Magus uni (sweet slumber) is creeping up on this karu (bear) at the 11th annual Pipar/koogi/maania (Gingerbread mania) exhibition in Tallinn. It's carrying a kuusik (a forest of spruce trees) on its back.

The theme of this year's exhibition is METS (forest) and includes lend/oravad (flying squirrels), an ilves (lynx) complete with bow tie, a sipelga/pesa (ant hill) and even a place for said bear to pass his/her talveuni ("winter sleep", hibernation) – a karu/koobas (bear cave). Where there are animals, there will be scat aka excrement (välja/heide) – what has been expelled.

The show features both "Karu kakab pohli" ("Bears poo lingonberries"), as well as jänese/pabulad (bunny beans) on snow, all made of pipar/koogi/tainas (gingerbread dough).

This reclining bear was created by Nestor Ljutjuk and FYI: there are 1672 people in Estonia with the last name Karu and 1445 with the surname Mets. (Source: Estonia's e-services state portal eesti.ee)

Photo and text by

Riina Kindlam