HELENA-REET ENNET

The firewood, nice weather and gardening have arrived

OHMYGOSSIP – The winter is over and the weather just keeps getting better – it’s time to get started with gardening chores. I ordered 8 rooms of wood and now it’s time to pile them up. I order unpiled firewood each year and after piling them up think that next year I’ll buy them in a container, so I wouldn’t have to do all the work. But once the time has arrived I feel sorry for the money I’d lose and I still buy the unpiled ones. The price difference is quite huge – unpiled firewood costs 35 euros per square meter and in a container it costs up to 145 euros per square meter.

Before it gets all green out there, I’d like to fix my garden – rake the leaves which have been left there from autumn, cut the dried branches from the garden and put the firewood to the woodpile. Probably I need to order another 8 rooms of this, but even if we won’t use it up it’s good to have some set aside and the wood is dry enough before using them. Raw wood bought in spring is suitable to use it for autumn but it’s even better if it’s set aside until the next autumn.

In my eyes anything natural should be considered a luxury. I like the simple cottage house with its fresh air, big garden, privacy and eco lifestyle much more than the city life. No force could push me to move back to the polluted city. The simpler and more natural, the better! The less TV controls, wires, concrete and the noise of the city, the better! I like stove heating, fresh air and silence, I like to eat my garden’s outcome. I like to be the so called village girl nearby the city. Whoever lives at the countryside knows that time moves in another rhythm in the countryside. The course of events in the countryside is different – more peaceful and enjoyable. I like that I’m in no rush, that there is no nervous and hectic hustle nearby me, that I see elks or rabbits or cats from my window not trams, busses and cars in 7 lanes. Of course I’m not completely independent from the time, how could I if I have two children. Both go to school in the city and I can’t escape going to the city on daily basis, but the rest of the time flows in our rhythm and that is so nice! By the way, the birch juice is already running! Whoever has the chance, drink it! Birch juice cleans the body, carries the power and energy of the ground and gives you a new vibe! You can read more about the birch juice from HERE.

Cozy meeting near Lake Peipsi

OHMYGOSSIP – Since I’m associated with many projects I often find myself surprised how I can fit to 24 hours blogging in 4 languages, brand development, social media marketing and of course home and my children. I have noticed that I’m the most effective if I am doing many things at the same time and if a new project is about to start. I am then like a rocket plan – that effective and fast that I can do the job of 20 people.

I have developed a timetable which I usually fulfil automatically and it works out well. But for this to work out I need occasional getaways and joint brainstorming. If generally I prefer to work alone and in silence then brainstormings should be done face to face and away from the everyday environment. Everybody needs a breath of fresh air and employees are very motivated by a short getaway!

Last week I did a 24-hour getaway to Lake Peipsi (Estonia) and the meeting was that effective and enthralling that we thought to start doing it regularly (at least once per month). The brain switches to another vibe and the spirit gets away from the routine – a work getaway is two in one – work and a holiday. And PeipsiΒ  is always wonderful!

I am trying to take after Kris Jenner and be a mom manager for my daughters

OHMYGOSSIP – I have written about this before (in an interview I gave to the media in Finland) that one of my idols is Kardashian’s “gang” leader – Kris Jenner. She has kickstarted all the careers of her daughters and is still in charge to lead them higher in their careers. She has made a name for both her current husband’s and previous husband’s labels – in my eyes she is a very talented and powerful woman!

I always try to take after the talented and powerful ones and analyse how I could use their ideas for success for myself. I am sure that nothing moves if you don’t move them. I am sure that those kids whose parents support them have a bigger chance to succeed. Children interests, hobbies, talents and personality are developed at a very early age and based on them and discussing their future with them can lead to interesting solutions which enables you to take action immediately. As we all know it – youth sells! But the youngster doesn’t know how to sell herself.

