Jo Ann Rebane
More cultural notes from Estonia. First, it must be said that WiFi connectivity, although promised 
at our hotel in Pärnu, was slow to non-functional. And here at the Pädaste Manor on Muhu Island the excellent wireless connection we had initially was knocked out by yesterday's mid-day thunder, lightning, and hail storm (George said it fried their router's network card). While we dinned in the Seahouse Restaurant the storm raged outside. We walked back to our room under clearing skies and the promise of sunshine. Please visit the hotels’ website to get an idea of the splendor of this place called Estonia’s finest hotel and spa. Truly, our arrival timing was fortunate. We were the only guests last
night and this morning, so they kindly upgraded us from the simplest “double” I’d reserved, to a fabulous two story suite in the Carriage House (two left hand windows on the second floor are ours). It looks just like the picture on the website! This morning the entire dining room was all ours for a private breakfast with very attentive service and beautiful music in the background - they even lit all the candles in the dining room and on the patio for us.
Continuing with cultural notes:
• Tidy road sides. We learned from a store clerk (studying 20th century wars) that two months ago 
(May) 50,000 Estonians turned out across the land to pick up trash in public areas and along road sides. That’s one more explanation for the pristine countryside we see.
• Holidays and businesses. June 23rd and 24th are both national holidays in Estonia. We’ve encountered more “closed for the holiday” signs in shops and restaurants than you’d ever see in Nevada City or Sacramento or San Francisco. In Tartu, merchants aren’t prepared for tourists and tourists don’t come… Is this a chicken and egg problem? Thank goodness our hotel feels a responsibility to its guests and maintains a first class restaurant.
• Public restrooms. I’m pleasantly surprised to find restrooms (WC) widely available, free, clean and stocked with toilet paper, soap and paper towels. What a relief!
• Wildlife sighting. I saw a mini deer (not a fawn but a small scale deer) today standing at the interface where the forest meets the road’s shoulder. We were driving from Pärnu to the ferry terminal at Virtsu on a secondary road. That was a real surprise and treat.
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