Spring Voyages

Ahoy there, maitees!

It's that Austinite-turned-Brit here prepared to stuff your inbox with another jam-packed update. I've got loads of news, including Alpine skiing, an Estonian birthday celebration, and day-trips galore. This is a super-delux mega-cool special-edition email here, covering the past, present, and future, so make a pot of tea, grab a crumpet, and tell the kids to "Cut that racket for ten dadgum minutes so I can concentrate! Criminy."

I must admit I've been a naughty little emailer and failed to mention several short adventures throughout the United Kingdom since the winter season, including travels to York and London in England, as well as Helensburgh, Edinburgh, and St. Andrews in Scotland. I'll save you the details on the Scottish locales, as it looks as though I'll have much more time to tour these places and tell at length about them in the near future (more on that in just a bit). At any rate, England is brimming with historic cities ripe for exploration, so Triinu and I packed our backpacks, grabbed our railcards, and hopped on the train to visit a few.

The first destination, back in December, was York, a delightful little town in north-central England that is easily the most charming area in the UK I have so far visited. The heart of York is encircled by a great wall dating back to the Romans, which is open for tourists to walk along, providing an impressive vantage point for the ancient city. York has the rich cultural heritage, scenic waterways, and quaint winding streets reminiscent of many other European destinations, but is distinguished by the slow pace, manageable size, and relatively few tourists (do I sound like a tour guide yet?). Triinu and I spent the day leisurely strolling along the city walls while poking in and out of the countless cafés and boutiques that line the streets, an aimless search with endless discovery. If you find yourself in England and wondering where to go, York should top your list.

A few weeks later, after the winter holidays, we took an early morning train to London for the day. With just over nine hours to explore the city, we somehow managed to: view all the major tourist must-see's, meander along the river and through two beautiful parks, catch a free photography exhibition, try (and fail) to take a ride on the London Eye (temporarily closed), participate in a free walking tour of the city (Sandemans New Europe, highly recommended), and even had enough time to end the day sharing 1.5 liters of wine and tiramisu. If you only have a limited time to experience London and find your trip coming to a close, forget trying to check one more item off your list of attractions and use the money to instead treat yourself to a bottle of wine (or two or three) and dessert. Trust me on this one.

But enough with the petty day-trips, you say, and on to the real debauchery! Your patience shall be generously rewarded. In mid-March, I was invited by Triinu's family to accompany them on their yearly ski vacation, this year to the Austrian Alps in a city named Sölden. Now, imagine skiing in the Rocky Mountains. Okay, stop imagining skiing in the Rocky Mountains. Skiing the Alps is nothing like that. At all. It is embarrassing that we Americans have to put up with such a sorry excuse for skiing when Europeans are hogging all the best mountains, impeccable ski resorts, and ideal weather. After just one afternoon of heavy snowfall at the beginning of the trip, we had nothing but sunshine over our heads and powdery white beneath our skis. Our time in Sölden was beyond belief, and even the food - which I had been warned would be borderline inedible - was pleasant, save for maybe the mixed vegetables. (The preparation technique most favored by Austrians was to throw intense, unrelenting heat at the poor defenseless greens until the broccoli florets disintegrated and the once-crisp peas and carrots collapsed into a dilapidated heap of mushy blandness, which the chefs readily doused with absurd quantities of salt and butter until a "sauce" was formed. Such culinary practices gave me a delightful though short-lived reminder of Germany, which I found to arouse a hefty dose of mostly-positive nostalgia.) All considered, the slopes were fantastic, the scenery unbelievable, and the company never better. We woke up early to hit the mountainside, skied until our legs buckled, spent our evenings feasting on sumptuous savories and decadent desserts, then stayed up late drinking wine and playing cards. If this is what intemperance, self-indulgence, and moral decay feels like, I'll have a second helping, thank you.

Merely nine days later, I was invited back to Estonia to spend my Spring/Easter-vacation, as well as my twenty-fourth birthday on April 8th. During the two weeks I stayed in Estonia, I came across a few notable findings that failed to make my previous list:

     - All cold cuts are "ham" - chicken ham, turkey ham, pork ham, beef ham - it's all lunchmeat to Estonians.

     - Wifi is free almost everywhere. Banks, airports, gas stations, offices, restaurants, malls, parks, buses, schools, you name it - wifi access (pronounced "wee-fee" in Estonian) is assumed.

     - Estonia and Southwestern-American cuisine are a match made in...Estonia. We stopped by a local Tex-Mex restaurant in Tallinn, and while the decor was spot-on, the lack of spice, complete absence of cilantro, and unrestrained use of cucumber and tropical fruits throughout all dishes gave the food a solid C- in my book. It was a great meal, to be sure, but not Tex-Mex. I guess Texas would receive a similar grade if Taco Cabana tried to make meat jelly.