My idea is that if you know already in kindergarten that your kid loves to perform, then you should do something about it. If you see a stronger interest towards something, you should do something about it. We all want our kids to do well, succeed. We all want a secure future for our children and support them. At least I o want and I take it very seriously.

https://www.instagram.com/p/BR0lB0-jPCc/?taken-by=estella.elisheva
Photo – Estella Elisheva practicing for Estonian North West musical instrument competition.

Although I need to think a bit about myself, for the past 10 years kids are my priority nr 1 – daughtersΒ  Estella Elisheva (10) ja Ivanka Shoshana (8). If I wouldn’t want to secure their futures, I would probably enjoy an easy life as apparently it’s possible. I could start my morning with a workout and SPA, head to manicure and hair treatments then shopping, chill in cafΓ©s, go to the cinema, eat in a restaurant and spend the evening at different events (boutique openings, degustations, fashion shows etc) while my kids are at school. I have chosen an alternative path. I drive my kids from one hobby to another – I’m a daytime taxi driver, logistic and a psychologist who drives, coordinates, supports my kids and on free moments does business. Estella Elisheva is studying 3 languages (Russian, English, Hebrew), practises violin in a music school, goes to ballroom dancing with Kristina Tennokese and Baile Orb. Ivanka Shoshana goes after school twice per week to speaking therapy and in winter in violin classes. Estella Elisheva shows already master-class in violin classes and I’m thinking every day how I could build a career out of that for her.

And a lot of time is spent on OHMYGOSSIP. OHMYGOSSIP is already a massive brand and a company, which is well known in estonia, Finland, America and Brazil. I am actually quite proud to put up a brand like these apart from having children. I have been chosen many times Scandinavian’s biggest social media influencer and OHMYGOSSIP webpages are being visited by 3 million readers per month. If you think it’s easy to achieve something like this, you’re wrong. It has been 10 years of hard work with an aim to secure my children’s future. In the next 5 years I’m aiming to grow the income of OHMYGOSSIP to 5-10 million euros and use the brand’s name on variety of products. Also I’d ike to think with Estella Elisheva what exactly to do with a youth-oriented brand OHMYGOSSIP TEEN and how to develop the brand E&S (Elisheva & Shoshana) created about 8 years ago.

OHMYGOSSIP is now also available in Swedish!

OHMYGOSSIP – I started to develop Swedish Ohmygossip’s platform already in 2014, but now I have also opened a separate webpage Ohmygossip.se. As you can see the page is still in development but I’m planning to do the blog posts in 4 languages. Estonian (Ohmygossip.ee), English (Ohmygossip.com), Finnish (Ohmygossip.fi) and Swedish (Ohmygossip.se). This is the order I’m planning to translate the articles, thus on the last pages the stories will appear with a little delay.

As the plan is to regularly grow and expand and my target is the Scandinavian market, I’m planning to move towards that direction step by step. In September we opened Ohmygossip.fi page and this worked out so well that I thought not to wait anymore with the Swedish page. It feels great as I wanted to do this a long time ago. I have blogged in Swedish before at Mondoblog.se, Spotlife.se and Blogg.se platforms, but some of those platforms have even stopped their work by today. I want to dedicate more time to Finnish and Swedish page and increase Ohmygossip’s fame in the Northern countries. I know that due to lack of time and financial means I am doing mainly baby steps but even a small step is a step in the right direction.

My goal is to become one of the major bloggers in Scandinavia. In social media I have already reached that goal with my followers but I still have the desire to reach that aim also with daily unique readers and general fame. Although I believe that it is not possible to decide who is the biggest influencer as there are many variables to measure it – readers’ number, the fame of the blog, the base of blog’s social media, the income of the blog, the internationalism of the blog, blog’s name as a brand, brand’s value, services/products sold under blog’s name, the number of collaborations and contacts, the amount of subscribers, blog’s activity on social media accounts (Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, YouTube etc), blog’s Google Analytics and blog’s ratings in different lists.

