Living in Estonia: mushrooms

October. The season of mushrooms is over. And this year was a memorable one, as Estonians told me. I cannot compare but I can tell, from my personal experience, that it was good indeed. Fun and tasty... so, even if I already talked about mushrooms earlier, I could not not write a post about mushrooms.

An afternoon at the museum

Mushrooms are everywhere, even at the museum. The Natural History Museum had the great idea to make a (of course) temporary exhibition with real-life mushrooms in September. And it was very popular. With families introducing kids to mushrooms but also with adults who simply want to increase (or confirm) their knowledge about mushrooms. The focus of most people is on whether the mushrooms they see in the forest are edible or not. Although no general rules were given, it was clearly indicated for each mushroom whether you coud eat it or not, and if you needed to boil them first. Many mushrooms need to be boiled in a lot of water to strip them of their toxicity or irritants  before actually starting to cook with them (the water used is then full of these substances and cannot be used, it is not bouillon). Mushrooms are so integrated in the Estonian culture that they also have a word which is used only for the boiling of mushrooms: kupatama. It was interesting to know that there are mushrooms which have different effects on different people: some might eat them without any trouble and even like them, while others could have severe disturbances. It was also remarkable how two types of mushrooms can look similar but one species can kill you while the other can be eaten. 

"Real-life" mushroom exhibition at the natural history museum in Tallinn

Some mushrooms are so big they can feed one person, or hide you from the burning sun

Recognising edible from poisonous mushrooms is essential, but sometimes far from easy: on the left poster, a perfectly good mushroom, on the right, a highly poisonous one (some sources online say as little as 7 g of this white Amanita can already lead to a very sad end)

This family of mushrooms is good to eat, in case of doubt you should boil them first

A French poster in the museum

Finding your own mushrooms

Mushrooming is kind of a national sport in Estonia. And many foreigners travelling to Estonia want to join the activity. Now, the problem is that mushrooming is also surrounded by secrecy. Every Estonian has its spot(s) where to pick mushrooms and they are unlikely to reveal it to others. It kind of goes like : "I could tell you where is my mushroom spot, and maybe even take you there, but I will have to kill you shortly after that!"... I did a web search on the topic and I was surprised to find out that, among most Estonian families, talking about your mushroom place is taboo. Yes, you don't even reveal your favorite places to your own family, you just keep it for yourself! wow! From that perspective, I think we have been lucky as Katri's family has always been quite open: two of her aunts have told us accurately where to find good mushroom forests, and one of them even took us there herself!

Most of the time, if you ask an Estonian about mushroom places, they will look at you oddly and give you an awkward, vague answer which will not be very helpful. Well, Katri and I now have a "secret" spot on our own. And, of course, I will not tell you where it is :)

Finding good mushroom forests is one thing. The next issue is: which mushrooms to pick? As Katri told me: "Not many things can kill you in Estonia, but mushrooms are one of these things!". A bit scary, but it is a fair warning. There are hundreds of species of mushrooms in the Estonian forests and some tend to look very similar while having very different properties. At first, it is frustrating, but it is safe to only pick the few species you know for sure you can eat. If you are in a good forest at the right moment, you may easily fill your basket or bucket with only one or two species. I can tell now that I have behind me a good half a dozen of mushrooming days and I am able to recognise 6-7 families of mushrooms. On a good day, it is sufficient to have good fun, fill my bucket and have reserves for a reasonable time afterwards.

Lunch break in the forest, at the menu: tea and orecchiette with cream and... mushrooms!

Mushroom picking in the "Switzerland of Estonia", a hilly area close to Aegviidu

These russula are beautiful mushrooms, but need to be boiled before eating and lose their color and a lot of their texture in the process so they will be brown and grey blobs by the time they hit the table. Better than nothing though.

Me in my frenzy mushroom picking in our "secret spot"

Our pick from the "secret spot": buckets are full, so I start filling my backpack too... 

This is what a mushroom looks like when worms have gotten to it before you. This mushroom would be good to eat, if weren`t for the worms -  this you leave in the forest.

No, this one you can't eat: this is the famous Amanita Muscaria. It will not kill you but it has hallucinogenic effects.