     - The Estonian ID card is your one-stop-shop for anything requiring identification: driver's license, passport, blood donor information, internet banking information, all sorts of other personal identification, as well as a method for issuing/retrieving prescription medication, providing a digital signature, electronic encryption, online voting, internet banking, and so on. Don't lose it.

     - Estonians love their chocolate, and know a thing or two about making it. Grocery stores and chocolate shops stock some of the largest chocolate bars I've ever seen - a 300 gram chocolate bar is normal (that's seven times the size of a normal Hershey bar), and larger sizes can be easily procured. 

     - There are two traditional Estonian birthday cakes. For kids (and Dashiell) there is kringel, a sort of twisted cinnamon and sugar pastry formed into a circle. For adults (and Dashiell), there is napoleoni kook (Napoleon Cake), a confection comprised of many alternating layers of puff pastry and pastry cream with a layer of jam on the bottom, then completely covered in breadcrumbs. The outward appearance is somewhat reminiscent of chicken-fried steak in the shape of a birthday cake. But the flavor is sublime. Promise.

     - In Estonia, men always pour the wine. It wasn't at all unusual for Triinu or her mom to summon one of the gentlemen of the house from another room, simply to pour a glass of vino.

     - Easter Eggs are traditionally decorated by being first wrapped in onion skin, then boiled. This economical and super-environmentally-friendly method dyes the exterior of the eggs to resemble stained glass in shades of brown, purple, tan, and orange.

     - The Estonian Easter Bunny is much more generous than his American sibling. Much akin to the "little elves" around Christmastime, the Estonian Easter Bunny offers one little treat each day in the week leading up to Easter, provided you've been a good little boy or girl. (We were good little boys and girls.)

     - On Easter Sunday, Estonians typically "break eggs", whereby two eggs are smacked together to see which one cracks. In a large group, eggs are continually smashed until there is only one unbroken Easter Egg remaining. I don't want to toot my own horn, but the two-time champion in our household was none other than yours truly. If anyone cares to know my secret, you'll have to await the release of my next best-seller, "Strategies for Foreigners in Estonian Easter Egg Smashing Competition Success". As I was basking in the honor of my victory and readying my ballpoint for autographs, I was gently reminded that the winner gets only the satisfaction of winning. Bo-ring.

While Estonia never fails to please, my birthday (also Easter Sunday this year) was a clear highlight of the trip, as I was given the classic European birthday treatment. Sometime in the morning hours I was awoken by a jovial cacophony, the bedroom door swinging open to reveal what appeared to be a large group of singing blonde Estonian nomads, hands bearing of gifts, spirits conspicuously high, and faces beaming almost as brightly as their hair. (Almost.) Once the bilingual song variation concluded and I had come to my senses, gifts were offered, words of congratulations shared, hugs exchanged, aitäh's doled out, and then the feasting began. The day included an incredibly vast and lavish breakfast, an afternoon at a pool/sauna/spa/steam-room/jacuzzi/hot-tub/mini-indoor-waterpark, an early Argentenian dinner, an Easter evening celebration with the extended family, a late-night Harry Potter screening, and more sweets, cakes, chocolates and candies than any person should ever be allowed. Just the way I like it.

So that's it. You're all caught up. I am now back in the UK, back at school, back to the mundane activities of everyday life. Normalcy resumes. (For those interested in my research progress, I'm just going to have to tell you to hold your horses - I'll gladly send my completed dissertation along as soon as it's finished, and I'll let you know as soon as that is.) 

But wait, there's more! I've been casting a few narrow-eyed glances into my crystal ball as of late, and am finally seeing a glimmer of what's to come for me next year. After a long process and much forethought and deliberation, I am proud to announce...another year in grad school, doing the exact same thing I'm doing right now! Please, hold your applause. I know what you're thinking: Another master's degree? And the answer is yes. To be fair, it's a Master's of Science, whereas right now I'm wrapping up my Master's of Arts. See? Arts....Science...totally different. The truth is that I am just not that certain about my future pursuits, and rather than commit myself to several years in a PhD program I may or may not enjoy, I'd rather test the waters and be sure about my choice first. Plus, I happen to kinda enjoy school, it's practically free here (relative to American tuition), and it's a pretty good excuse to stick around the UK for another year. 

So come September, I'll be attending The University of Edinburgh in eastern Scotland. I considered a few schools throughout the United Kingdom, but the academic opportunities and city-life of Edinburgh seemed most appealing to me, and a brief stop by the university only served to reinforced these intuitions. My mother Tamra happened to be visiting when I received my offer from the university, and we both leapt at the chance to take a day-trip to Edinburgh to scope out my future habitat. True to form, immediately upon our arrival, my mom made a bee-line for the admissions office, launching into full mommy-mode in explaining that her talented and handsome son was recently accepted by this prestigious institution and that we would really appreciate some more general information. A big eye-roll, a gentle reprimand, and one heavy sigh later, she somehow managed to restrain herself enough to let me take the reigns in exploring my future school. To all the moms reading this, you can only imagine how difficult this must have been for her. Top marks, Tammy, top marks.

