Where is it? Why, it's just about half an hour northeast of Tartu.
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What is there? Why, it's just a cute little town to visit with some historical places related to a famous Estonian author (Oscar Luts, author of Kevade, etc.) and a famous pharmacy where you can buy a mysterious elixir to cure any ailment (this one is more than a bit mysterious to me as it was explained in Estonian, but I suspect it is something like schnapps).
Why Palamuse on a September Saturday? Why, there is an enormous fair, the XIII SUUR PAUNVERE VÄLJANÄITUS JA LAAT with some of the following highlights:
Gigantic Pumpkins
Folk Dancing
Smoked Fish in Every Shape, Size, and Color
Portable Sauna
Mushroom Carvings (Maybe some inspiration for my favorite wood carver out there?)
Rustic Hot Tubs
Old Time Band Apelsin
Click the link to hear a music sample -- they are really pretty good!
Lots of Handicrafts and Shoppers
(I modestly walked away with some beautiful orange wool for knitting, sea buckthorn honey, and handmade goat's milk soaps. I resisted the temptation to buy a beautiful jacket, mittens, jewelry, handmade baskets, and so many more treasures!)
How does it Pop? Why, with Popsid, of course!
Upon my return to Tartu, I picked up with the crazy but quite talented group with whom I played while I was here before. It was fun to reappear at a rehearsal a few weeks ago and to be readopted (without much fuss or fanfare) to the group. They are funny/weird/playful and also serious about their music. It reminds me a lot of pep bands in high school and college, but with a steeper learning curve. They keep hundreds of songs in their repertoire so that almost every concert involves quite a bit of sight reading and they operate in Estonian, this ever-elusive language that I continue to attempt to learn and understand better. I'm happy they've accepted my pitiful language competency and mediocre horn talents -- it is always fun to be in their midst.
Curious about the sexy uniform? Yes, we wear green overalls for concerts :-)
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