancy by J.K.Rowling
17. A book a friend recommended Bullery lapsed Astrid Lindgren
18. A Pulitzer-priced book Empire Falls by Richard Russo
19. A book based on a true story Väike raamat suurest leinast by Ian Gilbert
20. A book at the bottom of your to-read list How To Be a Woman by Caitlin Moran
21. A book your mom loves    Eat, pray, love by Elizabeth Gilbert
22. A book that scares you Kinnimüüritud tuba, lugude kokkupanija Kalle Kurg, kes ei ole autor; Horowitzi õudus I by Anthony Horowitz
23. A book more than 100 years old North and South by Elizabeth Gaskell
24. A book based entirely on its cover Honeysuckle Hollow by Jennifer Moormann
25. A book you were supposed to read in school but didn`t  Hahahaha :D
26. A memoir Metsik Cherly Strayed

27. A book you can finish in a day  The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde by
Robert Louis Stevenson;  Sleep! By Annelies Verbeke

28. A book with antomyms in the title North and South by Elizabeth Gaskell
29. A book set somewhere you`ve always wanted to visit The Book of Tomorrow by Cecilia Ahern
30. A book that came out the year you were born Kullimaja Marta  Ellinor Rängel
31. A book with bad reviews How the In-Laws Wrecked Christmas by Fiona Gison
32. A trilogy Divergent , Insurgent , Allegiant by Veronica Roth
33. A book from your childhood Kui ma väike olin Liina Raudsik
34. A book with a love triangle The Scorch Trials by James Dashner
35. A book set in the future The Maze Runner by James Dashner
36. A book set in high school  Looking for Alaska by John Green
37. A book with a colour in the title Silver Shadows by Richelle Mead
38. A book that made you cry. The Fault in Our Stars by John Green
39. A book with magic Shadow Spell by Nora Roberts
40. A graphic novel Troubled Waters by Dominique David
41. A book by an author you`ve never read before Midsummer Magic by Julia Williams
42. A book you own but have not read The Bridesmaid Pact by Julia Williams
43. A book that takes place in your hometown  Türi - kilde kihelkonna ja linna arengust by J.Arvola jt
44. A book that was originally written in a different language 16 Lighthouse Road by Debbie Macomber
45. A book set during Christmas A Will and a Way by Nora Roberts
46. A book written by an author with your same initials  Sleep! By Annelies Verbeke
47. A play Pygmalion by George Bernard Shaw
48. A banned book Alice imedemaal Luis Carroll
49. A book based or turned into a TV show The Perks of Being a Wallflower by Stephen Chbosky
50. A book you started but never finished North and South by Elizabeth Gaskell

Thranduil

I finally got to see The Battle of the Five Armies. Major effects and a nice summary to the Hobbit trilogy and prequel to Lord of the Rings. But that is not what this post is about obviously.

Thranduil as portrayed by the talented Lee Pace was .. to melt for. I have seen the first Hobbit film but not the second one. He appeared in An Unexpected Journey but then he did not catch my eye for some reason. But he is amazing. I have never liked men with long hair. Thranduil on the other hand is  (well, technically Lee Pace) gorgeous.

Miks sa mehele ei ole läinud?

Juhtusin paar päeva tagasi kokku oma vana klassijuhatajaga. Nii tore oleks alustada, et esimese klassijuhatajaga aga meil vahetusid nad millegipärast väga tihti ja kolmandas klassis oli juba kolmas inimene. See selleks.

Näen teda, ütlen: "Tere!", tema vastu:"Tere. Miks sa mehele ei ole läinud?" Ei mingit, kuidas sul läinud on? Ilus ilm täna! vms viisakusavaldust. Hea küll, väike koht, ta on kursis, kus ma töötan. Teoreetiliselt võib natuke teada, kuidas mul igapäevaselt läheb (spordiga on ka teoreetiliselt kursis). Aga mitte see ei ole tähtis kuidas minul läheb vaid miks ma mehele ei ole läinud. Oleks siis vähemalt:"Miks sa meest ei ole võtnud?"

"Lihtsalt ei ole."

"Jäädki vanatüdrukuks?"

No ju siis jään. Sest abielu on ju see, mis mind määrab. See on elu eesmärk. Ja nii kaua kui seda ei ole, siis on põhiline huvi MIKS?