So what's the plan!? Well, I will be studying Human Cognitive Neuropsychology. It's a mouthful, I know. Basically, this discipline focuses on the psychology and cognition of individuals with traumatic brain injury. That's another mouthful, I know. More basically, it means I will study weird brains. Unexpected conditions such as stroke, car accident, or disease can leave human brains in pretty unusual states, and I will be researching both how these atypical brains function as well as therapeutic techniques and methods of remediation. While it may seem as if I'm completely abandoning my current studies and shifting fields entirely, there are actually many overlaps in the area of music therapy. To be sure, next year's program will have a far more scientific basis, but I hope to nonetheless incorporate my current education of music psychology into the curriculum at Edinburgh. 

But that's getting ahead of myself. I have lots to come before then - wrapping up my thesis, running my first half-marathon, spending half the summer in Estonia, finally returning to America to visit friends and relatives in New York, D.C., Texas and San Francisco, not to mention that fact that I'm dragging Triinu and her whole family along with me. It should be an exciting few months to come, and I will certainly keep you posted.

Wishing each of you a happy spring :)

Dashiell

P.S. - As an early birthday gift, I was finally able to replace my old camera (Kodak v570 - it served me well). I've had an absolute field day experimenting with my new toy (Sony HX9V) and in addition to the as-usual attached photos, you can catch two movies I've made using the links below:

 
Exploring Glasgow and St. Andrews with Triinu. 

Ski Vacation in Sölden, Austria

High Street in Edinburgh, Scotland - my future home. The university campus is just a few blocks from here.

York Minister Cathedral, towering high.

Late morning in St. Wilfrid's Church, York. Check out how the rays of sunlight outline Triinu's silhouette. Rad.

Walking along the York City Walls.

The River Ouse in York, England. 

Fading light at Clifford's Tower in York.

Riding the Wheel of York (the view was better inside than out).

London city streets, complete with iconic double-decker buses and Big Ben in the background.

Triinu and the the Horse Guards Parade in London.

Big Ben and all his shining glory.

Grand Central Station made a small addition - Harry Potter fans, rejoice!

Rainy day in St. Andrews, Scotland.

St. Andrews as viewed from the top of the cathedral ruins.

More cathedral ruins in St. Andrews, Scotland.

Seaside in St. Andrews. We had pretty typical Scottish weather that day: rain, sun, clouds, blue skies, wind, cold, warmth, some drizzle, and a big rainbow across the whole sky. Normal.

Windblown Triinu as we walk along the pier in St. Andrews.

Bird. Rain. Graves.

Sunset over St. Andrews. This is the university town where William and Kate met, and we seized the opportunity to grab a coffee at the café where the magic happened.

Back on Triinu's stomping ground: Glasgow's City Hall on one of those rare sunny days.

Austria had some of the most interesting cloud formations I've ever seen. These three photos are just a taste.

Playing rummy after a long day of skiing. Deeply thinking or deeply inebriated...hard to tell.

Sunrise over Sölden, Austria. 

Phenomenal skiing in the Austrian Alps. 

Myself, Triinu, and a family friend who knew the ski slopes like the back of his hand. 

Near the highest point in Sölden - 3768 meters (12,362 feet).

The whole gang (minus Dad, the designated photographer).

Airplanes like rockets flying high across the sky.

The view from our apartment, before snowfall.

The view from our apartment, after snowfall.

Typical countryside near Munich, Germany, on our way to the ski village of Sölden. The hills here presented more layers than I could count.

In order to get to the ski slopes, we flew in and out of Munich and took the opportunity to explore the city for the day. This is the view inside the famed Theatine Church.

Triinu's sister and mom inspect Easter Eggs in downtown Munich.

Easter Sunday / Dashiell's birthday breakfast, including: four types of bread fresh from the bakery, smoked local Estonian cheese, two types of salmon (smoked and salted), fried and pickled fish, hard-boiled decorated Easter Eggs, caviar, sour cream, red onions, paté, cream cheese, butter, sliced bananas and grapefruit, coffee, tea, milk, water, and a true Estonian kringel set ablaze with birthday candles.

The final three pieces of Napoleon Cake in cross section. Even the largest of confections don't last long in this household.

On our way to the town of Jõhvi, near the eastern Estonian border and not far from Russia, we stopped in the village of Altja. The iconic boulder shown here is well-known as one of the primary locations where Estonians fled to Sweden during the Second World War. 

Springtime in Sheffield.