I design journeys to places of power for those who want to travel deeper
Soomaa experience
Meet a keeper of the haabjas tradition and follow the transformation of one aspen trunk into an expanded dugout boat built for Soomaa's shallow floodwater.
The experience
A haabjas begins as one straight aspen trunk. The maker hollows it with axes, heats the wood and gradually spreads the sides, using inherited judgment to open the hull without splitting it.
The boat exists because Soomaa floods. Its light weight and shallow draft made it practical between farms, meadows and forest, and its continued use keeps a precise body of knowledge alive. Active work is shown only when the builder and season allow it.
Journeys
Experience FAQ
It is an expanded dugout boat: a single aspen trunk is hollowed, heated and opened wider to create a light craft suited to shallow water.
No finished boat can be made during a short visit. The meaningful format is meeting a practitioner, seeing current work when available and understanding the complete process.
Plan with Alex
I design Estonia as a small-country journey: fewer stops, more time in each, and enough slack for weather, ferry timetables, and dinners that run long.
Tell me what draws you — floodwater, islands, winter darkness, food — and when you can travel. I will shape the route around it.
Estonia changes with the calendar: spring water fills Soomaa's forests, midsummer fires burn through the white night and late summer brings Peipsi onions to roadside stalls. I plan around the moment you most want to experience.
Alex
Journey designer