Check out OHMYGOSSIP also in Twitter and Facebook!

I would already like to start with spring gardening!

OHMYGOSSIP – There were two amazing and sunny days in Estonia. So, yesterday, before I went to sleep (without checking todayΒ΄s weather forecast), I made a plan in my head that I will start with spring gardening today. But I woke up already in the night as there was a huge storm and torrential rain which was beating against the window, and I realized that I have to replan my day.

I have left the children home from school second time this week. I allow them to play truant when I see that there is a huge sleep debt. They study so hard during the year that spring fatigue does not surprise me at all. Estella Elisheva will go to the Lehaim camp next week and she started with packing already. Ivanka Shoshana surfs around the internet, for eight-year-old, she is very skillful with computers. And I think there is no way I can any longer postpone cleaning the house. Otherwise, we need a house extension. A lot of pointless and unnecessary things accumulate all the time and I usually just throw them away during the cleaning process (except children’s clothes and toys which I give away for recycling). Actually, I like cleaning and sorting. I love when I have an overview of everything and the things are in order. For example, when I was a child, I couldnΒ΄t start to learn before my room and drawers were in order, disorganization disturbed me a lot. After getting children this branch of perfectionism is gone for good. Every free second I have, I use for work or to develop my projects. However, clean house is always a pleasing phenomenon.

Rainy view in front of and behind the house. IΒ΄m waiting the summer so much already! ThereΒ΄s so much to do in the garden and once the weather will be fine and goes green, it is wildly beautiful here in my countryside!


Today, IΒ΄ll start to build Ohmygossip.se!

OHMYGOSSIP – Woke up at 6:30 as usual. I sent the kids to school, and Margus to work, thenΒ leisurely drank my coffee and read the morning paper. On economic side Postimees wrote that the number of farms decreases in Estonia. Over the past three years, the number of farmers has decreased by 13%,Β  2,500 households have closed down or restructured.

Why am I writing this? Because I really feel in my heart that it should be vice versa – the number of farmers should rise, and the life in the countryside should enliven. At least I feel that I am so tired of all kinds of artificial, fraudulent and phony stuff, specially I donΒ΄t like the tinsel what comes with big cities, everything is so “pushed”. IΒ΄m knowingly looking for simpler solutions, more natural and realistic choices.

This is also one of the strongest reasons why I make changes in OHMYGOSSIP – people need more real life and less bright cover sheets. Almost nobody look in real life like they are in photoshopped party press pictures, and usually their words and deeds are pretty different. I believe that people should be directed back toward the real life, people could love more the nature and abandon excessive technology. IΒ΄m pretty sure that many of today’s illnesses and misfortunes will disappear then. People yearn to be closer to nature, they love simplicity, however, the artificial intelligence stares at us from every corner.

Now, when I also try to make OHMYGOSSIP more natural and prosaic, I must admit that this is not an easy task. I’m a perfectionist, and for example posting a picture which is not 100% perfect is something I find very hard. Normally I add professional pictures with well designed rooms, etc., I am used to that everything is picture perfect. But from now on I will publish more real life pictures, because otherwise my actions speak against my words. Life is really beautiful and perfect and interesting when it is as it is!

I found some pictures from my computer (I guess these are from 2012). Estella Elisheva was still very young. In opening picture, youΒ΄ll see my old home office and on this picture below you see what happens when I turn my back for a second. Making news and parenting at the same time is a pretty big challenge. But now IΒ΄ll start to build Ohmygossip.se!

Some modifications in OHMYGOSSIP!

OHMYGOSSIP – Ohmygossip is expecting big modifications in the upcoming months – I have a plan to largely change the existing structure and strategy. The first bigger change will be the transformation to a more blog-centered format meaning that there will be less foreign news, referencing and translated news. Also the gossip of the social elite will be presented to the reader from another angle – through the blogger’s eyes or as an exclusive interview. In general the plan is to decrease the amount of daily news and enlarge the amount of exclusive blog posts.