Kas ma olen valesti aru saanud, et praegu on 21. sajand? Ma ei kavatse leiutada põhjuseid. Ei ole õige inimesega veel kohtunud. Elu ei jää elamata kui ei kohtu.

Rääkisime natuke aega veel ja lõpetuseks ikka mure, et:"Sa ei mõelnud seda ju tõsiselt?"

Éire vol2 day seven

So. July 21st, our last day in Ireland :( Well, technically, our plane back home was the next day but we had to be at the airport at 3.30 so that did not count.

Breakfast at Riversdale House B&B was nice. I am not keen on Irish/Scottish (what is the differenece?) breakfast, so I only asked for scrambled eggs. Not a favourite. As we had managed to visit Glendalough monastic site the previous day even though originally it was planned for 21st we decided to head straight to Dublin, hand over the rental and wander around the City.

Glenmacnass waterfall

Irish traffic jam

Sally Gap

First we tried to find a Glenmacnass waterfall (not the big one as we soon found out though it was named the same)  I that was located on my paper map. We did find the correct spot and actually managed to see the narrow stream coming down from a mountainside but unfortunately we were not able to get any close beause it was behind private properties. Oh well, nothing to do.

View from Glenmacnass waterfall overlooking the valley

As I wanted to get the most out of the Wicklow Mountains, I chose R115 to drive to Dublin. And being on that road we stumbled across much bigger waterfall. The view to the glen was again breathtaking. We just sat there for a while and enjoyed the beautiful weather. We actually made several stops on our way back. Just after the waterfall we got to see an Irish traffic jam, some sheep wandering on the road. I had expected to see that from our first day but had to wait until the last one. The drive on R115 was beautiful, simply beautiful. And all too soon it came to an end.
Before we understood it, we had reached the Dublin circle and made our way torwards the airport. Returned our car, found the suffle coach that drove us to our last hotel and settled in. Then we took the hotel`s coach back to the airport, changes buses and were on one that led us to Dublin city centre.
Dublin was just as lovely as I remembered. We did nothing special, just walked around, had lunch  and bought some souvenires from Carrols, walked some more and too soon our time was up. So we found the bus back to our hotel.

Next morning came way too soon. First I couldn`t fall asleep and then I was woken by snoring (that I had not heard during previous days. Weird.) Had to be at the airport at 3.30. Changed flights in Frankfurt. Got to sit next to a cute guy. He slept most of the way. Oh, I was sooo sleepy when we reached Frankfurt. Flying always makes me so sleepy and we had about three hours to kill with nothing to do. It would have been four hours but our plane was late. We had someone with a wheelchair that needed special tending after. Luckily for us that left less time at the airport.

Éire vol2 day six

Bunratty Villa B;B with our rental car

20th July. Bunratty Villa B&B was a really nice place to stay, they made us feel really welcome. Breakfast was delicious. We were able to choose from buffet and then order our main dish. I chose pancakes. Yum. First time I have eaten them with maple syrup. They always do that in movies, overflow a stack of pancakes with a lot of syrup so I got to try that out. Served with fresh berries.

Trinitarian Monastery

Adare

Adare

Our next stop was Adare, a cute village some 15 km from Limerick. Called one of the prettiest villags in Ireland. Thatched roofs like in Renvyle, but houses were colourful. We visited the Heritage centre, saw the local school and wondered around the streets. There is a beautiful park and castle but not open for looking around. Most of the colourful houses are either shops or cafes. Luckily we were not that early so most were already open and we got to peek inside.

High Cross

The Rock of Cashel

Slowly heading back towards Eastern coast we stopped in Cashel to see the Rock of Cashel (Carraig Phádraig). At the time it was being partly renovated so it had these big sheets covering some of the view. But what was visible was stunning. Rock of Cashel is also known as Cashel of the Kings and St. Patrick's Rock. Visitors were offered to listen to local guides introducing the Rock and its history. Very nice experience.

Another Rock that was on our way was The Rock of Dunmase. Oh, the road leading to the ruins was again so great, so narrow I had to hold my breath to keep the car thinner. Luckily there are pockets just for letting cars pass. This is one thing I did the entire time being in Ireland. When ever I drove one of the narrow roads (and except Aran day we had them constantly) that could not possibily let an approaching car pass I always took notice of the pockets to see how far I would have to reverse. Being on the wrong side of the road. But fortunately the traffic on our visit (in these particular places) was very mild. So, Dunmase is a former defensive castle now ruins made possible to visit free of charge and enjoy the surroundings. The view from the ruins is amazing. You can see so far and the nature is stunning.