This is also an Amanita Muscaria, a young (cute?) individual

A family of amanites. There are many amanites in the forest, also the deadly white and green ones. Do not eat.

These hallucinogenic mushrooms remind me a Disney scene, when Alice meets the smoking caterpillar.

With full bucket and backpack, we can head home now, where the next tasks awaits... processing and cooking.

Cooking with mushrooms

Picking mushrooms is fun. It is even addictive, I can tell you. The other day, when we ended up in what I call our "secret spot", I got so much into it that I could not stop picking mushrooms. There were so many nice ones and I was sad to think that in a couple of days they would grow old and all this food would be wasted...  So, even if my bucket was overfull, I continued picking the most beautiful specimens and started stacking them in my backpack!

Once you get home, however, the work starts! Yes, you need to process the mushrooms immediately otherwise they will go bad very fast. And when you get home on a Sunday night, tired of a nice weekend in the open air, you have to dedicate some hours to it. Some mushrooms just need to be brushed to get rid of the little bit of forest that came with them and then you can eat them, often by frying them in a pan. It is the case of the gyrolle (this is the French name, it is called chanterelle in English) or the kitsemampel (gypsy mushroom in English). Other mushrooms - like the cèpe (boletus in Latin and porcini in English) - require you to remove the mossy part. Then you have those that you should soak for a day or two - e.g. the männirisikas (milkcaps in English) and those that you have to boil (sometimes, twice) to get rid of any (potential) toxicity - e.g. the pilvik (russula in English).

Just a small part of our bounty

This is the gypsy mushroom, a good mushroom. It can be fried and eaten directly, no boiling at all needed, or frozen for winter. We have 5 litres in the freezer. It is also good because it grows in groups and when  you find one there are usually many more around.

Just took a photo to record some physiology. The bottom mushrooms are the red hot milk caps; they are actually super bitter when fresh, burning the tongue with their sap, but after a long soak, cooking and a marinade, they are very good to eat.  Their advantage is also than unlike the red ones on top (russula), they maintain their color and shape in the process and still look good after it all.

This reminds me of this inspired sequence from the Disney movie Fantasia, on the tune Nutcracker by Tchaïkowski.  

My mushroom risotto with porcini

The delicious mushroom quiche Katri prepared with our own picks (and on the right, the caprese with yellow tomatoes from her brother's garden). Never will you have  a another quiche with so much mushroom in it. 

Living in Estonia: the great migration

Autumn is a strange period of the year. Some people already regret the end of the summer and start preparing for the winter. In Estonia, you already say "goodbye" to a part of your clothes you know you might not wear anymore for the next 6 months or so... 

An autumn tree tunnel on the Salevere hiking trail

But autumn has its positives sides too: for a few weeks, the nature shows its most beautiful colours, until the first storm will deprive the trees of their last leaves. Now that I have been in Estonia and started living the life of Estonians, I have developed a few other ways to qualify autumn. The first signs already came late august: swallows and other small birds start gathering on electric power lines, storks and cranes show more rarely and the numerous nests are becoming deserted.

The cliffs of Salevere

Another one for my collection of mushrooms in the wild

By living in Estonia, I have become more aware about the migration of birds, its importance and its timing. Indeed, birds are - together with the flora - part of the nature rhythm. Although I have been taught about migratory birds as a child, by both school and through my parents, the concept was mostly theoretical to me. Yes, I have seen a few storks in Belgium. I have been taken (and still go on my own) to the Zwin, a natural space dedicated to birds at the Belgian coast, next to the Dutch border. So I know. But I have never experienced it first person. 

The ruins of the old fortress next to Lahmuse

The view from the Lahmuse manor house

Estonia, and the (other) Nordic countries as well, is a prime summer destination for migratory birds. Human development in Europe has limited the free space available and birds have to reach more and more towards North to find food in abundance to feed themselves and raise their babies during the summer season. And to prepare for the long journey back towards Southern Europe and Africa. Here, there is abundance of space and food. 

Estonia has also clear rules (laws?) with respect to birdlife. For example, if a stork builds its nest on your chimney, you are allowed to move it but not to destroy it. You have to buy a post that you plant in your property to install the nest on it. When it comes to very rare species, like eagles, then it becomes more tricky. An eagle nest cannot be move. Moreover, you are not allowed to approach within a distance of a few meters. So, if you are the "lucky" owner of a ground where an eagle family decides to settle, you are requested to leave them in peace for the whole nesting season... 