From a web to a blog platform?
Yes and no. Ohmygossip will stay according to the plan a combosite, where the main focus (80%) will be on my personal blog posts and the readers get the selection from our carefully selected rubrics – Traveling & Culture, Home & Kids, Healthy-Body-Mindfulness, Society & Gossip, Beauty & Fashion and Relationships. In addition, Ohmygossip will offer a platform to numerous bloggers whose posts you can keep following on Ohmygossip.

New bloggers:
Bloggers who would like to bring their blog to our platform or start a new one on our page could contact helenareet@ohmygossip.ee (preferably in Estonian or English). Blogging can be done in 3 languages – Estonian (Ohmygossip.ee), Finnish (Ohmygossip,fi) and English (Ohmygossip.com). Soon it’s also available in Swedish (Ohmygossip.se).

Ohmygossip.ee:
Estonian bloggers whose page has at least 50,000 unique readers can join our page for free. Bloggers with a smaller audience will have an annual fee of 500 euros for a private person or 1500 euros for a company.

Ohmygossip.fi:
Finnish bloggers whose page has more than 80,000 unique readers can join for free, bloggers with a smaller readership will have an annual fee of 800 euros for a private person or 2400 euros for a company.

Ohmygossip.se:
Swedish bloggers whose page has more than 100,000 unique readers per month can join for free, bloggers with a smaller audience will have an annual fee of 1000 euros for a private person and 3000 for a company.

Ohmygossip.com:
Bloggers writing in English whose page has more than 100,000 unique readers per month can join for free, bloggers with a smaller audience will have an annual fee of 1000 euros for a private person and 3000 for a company.

All Ohmygossip bloggers will get in addition to free hosting and their personal domain name:
1) Part of our daily traffic. Our pages have 80,000-140,000 unique readers per day (up to 4,2 million readers per month). All blog posts will be shown on the homepage. For instance, when you blog in English, your blog’s link will be also shown on Ohmygossip.fi, Ohmygossip.se and Ohmygossip.ee.

2) Share your posts with Ohmygossip’s several millions of followers on social media platforms depending on the language of their blog: Twitter: (@Ohmygossip_ee; @Ohmygossip_fi; @Ohmygossip_se; @Ohmygossip_USA). Facebook: (Ohmygossip Estonia; Ohmygossip Finland; Ohmygossip Sweden and Ohmygossip.com).

3) You keep 100% of revenues from any sponsored posts sold by yourself. 20% of revenues from sponsored posts go to OHMYGOSSIP if sold by us, either directly or through the platform. OHMYGOSSIP keeps all display advertising revenues generated at your blog site.

Server’s relocation
In the end of March Ohmygossip’s server will relocate. We’ll change the service provider and move from Zone.ee to Veebimajutus.ee. We’re hoping that the relocation will happen without any issues and there will be no problems on loading/reading our pages.

The decision to move wasn’t due to Zone being bad or offering a service below the standard but because I have over 30 domains and approximately 10 webpages, thus it’s easier to administer from one place. I also like the self service account offered by Veebimajutus and their economic price. I am hoping for the speed of our webpages to develop but this depends a lot on the SEO made for the page.

Design of the page:
This is the biggest headache – which kind of a homepage should we have? If you have any good ideas, write me! I would like to write a new code and give the homepage a completely new and fresh look! Should I choose a simple blog-style full length posts which you could scroll with one sidebar or should I make a different magazine-style homepage?

There will be other modifications but I’ll introduce these in another post.

Travel to Morocco: Taroudant city and Palais Salam restaurant inside the city wall + TRAVEL PHOTOS!

NordenBladet – This post is for those travellers who like the country’s genuine character and the real life of the inhabitants best. Taroudant is a city in Morocco where the tourism business has not had a rooted clutch and thus offers an opportunity to see the genuine everyday life of Morocco.

