Kuressaare linn

The longest day of the year is a pretty big deal when you are in far northern Europe. We have already noticed numerous large, conical shaped bonfires being prepared around the island. Apparently the actual celebrations will continue over the next 3 nights, right until we arrive in Tallinn.

This evening our team members donned their best going out clothes for a special solstice dinner in Kuressaare. I was not sure whether I would be able to make a booking for twenty people at short notice on such an important night of the year, but luckily I managed to get us in at the Saaremaa Veski. This is actually the most famous restaurant in Kuressaare, and is in a huge converted stone windmill.

It turned out to be a very memorable evening. The food was superb and the atmosphere was amazing. We were seated on the ground floor of the structure and each table was actually a huge circular stone slab. For John Mudgway it turned out to be a very "lucky" night indeed. Somehow he caught the attention of a buxom matron who had been travelling with a group of American tourists. It must have been a case of love at first sight ,or maybe just a case of "anything is better than an American", for the matron threw her arms around poor John and started kissing him passionately. It was quite an incredible sight seeing two octogenarians engaging in such a wild display of passion. The shock almost made Bob choke on his cider (he might have been a little bit jealous).

After a wonderful evening of dining and laughter, it was finally time to get back on our waiting bus for the ride back to the hotel. It was only at this time that the head waiter and a young underling chased us to the bus. The senior waiter started speaking rapidly in Estonian. What could possibly be wrong, I wondered?

We finally realised we were being accused of doing a runner. Apparently there was a Sprite and a Fanta that had not been paid for. Shocking, but true. The only problem was that no one in our group had drunk either a sprite or a Fanta. It turned out to be the blasted American group. Typical. We had been falsely mistaken for a group of Trumpers. We assured the staff that we definitely were NOT from America and apologies and smiles returned.

Bob and David were also feeling playful and made me take their picture together outside the windmill. What happens in Kuressaare,stays in Kuressaare, I guess.

About 10.30 pm we arrived back at the hotel. Douglas helped the bus driver reconnect the trailer onto the bus, causing a significant amount of damage to the rear of the bus in the process. Of course it was still bright daylight.

Happy Summer Solstice Day to Everyone !Read more