The presidential couple made their remarks while the annual Rose Garden reception, held at Kadriorg to mark the restoration of independence, was in progress.

"For the bulk of the time we have to be at Kadriorg, or elsewhere in Estonia," President Karis told ERR.

"Certainly I'd prefer to be at home more, but this job is what it is," he added.

Home for the president is Tartu.

The first lady reminisced about one of the high points of this summer, which also took place in Tartu.

"One beautiful event was the Tartu Song and Dance Festival. The dance festival really touched me, because it was so lovely," she said.

The sheer volume of events going on across Estonia through the summer make attending all of them impossible even for the head of state.

"I'd like to get to all of them too, but unfortunately, that's not possible, so choices have to be made," the president noted.

"You can't always go where you would like to," he continued.

The first lady explained: "We always decide together which events to attend."

As for her free time, Sirje Karis said this is mostly taken up making various preserves including those consisting of pickles and of tomatoes; the president added that they still have some good quality home-made fare dating a way back to 1976, which they should soon starting trying out.

In fact, President Karis said, the couple are having to downsize their vegetable patches by over-planting them with lawn, simply because trying to keep on top of the cultivation in addition to being head of state is proving too much.

The annual reception featured musical accompaniments and a long list of well-known faces from the world of politics, sport, diplomacy, the media, entertainment, culture, academia, business and other spheres.

This was the 33rd such reception, held at the Rose Garden (Roosiaed) at Kadriorg, the official seat of the head of state.

While this does not happen every year, 2024's event was also blessed with some fine weather, with sunshine and afternoon and evening temperatures up to 22 degrees Celsius.

The president gave his annual speech which can be read here.

ERR's Taavi Eilat and Mirko Ojakivi provided coverage for ETV.

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