PARNU/MUHU: LAST STOP VILLA ANDROPOV

"COMRADE GENERAL, WELCOME TO OUR FINEST SUITE."



VILLA ANDROPOV WHERE THE ELITE PARTIED




ELYSEE INVITES YOU INTO LT. HADINOV'S FAMILY RETREAT.


Excerpted from my book: OUR SUMMER IN ESTONIA Amazon.com

It was my idea, while in Parnu, to stay at the Villa Andropov. Their web site, otime military guy, was the name. Andropov was the next to last Soviet General
Secretary, before Gorbachev, being in office only sixteen months before
he died at the age of sixty-nine of kidney failure. He was KGB all the way,
having been head of the Soviet secret police for fifteen years. The Villa
Andropov was started under his administration as General Secretary, as
a retreat for high ranking Soviets in Estonia, similarly ranking Estonian
communists, and leading Soviet state visitors. That it was named after
such an exalted figure as Andropov testifies that this place was meant to
be where the elite meet.

During its prime, Villa Andropov was heavily guarded by military
forces around the clock. Estonians were unaware of its existence and
kept away at all times. The beach was private and long enough to secure and screen
at each end from public viewing. The Villa had its own cinema, seating about
100, and therein is a tale.

The projectionist was Estonian. He would be escorted to the projection room by a back door, screened from any chance to see who was in the audience, and spirited away as soon as the show was over.

With the fall of the Soviet Union in 1991 the resort/retreat
was abandoned and came under Estonian state ownership. The Villa was
falling into disrepair and was bought from the State in 1997 with plans for
renovation as a resort, linked to the already well known summer resort
of Parnu. An 18-hole golf course was completed in 2005 and the Villa and
its properties are open now as a resort. It is still dilapidated, in need of
major renovation, and in its present condition gives off an eerie sense of
a long neglected graveyard.

During our first night, except for a wedding party, we were the only
guests. The place is simply weird. Our lodgings were in a compound
separate from the main building; a two level, family-style timshar-like
motel. It was set up to be a family retreat but had no utensils in the
kitchen, but there was a functioning sauna. The main building, which
also had guest rooms, was really getting to be rundown. It either needed
bulldozing or it should have been shut down for a couple of seasons for
repair and rebuilding. Looking at some of the suites that held the Soviet
elite, we were seeing a 1970’s time warp. Although furnished in the 1970s,
the furniture and fixtures looked like leftovers from a Hollywood set
in the 1950s. Formica tables and lava lamps?

At breakfast the next day I had the sense of being witness to the final stage of Soviet collapse as though the trains had stopped bringing supplies some months before. The buffet breakfast had a platter of cold fried eggs, there was only white
bread, no butter or spread, salty tasting coffee leading to thoughts that the sea had invaded the plumbing, cereal without anything but milk to
go in the bowl, and a plate of something that might have been meats
and other unidentifiable products.

I sensed the ghosts of Soviet’s past roaming the empty corridors, staggering after their negligeed Olgas, swilling vodka from the bottle, demanding service from a cringing staff, their drivers and aides waiting outside in the snow. It was like the last days of Pompeii, Soviet style. The place has promise, but it needs investment
and attention quickly. I’m glad I saw the place, but Elysee and I quickly
agreed, one night was enough. I saw how the other half lived, and it
wasn’t very pretty. Elysee and I were elated to be back in our love nest a
day early. One more night with the ghost of Yuri Andropov, and the men
with white coats would be coming after me.*

* When I was a member of the United States’ arms control delegation negotiating with the Soviet Union on theater nuclear weapons (1981-1983) Yuri Andropov was then the Secretary General of the Soviet Union. The negotiation went nowhere. Andropov died in 1984. Gorbachov came to power in 1985, and by 1987 he and Ronald Reagan signed the INF treaty. The right men do make a difference.

PARNU- LAST STOP ON OUR VISIT TO MUHU

A 1930s Art Deco hotel on Parnu beach; perhaps where Chaplin stayed?

Excerpted from my book: BOOK OUR SUMMER IN ESTONIA. Available @ Amazon.com

DAY FOUR
Returning from Muhu, our last visit was to the resort town of Parnu.It was off season, most places having closed at the end of August.

We actually checked into our lodgings about six miles from Parnu.
We were booked into a surreal compound named Villa Andropov, where
the following day we were scheduled to play our last round of golf in
Estonia. The golf course had recently been opened and showed some
promise, but on rising the next morning we found that the Baltic Fall
weather had finally caught up with us. Neither Elysee nor I was in
any mood for playing golf in 30-knot rain-spattered winds, on a soggy,
recently opened course. Instead we spent the afternoon on a quick tour
of Parnu and a visit to their art museum named after Charlie Chaplin.
Yes, Charlie Chaplin! As you can gather, our visit to Parnu was turning
out to be weird.

ESTONIA: TALLINN'S CHRISTMAS TREE

Top Photo of the Town Square this Christmas. A beautiful scene. Below, copied from my book, is a bird's eye view of the world heritage site Tallinn's Town Square.