Taroudant is a city in southern Morocco, about 80 km from Agadir. The bus trip from Agadir took ca 1.5 h and the greatest sightseeing objects on the Agadir-Taroudant route are the banana planations. Taroudant city is also known by the name β€žGrandmother of Marrakesh”. There is a large defence wall built around the entire town, and most of the local life is concentrated within the city walls. The wall is nearly 6 km long and all nine of the city wall gates are in use also nowadays. Taroudant was for a while employed as the capital city back in the 16th century. Today about 35 000 people live in this town. Taroudant is mostly known by its market place, that is located on an important trade route. The town is famous for trading handicraft, adornments, carpets, and also for Agadir Ibn Zohr University, which is located outside the city walls.

There are two markets in the town, the Berber market and the Arabic market. At the Berber market, also known as the Jnane al-Jaam, spices, dried fruit, clothes and domestic goods are being sold. The Arabic market is for handicraft, forging, ceramics, leather, adornments and carpets.

Taroudant city, Morocco
Taroudant city, Morocco
Taroudant city, Morocco
Taroudant city, Morocco
Taroudant city, Morocco
Taroudant city, Morocco
Taroudant city, Morocco
Taroudant city, Morocco
Taroudant city, Morocco
Taroudant city, Morocco
Taroudant city, Morocco
Taroudant city, Morocco
Taroudant city, Morocco
Taroudant city, Morocco
14x Taroudant city. Photos: OHMYGOSSIP/ Helena-Reet Ennet

A day in Taroudant city is memorable in many ways – first, it is a great contrast to what we experienced in the Agadir luxury hotel. The golden carved ceilings were now replaced by the slum and the day got even gloomier now that it started raining and the weather got colder. Yet I liked the town and in retrospects there are even more emotions involved – I like to see also the real life and versatility. In fact I really love wandering around in such places, yet I was a bit inhibited by us having had in mind the previous day’s memory when dressing too lightly, so most of the time we were completely cold. Yes, precisely – though it rarely happens in Morocco. Most of the time it is warm and sunny in Morocco!

From Taroudant town I remember especially well the male citizens having tea in front of the cafes and also the gatherings at the market place. Men were gathering in circles in the midst of which they commented on boxing or they themselves were boxing or preaching the truth, I couldn’t even understand everything. Also I saw homes made from cardboard boxes, and I felt the town’s historic flavor. Distinct from Europe, Morocco stands out regarding the people’s clothing, especially what concerns the middle-aged people and seniors. Long coats are popular – these definitely have some special name which I do not know. But they are not traditional kaftans, it seemed they are a bit different. Women mostly had their hair covered, and I saw just one woman that was completely covered. Also, many women walked without male company (unlike many of the Arabic countries).

Palais Salam restaurant in Taroudant city (Avenue Moulay Ismail, Taroudant, Morocco)

We had dinner in Palais Salam restaurant in Taroudant city. Palais Salam, Taroudant, Morocco is actually a hotel complex with original gardens, halls and the restaurant.

The most vivid of the restaurant memory was that of an older gentleman serving our table – he was absolutely friendly and nice. This, by the way, was the impression of most people in Morocco.

The restaurant’s milieu was a bit worn out and it seemed like not many people visited the place, yet the impression I got from there was powerful and our visit occured during low season. I really like sincere people – sincere at the heart – instead of a five star fancy I often enjoy a home made omelette and honest, straightforward people. However, be it this way – a home made omelette was actually not served, although the place left a homely feeling. The gentleman reminded us many times that the food is not to be wasted and everything must be eaten up. On the first round we followed this guideline, but since already the appetizers had us completely full, and the main course was accompanied by 10 kg of rice, then we felt sorry for ourselves as well as the waiter. It is simply impossible to consume these amounts of food, even if you so wish. Yet such loads of food were served in most of the restaurants and deep down I was hoping that the food that remained untouched might go on a second round in some way or other. After witnessing some people live in a cardboard box, you wish from the heart that each grain of rice, piece of meat or portion of salad served for tourists, would reach a needy person and not end up untouched, in the garbage bin, after being on the dinner table of an irritable tourist.

