Murese – Raassilla (Estonia) en

It’s a farm like no other.

They raise sheep (800 in the summer, 350 the rest of the year) but they also do much more. Among other things, they sell gloves, toques, scarves knit with the sheep’s wool which can be found at the tourism office store.

Each year they welcome numerous volunteers from around the world, you can therefore also come for a few days in exchange for helping with daily tasks.

The farm also gained in popularity during an entrepreneurship contest in Estonia. The concept was to give in to your craziest ideas.

The daughter Eve had the project to become friends with a sheep: a crazy idea which consisted in having a sheep equipped with a webcam.

This fun idea elevated the farm’s notoriety.

Murese is mentioned on visitestonia.com.

You can see knitted color scarves in the living spaces.

The minute I got there I was put to work- shelling a substantial amount of beans.

It was dinner time after that.

There is a limited amount of fruits and vegetables in Estonia and only in a short period of time, because of their harsh winters.

But during that short time, they take advantage of it, especially since many enjoy having their own vegetable gardens, so everything came from there.

Ennukse Metsavendade bunker

This is a famous bunker in Estonia, three kilometers from the farm.

You have to know that when the Soviets “took back” Estonia from the Nazis ( therefore perpetuating for many years the plight that the country suffered during the Soviet occupation before the war, and during the Nazi regime), some Estonians went into hiding and took refuge in bunkers built for this reason.

It’s said that the last ones to leave was in the 80’s.

This one was renovated for visits, unfortunately for its previous inhabitants, they were found by the Soviets and burned alive inside.

It was time to go back to the farm to feed the youngest sheep with baby bottles. 

After that, they have to be divided up, because some will be put down. In order to do that, a good hundred sheep have to be put through a gate. Eve’s father then beeps each sheep’s label with a kind of plastic tube that identifies each sheep, and according to their weight they’re either directed left ( free to live another day) or right ( fun time’s over).

Thoughts from a city dweller: you really get an idea of how much work it is. Eve’s father gets up at 4am, works a bit on the farm, goes to his regular day job, and then works until 10:30-11 pm on the farm with his son, wife, and Eve that helps now.

If you have time, I recommend that you go check out Murese. It’s a nice quiet and different change from cultural Viljandi.

Especially since the countryside in Estonia is a big part of its charm, and one of its biggest characteristics, it would be unfortunate to miss out on it.