Based on my book: OUR SUMMER IN ESTONIA Amazon.com

Reissuing my Christmas post of last year. I don't think I can improve of this scene.

Just in time for Christmas is the story, likely a fable, of how Tallinn, Estonia has been identified as the site of the first Christmas Tree. Guidebooks and some historians cite 1441 as the year when in the Town Square of Tallinn the first Christmas tree appeared. Most historians dispute that, noting that the Christmas tree evolved over many years first appearing in Northern Germany in the 16Th century. It should be noted however, that Tallinn was home to a ruling German minority and the German merchant class dominated affairs in the old town square. There was also a custom for German Merchants to burn a tree on ash Wednesday. Is that the source of the story? No one knows. But Tallinn is sticking to its claim of the having the first Christmas tree in 1441; and there is a plaque in the ground at the town square where this took place. It is the site now of the yearly Tallinn Christmas Tree and the center of a growing Christmas market. Since so much about Christmas is based on myth anyway, why not Estonia's? Happy Holidays.

ESTONIA-MUHU-PIODE AND PADASTE MANOR

PADASTE MANOR'S LITTLE THEATER;ELYSEE CHECKING IF ANYONE NEEDS POPCORN

ONE OF SAAREMAA's OLD WINDMILLS

WHAT A FIND! 13TH CENTURY ROMANESQUE CHURCH NEAR POIDE.

(Excerpted from my book OUR SUMMER IN ESTONIA: AMAZON.COM)

The following day we traveled to the nearby island of Saaremaa.
Connected to Muhu by a causeway across a shallow inlet, Saaremaa is
Estonia’s largest island, almost 1700 square miles. Saaremaa, like Muhu,
was declared a frontier zone during Soviet occupation; therefore, travel to
and from the island was severely restricted. Saaremaa’s population is less
today than in 1930 for three reasons: German and Russian deportations
of Saaremaa’s citizens for slave labor during WWII, an exodus of able
Estonians to nearby Sweden in advance of Soviet reoccupation in 1945,
and the frontier zone restrictions during Soviet occupation. That is
beginning to change as many people from Sweden and Finland have
discovered Saaremaa’s charm and comparatively low real estate prices.
The day of our mid-September visit was windy, chilly, and rainy. We stayed
away from the larger towns, visiting windmills and the ancient churches, such as the
ruined Poide, a massive 13th century medieval church now undergoing renovation.When one considers the final battle with the pagans was in 1227, this church being built not too long after is an amazing statement of the changed order.

Saaremaa is becoming a major summertime holiday destination.
Several new hotels have been constructed, marinas are under development,
the largest city Kuressaare has a population of over 16,000, and there are
plans for a golf course. The island is large enough to have this happen
without losing its charm, crafts heritage, and relaxing atmosphere, if
there is sufficient resolve and farsighted planning.
For our last night at Padaste Manor we could not resist viewing a
movie in the small, private theater. Elysee picked a CD from the owner’s
selection, drinks were made, chaise-like chairs adjusted, lights dimmed,
and we enjoyed a forgettable film in the fashion of faded Hollywood
moguls. Ah, the days of Cecil B. and Norma Desmond.

MUHU VISIT-PART FOUR-SOVIET STYLE OCCUPATION

BARRACKS SCRAWL. SOVIET SOLDIER'S SENTIMENTS OR RESIDENTS OF MUHU?



ABANDONED BARRACKS



READY LINE CONCRETE REVETMENTS FOR MOBILE MISSILE LAUNCHERS. ELYSEE ON THE WATCH!

(From my book OUR SUMMER IN ESTONIA, AMAZON.COM)

It’s ironic that my second historical interest on Muhu spans those
800 years, with the battle of 1227, representing the beginning of Estonian
subjugation, and a deserted Soviet air defense missile site representing
the final shaking off of Estonia’s foreign occupation. Muhu was off
limits to all but the island’s residents, for the almost fifty years of Soviet
Union occupation following WWII. In addition to Soviet paranoia that
someone might escape their loving embrace by sea to Sweden, Muhu was
a restricted site because of the Soviet military forces stationed there. The military site, which Elysee and I rummaged through, had been a Soviet
Air Defense Missile base. The air defenses on Muhu were likely planned
to guard the major Soviet submarine base at Paldiski, Estonia, and the
air approaches to St. Petersburg (Leningrad) about 250 miles away. The
missile site is for a self-contained battery sized unit of perhaps 200 men,
mess hall, barracks, administration buildings, concrete revetments for
the mobile missile launchers, and a maintenance facility. It is remote,
not only by being on Muhu Island, but, even there, set apart on the
island itself, surrounded with fencing, not another sign of a living soul
nearby. Unless one lived on the island, Muhu was off limits to visitors and
the soldiers who served there had not much chance to leave either. It
might have been close to “Mother Russia” but it was actually light years
removed. I had this imagined conversation of receiving an assignment to
duty station, Muhu.
General Commandant (GC) of the Soviet Air Defense Missile
School passing out orders to recent honor graduate, Lt. Ivan
Hadenov.
GC: Congratulations Lt. Hadenov for being first in your class you
are to be honored with an assignment to Estonia.
Lt.Hadenov: (Trying to contain his excitement and good fortune
at being assigned almost next door to Leningrad) Thank you
Honorable GC, I shall do my best for the Motherland, suffering
hardship, deprivation, and a soldier’s life for our Glorious Cause.
GC: Excellent. For the next five years you will defend the
Motherland with command of a front line Air Defense platoon.
Oh, yes, your platoon is on Muhu Island.
Lt. Hadinov: ( Fearfully) Muhu?
GC: Yes, Muhu.
Lt. Hadinov: (Breaking down) Muhu. Oh, boo hoo! Not Muhu.
From the bits and pieces of evidence, newspapers used for barracks
wallpaper, abandoned magazines, graffiti on the walls, it appears the
base was vacated about 1991. Elysee, in her self-proclaimed “army-ological”
dig found a small plastic container of uniform insignia. Some
maintenance records were found trampled into the dirt at the missile
carrier revetments. Indications are it was a hurried departure. It is not
clear if the departing soldiers or the local citizens destroyed all the
fixtures, but the prevailing story is the Soviets did not turn over their
properties with grace and dignity.