Palais Salam also excelled for beautiful gardens and garden corners. There was a lot to please the eye and a nice vibe came from the visit to the restaurant. Here are a few photos from Palais Salam. Aren’t these just like pictures from a fairy tale?! An amazing place, I should say!

Palais Salam Taroudant Morocoo
Palais Salam Taroudant Morocco
Palais Salam Taroudant Morocco
Palais Salam Taroudant Morocco
Palais Salam Taroudant Morocco
Palais Salam Taroudant Morocco
Palais Salam Taroudant Morocco
Palais Salam Taroudant Morocco
Palais Salam Taroudant Morocco
Palais Salam Taroudant Morocco
Maroko, Morocco food, Taroudant City Palais Salam
Maroko, Morocco food, Taroudant City Palais Salam
Maroko, Morocco food, Taroudant City Palais Salam
Maroko, Morocco food, Taroudant City Palais Salam
Maroko, Morocco food, Taroudant City Palais Salam
15x Palais Salam Taroudant. Photos: OHMYGOSSIP/ Helena-Reet Ennet

In the next Morocco blog I will write more about local markets!

Travel to Morocco: Agadir Kasbah city ruins, beach promenade and Pure Passion restaurant + TRAVEL PHOTOS!

NordenBladet – We have spent 12 hours (evening and night) in Morocco and it is now a sunny morning. From the balcony of Hotel Atlantic Palace we have a beautiful view on the resort’s swimming pools and the sun is already peeping through the palm trees, spreading its graceful rays on the ground. The smile finds its way on my face when I open the balcony door and feel the warm breeze saying: just a T-shirt will do. We then get ready for breakfast and after that Agadir is awaiting to be explored.

Agadir is regarded as the most European town in Morocco and there you can find anything necessary for a pleasant holiday by the ocean. After the earthquake in 1960 with more than 10 000 victims, the city has been built anew and it differs a lot from the ordinary Morocco, yet for getting to know the daily Moroccan life it would be best to start from right here – then the contrast is not as great and tourists with a different lifestyle and different travel expectations can easily meet their needs. The current Agadir has been erected in two kilometres distance from the earthquake epicentre and it is a popular destination for charter flights. The town is also known for the vast fishing port and for fishing, this is the town’s main profit channel. Agadir meets the needs of various travellers with ease. Whoever desires luxury, will be pampered in the most glorious hotels and SPAs and the restaurants with generous menus, and whoever desires to see the wild and beautiful nature of Morocco or the daily life, will find it within just a short car travel.

The travel from Hotel Atlantic Palace Agadir Golf Thalasso & Casino Resort to Agadir City Centre, Agadir, Morocco Kasbah.

AGADIR, Morocco
AGADIR, Morocco
AGADIR, Morocco
AGADIR, Morocco
4x Agadir. Photos: OHMYGOSSIP/ Helena-Reet Ennet

We are driving along a crooked road by bus, 236m above water level to the foot of Atlas Mountain, Kasbah, where there is a magnificent view over Agadir town, harbour and the Atlantic Ocean. Kasbah is about 7km from Agadir beach promenade. Kasbah means a fortress in Arabic. The fortress of Kasbah was built in 1541 and was later reconstructed in 1740, it once offered shelter for 300 people. As of today the outer walls have been preserved. It is possible to ride a camel inside the town ruins and/or take pictures with them and also there are street tradesmen who have spread their goods down on the rugs. Those exact same things you will get from the market four times more favourably. But I’ll be talking about the Moroccan markets already in other blogposts.

