The perfect summer getaway by the river Pirita
A beautiful and clean holiday home right next to a river, where you can go cruising with a boat, swim, tan on the terrace, light a fireplace and enjoy the classic Estonian sauna - what more could one ask for from a summer vacation in Estonia? Annette's holiday home in Kose has it all and we went and tried it out - both in the sun and in the rain, after all - it's an Estonian summer :)
The spacious and cozy Annette's summer house was one of the Estonian holiday homes that we had noticed already during the winter, but we were waiting for the first summer days to be able to enjoy this holiday home fully with all the greenery and all the possibilities that are provided by the house and the location.
Annette's holiday home is only 40km away from Tallinn, in the middle of Kose and right next to the river Pirita. It's impressive how the lush greenery makes it feel as if you are in the middle of nowhere, but in reality you have streets and houses nearby. The only reminder of the reality is the main house up the hill, where the hosts are living. Their windows are also towards the river, but not directed at the holiday home, so you still have privacy.
More about the house
This holiday home has two floors and on the first floor you will find the livingroom with an open kitchen, the sauna with a shower room, the bathroom and outside of the house - two terraces. One terrace has a roof over it, making it a perfect spot for a morning coffee, it also has a small table with chairs aside. The second terrace on the river side of the house is much bigger, but in an open space, so it can be perfect for tanning. The terrace also has a dining table and an outside bed with a view to the river.
Right before entering the showering room you will see a steep stairs leading to the second floor, where you will find two rooms. The first room has two small beds and the second room has one double bed, so Annette's holiday home is ideal for four people. The second room also has a cradle in the corner, so it can be perfect for a small group of friends as well as for a family with children. To be fair, we found it to be perfect just for two as well :)
In the kitchen you will be able to find everything necessary - the fridge, the stove and all the necessary dished for cooking and dining.
What to do in the area?
Throughout our visit the weather varied from sunny to rainy, so we made out plans according to that. It was actually nice to enjoy our vacation in two opposite ways.
Initially the weather was windy and rainy, so we made some tea, lit the fire in the chimney and curled up on the couch to read. The sound of the rain and fire was so relaxing.
In the morning we made some coffee with the small French press in the kitchen, had some pancakes and decided to go check out the Paunküla hiking trail that the hostess had recommended. Paunküla hiking trail is only 12 minute drive away and we were sincerely surprised how diverse the trail was: mountanous trails full of greenery, wooden trails in mint condition and one scenic forest lake after another. And since we were hiking in the middle of the week, we saw only two people during the whole hike. Viru and Kakerdaja bogs are so popular that I think many of us are getting used to the fact that the trails are full of people these days, so Paunküla experience was such a nice surprise.
On our way back to the Annette's vacation home we stopped by Coop to get some groceries, have a lunch and then go for a boat ride on Pirita river. Teel tagasi puhkemajja hüppasime paari minuti kaugusel olevast I really wanted to see what was behind the curve that we could see from the house. The answer: two ducks. The boat ride itself was fun and kind of nostalgic. By the way, you can go to the store by boat if you are really into rowing :)
We would just ride around for a while, it was nice just to cruise, look at all the greenery and talk nonsense, until we realized that we were having eye contact with an elk standing right next to the water. None of us dared to move, until I finally tried to slowly reach for my camera, but the deer instantly judged me and started walking away. There was overall a lot of wild life around the area - we started calling it The Neighbourhood Watch. Storks, woodpeckers, hedgehogs, elks, ducks - there was alway someone to observe from the many windows. At some point it became hilarious how whenever I would raise my head to look out of the window, I would see the hedgehog's fluffy butt swaying towards the bushes.
After coming back from the boat ride we decided to light a camp fire outside and maybe later have barbeque there as well. Additionally to that we brought our pillows and blankets outside to make a nice and cozy lounging place on the outside bed. There's also a white bug net hanging on the terrace, meant to cover the outside bed, so on warmer days you could also sleep there. We had just managed to get the fire going and the bed set up, when the classic Estonian weather decided that that's enough and another rainfall was arriving.
Not that upset about the rain, we decided to have sauna instead. The sauna room is super clean and spacious and while enjoying the heat we started discussing how cool it would be to go and have our first swim in the river. Shivering and squicking, we ran between the river and the sauna several times and later slept like baby dinosaurs. Very recommended.
What to take with?
The first thing to recommend - the flipflops. Flipflops are perfect for walking around the house and leaving them behind the door when entering the house - as I mentioned, the house is very clean and it's in everybody's interest to keep it that way, right? :)If you are into having a barbeque, you might want to bring your own barbeque coal etc. Luckily Coop is really close by, so you can just drop by the store whenever you feel like it.
Since this holiday home is right next to the river, there are a lot of mosquitos, so remember to bring some mosquito repellent with you.
So to sum it up - a very nice find so close to Tallinn - we will gladly come back in the future to get away from the big city life without having to go far. We think Annette's holiday home is also one of those places that one can visit in different seasons and can get a completely different experience each time.
Book your stay in HERE
See more photos and stories of our vacations in our Instagram!
Safe travels!
Liis and Ben