ESTONIA: VISIT TO MUHU-PART THREE-HISTORIC BATTLEGROUND

STONE MARKER AND THE BATTLEFIELD LOOKING DOWN FROM THE STILL EXISTING 1227 RAMPARTS

Excerpted from my book OUR SUMMER IN ESTONIA AMAZON.COM


In addition to staying at an authentic manor house, I had other
historical interests for visiting Muhu. This island was the last mainstay
and defender of ancient pagan Estonian freedom, a freedom that
finally succumbed on this island to the forces of crusading Christianity
represented by the German knights and the Danish king. There had
been many confrontations between the two cultures, during the ever
expanding German and Danish influence in the first two decades of the
13th century. From Riga the German knights expanded by land northwards
into Estonia, while the Danes encroached from the sea, establishing a
settlement at today’s capital, Tallinn, which means Danish Town. The
native pagan Estonians sometimes accepted baptism as a convenience,
but later would reject their fealty to Christianity, and continued their
marauding ways, much to the dismay of the Baltic German knights.
Considering the Estonians untrustworthy, the Knights were ready for a
showdown. Having subdued most of present day Estonia, in February,
1227, a force of 20,000 warriors, led by the crusading Knights of the
Sword, marched over the frozen Baltic Sea and laid siege to the marauding
pagans in their stronghold on Muhu Island. It took six bitter winter days
of battering siege warfare for the Knights to finally breech the ice-slicked
twenty-five foot ramparts, and once through those defenses, showed no
mercy. No longer trusting in Estonian heathen promises, all of them,
men, women, and children were slaughtered.
Crossing over the ice once more the victorious force invaded the
last pagan Estonian stronghold on Saaremaa. Having witnessed the fate
of those on Muhu, the remaining Estonians asked for mercy, and were
granted their lives in exchange for Christian baptism and swearing fealty
to the ruling Knights of the Cross and the Danish king. This turning
point in Estonian history is marked by a simple monolith where the
stronghold on Muhu was located, the bastion’s stones long ago being
removed for other building purposes. Only the weed covered ramparts
remain to give testimony to the epic struggle that occurred there almost
800 years ago.

VISIT TO MUHU-PART 2 PADASTE MANOR

SEAHORSE RESTURANT-ELYSEE BEING SERVED

MANOR HOUSE BEFORE RESTORATION

A MULTITUDE OF BREAKFAST CHOICES

OWNER MARTIN BREUER JOINING US FOR BREAKFAST

Excerpted from my book OUR SUMMER IN ESTONIA Amazon .com


Padaste Manor put us in a playful mood. There were not many guests and one could easily imagine the place was ours. We frolicked through our surroundings examining the livestock including the sturdy Scottish Hebrides cattle so suited for that place; giddily thinking about using the hot tub at night when the lack of pollution and ambient light allows the heavens to shine so brightly;plucking wild berries; strolling through the former parkland, some awaing patiently for their turn at a revival, and standing before the great manor house, built in 1875, which has been restored since our visit. Padaste Manor appears understated, yet the knowing eye reveals an extraordinary attention to detail, quality, and care for its heritage. Food is important at Padaste.Our service was attentive and leisurely paced. All the dishes were of excellent quality and locally grown products are used wherever possible. Some of the dishes we had for starters were mushroom soup made from locally harvested wild mushrooms, moose carpaccio, and smoked eel tortellini: entrees consisted of locally farmed ostrich filet, ginger glazed Estonian quail and duck confit,; and deserts of oven-warmed chocolate cake and lingonberry confiture. Breakfast was not ignored either. Bedside ten different teas, six jellies, a wide selection of fresh bread, each table was set with a three tiered, slightly chilled, selection of cheeses, meats, fish, and fresh sweets, plus a choice of breakfast entree, such as eggs on toast points, sweets and carafes of fresh coffee. The owner Martin Breuer wisely kept his chef under wraps least he be stolen away. Dining at Padaste is an anticipated adventure, highly rewarded.