Kasbah is certainly a sightseeing worth visiting while in Agadir! Those who love to walk and have plenty of time – I recommend taking a taxi for going uphill (for about Dh30-50) and then walk back down the hill to the town – however, do not forget to take with you at least a 2litre bottle of water!!! The water will cost (6 Moroccan dirhams in the shop and 35 dirhams in the hotel).

AGADIR, Morocco
AGADIR, Morocco
AGADIR, Morocco
AGADIR, Morocco
4x Kasbah. Photos: OHMYGOSSIP/ Helena-Reet Ennet

Lunch at Pure Passion

Pure Passion restoran, Agadir Morocco
Pure Passion restoran, Agadir Morocco
Pure Passion restoran, Agadir Morocco
Pure Passion restaurant Agadir Morocco
Pure Passion restaurant Agadir Morocco
Pure Passion restaurant Agadir Morocco
Pure Passion restaurant Agadir Morocco
8x Pure Passion. Photos: OHMYGOSSIP/ Helena-Reet Ennet

The beach promenade

Agadir has a splendid beach promenade that largely resembles those of Los Angeles, Miami, Tel Aviv, the Canary Islands and the Spanish East coast beautiful and famous beach promenades – being spacious, convenient, crowded, filled with attractions, safe. Life is all bubbling and tourists have a lot to see. Some may swim, some may do sports, or go shopping, go for a coffee in a cafe or enjoy a delightful glass of wine (in Morocco drinking alcohol is not prohibited like in many other Arabic countries), some may just take photos, or simply go for a walk and take pleasure in the beautiful weather, the ocean view, etc. Kasbah is also in the viewing distance from the beach promenade.

AGADIR, Morocco
Agadir, Morocco
Agadir, Morocco
Agadir, Morocco
Agadir, Morocco
Agadir, Morocco
Agadir, Morocco
Agadir, Morocco
Agadir, Morocco
Agadir, Morocco
10x Agadir Photos: OHMYGOSSIP/ Helena-Reet Ennet

In the next post about Morocco I’ll talk about a town 80km East from Agadir – Taroudant, and the Palais Salam restaurant!

Travel to Morocco: (Tallinn-Copenhagen-Agadir) + Atlantic Palace Agadir Golf Thalasso & Casino Resort + TRAVEL PHOTOS!

NordenBladet – Morocco is becoming a more and more valued travel destination among Estonians as well as the Scandinavians. Warm climate, friendly service and fair prices attract more and more tourists to this Northwestern-African country by the Mediterranean Sea.

Since OHMYGOSSIP holds an extended contract with the Kingdom of Morocco Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Moroccan International Tourism Bureau branch office in Sweden – we will be posting about Morocco frequently. I will be taking with me co-authors and collaboration partners to every journey, thus multipying the posts – blogposts, Instagram, Twitter, Facebook or Youtube video clips – and also posting in as many as three languages – in Estonian (on the Ohmygossip.ee site), in Finnish (on the Ohmygossip.fi site) and in English (on the Ohmygossip.com site) and also we will be sharing our impressions and travel photos in our social media stream!

And now everything from the very beginning. As far as I know, there are no direct flights from Estonia to Morocco, thus the trip from Tallinn airport to Adagir took an entire day, however, those who depart from Copenhagen airport will arrive within just four hours!

The first travel to Morocco was not individually for me and my companions, there were also representatives from the Danish media invited. There was great excitement – collaboration with high representatives of Morocco, discovering the country and additionally also the new valuable contacts from the Danish media. The new acquaintances, the new cultural environment, new opportunities and a brand new perspective, novel emotions, distinct implications – this is what most captivates me about travelling. The first journey headed for Agadir town and the nearby villages and briefly also to High Atlas mountains.

06:25– security check doesn’t take long and passes rather pleasantly, so I greet my good old Tallinn airport lounge. As usual, I set my business card on the contacts board and find myself thinking: β€žwhat a nice and cozy airport we have here!” The seats with folk style Muhu-striped covers and the overall pleasant atmosphere bring joyful recognition and give a positive start for the day. We set off with SAS (Scandinavian Airlines) flight SK1791 Tallinn-Copenhagen.