Wicklow mountains

So finally it was time to head towards Glendalough (Gleann Dá Loch) and Wicklow National Park where lay our one but last b&b. Wicklow mountains made their appearance as we got closer. Driving in the mountains is heavenly. I could just gaze at the view but I also have to take notice of the road and oncoming traffic. We stopped in a viewing point and looked down at the valley wandering that there were houses below. As it turned out Riversdale House B&B, where we were spending the night was located just there. After having climbed up the road to Cliffs of Moher with out 1.4 car that nearly died on the way, my friend was ready to leave our car on the higher road in case we did not make it up again. Though that scare turned out to be in vain.

Riversdale House B&B

We got settled in and made our way to Glendalough monastic settlement. Riversdale was once again so beautiful with a marvellous location and a walking distance from the monastic site. There were one of the steepest mountainsides I have seen, all covered with trees. Impossible as it seemed. It was as if trees were growing on a wall. 

The round tower and St Kevin`s Church

Glendalough was founded in the 6th century by St Kevin. The site is well preserved consisting of a graveyeard, High Cross, The Round Tower, St Kevin`s Church, The Gateway, The Cathedral

The Cathedral

The High Cross

St Kevin`s Cross and my fingers :)

and so forth. You are also able to walk by the two lakes (Upper and Lowe lake), hike on the trails and in the mountains. Again one place so worth visiting again if ever back in Ireland. Oh, this time I was able to get my hands around St Kevin`s cross, one thing I did not manage during my previous visit.
On our way back I saw an enormous snail.

Green woods between The Lower and The Upper lakes

Éire vol2 day five. BD :)

July 19th, my 30th birthday.
As a tiny tradition on my birthday while travelling (which has happened quite a lot of times to come to think of that), I get up early and take a walk. Although I had already taken the Moher trail I went there again. The previous night had been sunny and I wanted good pictures in case it was raining on my birthday morning. So again I took the now known track and enjoyed the beautiful scenery and the view of the Atlantic Ocean.

Doolin Hostel

Breakfast was the same as the previous morning.

Doolin stalactite

As we did not have any timely visits my friend suggested we visited the Doolin Cave (Pol an Ionain) which we did not have time for earlier. Tom lead us back to the cave but it was still too early to be open. So we ended up being back on the coast to admire the limestone and the Ocean.  But soon enough the visitor centre was opened and our guide led us down the caves speaking about discovering the cave and its history. We got to see the 7m stalactite which was quite impressive.

Cliffs of Moher

The Hag`s Head

Cliffs of Moher

Add caption

Our day continued with cliffs of Moher, this time starting from the visitor centre. We agreed to spend three hours by the cliffs and meet up when the time was up. So I explored the trail leading right (got to the point where I had reached starting from Doolin), sat on an edge and let the time pass. Only to discover I should have enough time to reach the other end (Hag`s head not Liscannor). So I made my way towards that direction. I cannot express how gorgeous the view is. Once again the weather was splendid. Just walked and took in the presence. I did nearly reach the Hag`s Head. I got nearly to the end but saw our appointed time was approaching so I made it back.

Liscannor

Slowly making our way to Bunratty we had lunch in Liscannor. Liscannor is a lovely small village.

Ennis

 Then came Ennis. We had plenty of time since we did not want to reach Bunratty too early. So what are girls to do? Go shopping of course :D Well, Ennis was the only town we were in when shops were still open. We had been in Galway but it had been too late and besides, we had not though about that. But when the opportunity presented itself, why not? Got some candy for my people back home. And found a discount store to stack up on baking supplies. Finding that shop was marvellous.

Bunratty castle

Our day ended in Bunratty, we were sleeping in Bunratty Villa B&B. Oh, what a gem! The hostess was so nice. Not to mention the B&B was absolutely adorable, so pretty, clean and comfortable. Birthday deserved a dinner out. Bunratty itself is quite a small town. We had dinner in a pub next to Bunratty Castle. Yum. And ended the day with reading in a comfy chair.