A double dry toilet organised by RMK. I liked this one because of the hearts on the doors, which - to me, but apparently to me alone - indicated the gents' loo on the left and the ladies' on the right... 

Another funny public toilet... to tell you the truth, there is a building right behind the wall.

At the end of September or early October, the migration of birds starts. It is known that migration is performed in large groups. Even birds which are usually solitary or living in small groups (family) join flocks for this long journey. In Estonia, one of the places where the birds gather before the travel is the Matsalu National Park. Located in the coastal area of Läänemaa, between Haapsalu and Pärnu (https://goo.gl/maps/roL8U), this national park offers lots of place for birds and the access for humans is very restricted. 

In this early October weekend, we embarked with a group for a day-trip to Matsalu. The company was rather old (average age on the bus, 65 years old?) and the trip a bit disappointing, mostly because of the slow pace. It was to be expected, firstly with a large group of old people and generally you never know how many birds you will see beforehand. On the other hand, we also visited a manor house in Lahmuse and discovered the Salevere hiking trail, along cliffs where the local snakes hibernate. Among these snakes, the viper and the slowworm. The latter is not a snake but rather a lizard that with atrophied legs. I don't remember seing one ever and that I'm looking forward to observe since I have been reading the book by Estonian author Andrus Kivirähk "The man who spoke snakish" (a great book, by the way).

A flock of geese flying above us in Matsalu

We were able to see a few flocks of birds anyway. From two species: one related to geese and one smaller black and white bird, which I can't classify. We have seen many groups resting in the fields in the late afternoon. We also saw some on the water of the bay. And we could see flocks flying in the distance and even above our heads for a while. I have to say it is impressive. We have decided to come back to Matsalu on our own in spring to see the birds coming back. Hopefully we will be successful. I will keep you updated about it in a few months... 

Our tour group in Matsalu, desperately looking for birds around... 

Living in Estonia: family memories

You can learn a lot about the history of Estonia by reading books and visiting museums, but you will never get the same perception as when someone tells you about their lives and experience. Even though the average Estonian remains, from my perspective, quiet and "minimalist" - i.e. he only says what is strictly necessary, often even less than that -, if you are patient and if you ask the right questions you may find out what you are looking for.  There are also a few spontaneously talkative individuals around. In Katri's family, for example, you have a bit of everything. With me, of course, it also depends how comfortable they are talking in English.

Our parents' childhood

In the second half of September, we are invited to celebrate the birthday of the youngest of Katri's aunts on her father side. I understand that the family tradition is to gather at the graveyard where the grandparents are buried, in a small village in central Estonia. We went by this graveyard three years ago already, during my first holiday of Estonia. In both occasions, Katri pointed out how pleasant, green and spacious the graveyard was. It is surrounded by a lovely lake and forests. She highlighted the contrast with some form of graves we once saw in Italy - a wall where hundreds of square tombs with a marble plate are located next to each other over tens of meters wide and a few meters high...

The view from the graveyard church:  on the other side of the lake, the public beach

After cleaning the grandparents tomb and decorating it with new plants and candles, we take a few pictures. I also get to see the family photo album. The grandmother had eight sisters and brothers, and she was a passionate gardener. The grandfather was an electrician. Then the family walks around the graveyard. And remembers a series of friends and known individuals, among which their favorite school teacher. One of the graves has a large space and a statue: Johann Köler. He is one of the most famous painters in Estonia, mostly known for his portraits. He studied at the academy of Saint Petersburg. Later, I could see some of his art at KUMU, the art museum in Kadriorg (Tallinn).

A painting by Johann Köler exposed in the KUMU gallery

After that, we are led to some of the significant places such as the local school. Life was different in the 1950s; the local kids aged 5 and up used to bike several kilometres to reach the residential school. During snowy winter, parents picked them up with a sledge carried by horses. The kids seemed to like it! Oh, and they liked even more that, when there was too much snow, the school was canceled.  Now, "too much snow" in Estonia should be interpreted as "a lot, a lot, of snow".