Tallinna Lennujaam Business Card Exchange
Tallinna Lennujaam
2x Tallinn Airport (TLL) Fotod: OHMYGOSSIP/ Helena-Reet Ennet

Soon we arrive at Copenhagen airport and since SAS and Norwegian Airlines (our next flight) stand apart, we are obliged to check in once more. To our pleasure the check-in counters were already open (often they open just a few hours before the flight) and we were able to hand over our luggage and return to the warm and cozy pastime areas of the airport crowded with shops. Regardless of november, the airport was already decorated with christmas-trees and was all glossy. The long day in the airport is an ideal time for shopping and coffee.

In Copenhagen there were triple security checks and the queues were rather long – so it is reasonable not to postpone arriving at the gates at the very last moment. It came as a surprise for us that – once in the airport – there was yet another security check before the gate. However, the seven ours of spare time before our next flight went rather quickly – the airport is large and there is plenty to do. Within that time we walked 10 000 footsteps…
Taani Kopenhaageni lennujaam
SAS Scandinavian Airlines
Taani Kopenhaageni Lennujaam
reisimine, lennujaam foto OHMYGOSSIP
Taani Kopenhaageni Lennujaam
Taani Kopenhaageni Lennujaam
6x Copenhagen Airport (CPH) Fotod: OHMYGOSSIP/ Helena-Reet Ennet

14:15 – we go on board the Norwegian Air. Soon food and drinks are served which are non-complimentary like on board SAS. Even a glass of water will cost you. Those who have not taken the Norwegian Air before – keep this in mind! Should you wish for a hearty plateful, you would need to arrange a meal before or after the flight.

Norwegian Air
Norwegian Air, lennuk, foto OHMYGOSSIP
2x Norwegian Air Fotod: OHMYGOSSIP/ Helena-Reet Ennet

17:50 – we arrive at Morocco Agadir (AGA) Al-Massara airport. A warm Mediterranean breeze greets us and the travel fatigue is gone in an instant, giving way to excitement. The airport is tiny and poorly ventilated, and it takes an hour to get past the security. We must fill in some papers that have already been handed to us in the airplane – questions about how long we will be staying and what is the purpose for our travel. It catches the eye in the passport line that there are very many young folks and nearly half of them have suf boards with them. I have heard that Morocco is the favourite destination for surfers this year.

Maroko lennujaam, Aeroport Al-Massira
Maroko, Agadir (AGA) Al-Massira lennujaam. Foto: OHMYGOSSIP/ Helena-Reet Ennet

19:00– a respresentative from Moroccan National Tourist Office meets us and accompanies us to our hotel – Atlantic Palace Agadir Golf Thalasso & Casino Resort, Agadir City Centre, Agadir, Morocco. This 5star hotel has been mentioned in my previous blogpost (HERE). Atlantic Palace is among Agadir’s most luxurious hotels. It is located in a closed territory and offers the tourists convenient, safe and good quality service. All these arches, carvings, gold and glitter – there is luxury in every direction! A perfect place for a vacation! Breakfast and dinner were the Swedish buffee and I would like to say some words of praise about this! The food on the menu was fresh, tasty and versatile – every day there was something new and the selection was abundant. There is rarely in a hotel a Swedish buffe that generous. Also the hotel rooms were pleasant – each room had two extra size beds and a private balcony with a splendid view.

Atlantic Palace hotel 5star
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Morocco, Agadir Palace hotel
Hotel Atlantic Palace Agadir
Hotel Atlantic Palace Agadir
5x Hotel Atlantic Palace Agadiris. Fotod: OHMYGOSSIP/ Helena-Reet Ennet

In the next post I will take a glimpse on Agadir Kasbah ruins, beach promenade and the restaurant Pure Passion located in Agadir harbour.