Lodi

Lodi is a type of sailing barge used a lot on the Mother River (Emajõgi), Lake Peipsi (all the way to Pskov and Novgorod in Russia) and other Estonian waters. Lodi (plural: lodjad) has been documented in Hanseatic Tartu town and Emajõgi since 14th century.
See some old footage: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_e-tzBV-oD8
Soviet occupation put a full stop to many fields of economic and human activity, so last lodi was seen in 1950ies... Until around 2004-2005 a group of activists built a brand new lodi. Nowadays it's used for tourism and nature sighting, not for transportation of goods, but still the ancient ship building tradition is kept alive. Currently the Lodjakoda activists are building a larger two-mast lodi in Tartu.
Photo by Vahur Afanasjev 30 March 2014
Trivia:
There used to be a huge beautiful bathing house (the wooden structure was heavily damaged in WWII and the later rebuild was destroyed in 1970ies) on the river by the the Lodjakoda site.
Even though we love CCR, their song "Lodi" talks about a city in the United States of America.

Weird and Beautiful Ice Vehicles

"Karakat" or "karakatitsa" is a self made vehicle for on-ice fishing. The huge tires (often the inner tyres of large airplanes) make the karakat unsinkable, so one can go winter fishing even if ice conditions are tricky. Each year a Karakatitsa Festival is held in Kallaste.

Karaktitsa is not the only option - some use custom made hovercrafts.

Photos of the Karakatitsa Festival by Vahur Afanasjev, 22 February 2014 in Kallaste, by the Lake Peipsi (Peipus), in the area mostly inhabited by Russian speaking Old Believers who fled to Estonia from repressions in Czarist Russian in 16.-17. century.

Karakatitsa

If  lake Peipsi (not to be confused with Pepsi) is covered with ice (seen already melting and piling on the photos) but you still feel you want to go fishing, you need a karakatitsa.

There's Russia on the other shore. And the April ice can move big stones and pull up trees on its way. Just like the ice in "Ice Age" animated film.

Karakatitsa is a rebuilt car, something like a monster truck, only it's not a heavy show off job, but rather a light and practical vehicle. The point is, it has to stay float, even if the ice breaks. Internal tires of airplanes are most commonly used to the wheel - and sometimes upgraded for better grip, as seen on the photos.

Photos, by the way, are taken in April 2009, in Nina village (The Nose village) in Eastern / South-Eastern part of Estonia).

Bicycle ambulance

Quick 'n' easy.

Press release in estonian: http://www.arileht.ee/artikkel/474604?lk_id=1111&sisu=27
or in almost english: http://translate.google.com/translate?js=y&prev=_t&hl=en&ie=UTF-8&layout=1&eotf=1&u=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.arileht.ee%2Fartikkel%2F474604%3Flk_id%3D1111%26sisu%3D27&sl=et&tl=en

Photo by Mare Sabolotny. 18.06.10 in Tallinn.

Where to Put All Those Free Balloons?

"Instant volume," thought the Finnish representative of Living For Tomorrow at the Youth Information and Education Fair "Teeviit 2009"

Photo by Mare Sabolotny. 3.12.09 in Tallinn.

hardcore cleaning

European Business Style

"Goodbye and dziękuję!" Eurostyle.
Photo by Mare Sabolotny in Northern Poland, August 2009