Summer houses and Soviet city blocks

After this pilgrimage, we are all invited to the summer house of the celebrated aunt for a typical Estonian countryside meal: pork, own-grown vegetables and potatoes. And coffee and cake. Since it is in season, it was impossible to go home without a load of carrots, zucchini and pumpkins.

The manor house where there is also a local school

Two weeks later, we are invited by the other aunt to her city apartment in Mustamäe. Mustamaë is the oldest of the three neighbourhoods built during Soviet times, between the late 1960s and the early 1980s, and characterised by large apartment blocks. As I said in another post, these blocks were attractive back then because, contrarily to most existing houses, they were equipped with "all the modern facilities": individual bathroom, warm water, district heating, and lots of nearby services (schools, shops, medical care).

Site of an old mill, now tourism infrastructure

On the other hand, the quality of the construction was not terrific. Inexperienced builders were given a quick training before they were given the job. Contrarily to Russia, where most families were given an apartment by the state for no fee, in Estonia, families had to pay ahead - before the construction of the house. And sometimes, things didn't go according to plan, whether because the builders were inexperienced or lazy, it is difficult to tell. Katri's aunt told us that their floor (the third out of seven) was made one brick shorter than the other floors (probably by mistake) and they were unable to fit the bookshelf they had ordered. The ceiling being 6 cm lower than expected, they finally had to leave out the bottom part  of the shelf. Insulation was often poorly performed (with respect to both sound and temperature) and it was not rare to have holes between the windows (usually quite big in these blocks) and the walls from construction. The flats were of different sizes but all with similar features, large windows, small rooms, isolated kitchen. 

Art and wine

You might be surprised, but I was enthusiastic about this invite to Mustamäe. I had never seen an apartment from the Soviet style neighbourhoods from the inside. Katri grew up herself in Lasnamäe, a more recent neighbourhood made up of Soviet blocks too, but I never got to see how Soviet blocks were from the inside.

The "dancing vegetables around wine carafe"

Katri warned me beforehand: it would most probably be more a "vernissage" than a lunch. Katri's aunt and uncle are now retired. Her aunt has started oil painting two years ago and has expressed a great talent. She paints stills, landscapes and even a couple of portraits, with a surprisingly ease for someone who started in her sixties... She showed us her collection while we were drinking wine and offered finger food. I particularly like (if you read my previous posts, you won't be surprised) her paintings of the bogs of Soomaa but also her stills with pumpkins. And once again, we didn't go home with empty hands: we were invited to pick a painting to decorate our home. We choose a nature morte (still) that we called "dancing vegetables around wine carafe". It fits marvellously to our kitchen. 

German and Russian heritage

While we were having a talk around wine and finger food, I was surprised to notice that the uncle had put on a German radio playing schlager music only. I couldn't help but ask if they understood or spoke German. That was not the reason, he simply liked the joyful tone of German schlager. And no, he didn't understand German. 

Before asking the question, a few thoughts were on my mind. They were inspired by my recent lectures and learnings (among other things, I attended on Wednesday night a conference in French about the different perspectives of France and Estonia following the First World War) and I just restitute them without any deeper investigation. Estonia has been certainly influenced by German culture at different points in time. During the Russian Empire, the nobility was made of German Balts, with very German sounding names. In the 20th century, Estonia was also occupied by Germany a couple of times, even if shortly: after the first world war and in the middle of the second world war, before being chased by Russians. These reflections made me think that - although there was little explicit sign of German culture around - German schlager was not completely out of place. 

When having a conversation with Estonians from the previous generation, it often happens to shift   towards Soviet times, when "we had lots of money but there was nothing to buy, whereas after the independence there were plenty of goods available but we were unable to afford them". Among the saddest memories, deportations to Siberia in the years following the war. Many families have had family members deported, some died there, some managed to return at some point.

The view from the school: in the distance, the mill where the grandfather started to practice as an electrician

I believe that many Estonians use without difference (voluntarily or not) the word "Soviet" and "Russian"... I have decided (personal decision, based on my limited knowledge and my own perception) to use "Soviet" when talking about the communist era and regime, and all its related horror. However, talking to older people it is evident how deep and alive is the wound created by Soviet occupation. 

Just to quote someone born just after the second world war "Our generation has gone through a lot of contrasts, probably too much for one single human".