„itadakimasu” is a Japanese phrase said before eating to express gratitude for all who played a role in bringing the food to be in front of you, from cultivation, preparation and serving as well as acknowledging the living organisms that are part of the meal. As a group we would say this before starting our meals and it also ties into the part of the message of this retreat related to food- it’s not just what we eat, but how we eat it.

Partially by chance, and thanks to Facebook and my ema (mom, who is not on facebook) I found out about the Passion, Purpose and Pleasure Wellness Retreat happening at Polli Talu Arts Center starting the day after the Architecture in Scandinavia group program ended. I thought what better way to transition from a fairly intense two month group travel to a following 4 month independent study. It also gave me a rare opportunity to spend a week in a traditional Estonian farm.

View of Estonian landscape from bus window

I flew to Tallinn from Copenhagen leaving the group in the early in the morning, arriving in Tallinn to quickly repack and take the bus a little less than 100 miles southwest of Tallinn to Virtsu Sadam. Here typically you continue on by ferry to the island of Saaremaa, but that day I was picked up by a local guy who acts as the taxi service to Polli Talu where I joined a group of eight Estonians, Americans and Finn.

The Polli Talu Arts Center, International Center for the Visual, Performing and Healing Arts is a registered non-profit organization that was started by Marika Blossfeldt after purchasing the farm in 1995. The site and farm buildings were in need of extensive restoration, along with the addition of new buildings to bring it to the functioning Center it is today. The process of restoration, adaptive reuse and expansion of this traditional Estonian farm complex dating back to the beginning of the 20th century is an amazing story in itself, and much of it along with photos can be found here: Polli Talu Restoration Process

In order to do much of the work, a local crafts person trained local young men in traditional building techniques including that of wood log construction and thatched roofs. They have now continued on to do work throughout the Nordic and Baltic countries.

At Polli Talu we had a regular routine, except for when we had a day trip to the Nature Reserve, one that I quickly missed once returning to the hustle and bustle of Tallinn.

Marika leading our cooking class in the kitchen of the Main House

We would start our day with water (warm or room temperature) and Kundalini Yoga followed by breakfast and free time to relax, go ride a bike or walk in the surrounding areas or have a massage or reiki treatment. As a group we worked together through the cooking class to prepare our three course lunch, including dessert. In the afternoon we had a lecture on nourishment, health and wellness followed by a breath walk and dinner. In the evening we had some more free time and an evening meditation.

The lectures on a range of topics related to health and wellness from food preparation, the digestion process, metabolisms, fats, oils and sugars and creating health, personal and work goals were given by Marika in both Estonian and English. I opted for the Estonian lectures, and aside from some technical terms, I think I was able to follow most of it! A portion of the information along with recipes is also available in her first cookbook Essential Nourishment: Recipes from My Estonian Farm (click on title for more info):

Her new book is just going to print!

I left Polli Talu relaxed and refreshed, having made news friends and taken home the reminder that it’s not always the what, but the how. Something that applies not only to nutrition and eating but to architecture and the everyday.

While there I also did some sketching-