March 2005 The jewel of the Baltic is probably Estonia’s capital city, Tallinn - it’s got a combination of the sights, history and that general party spirit. Whilst it’s possible to start feeling this Old Town fatigue in this part of the Baltic, Tallinn’s is possibly the pick of the bunch. It might not be as big as the Vilnius version, but it has that dramatic visual impact not found elsewhere. The most striking feature is the defensive wall, a large part of which is still complete dating from the 1500s and is capped by 18 of the original towers with [View Full Entry]

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Our memories of Tallinn - Playboy advertisements, old buildings, casinos on every corner, lots of souvenir and handicraft stores, strip clubs, cobbled streets, very fancy cars (Porsche, Audi, Hummers), little old ladies selling knitted products, amber jewellery... Total contrasts everywhere. It was a beautiful city and interesting. After a wonderful break in the UK with my sister and brotherinlaw, and friends in London, it was time to get travelling again. It was much harder to get going after so much nice company, food and accommodation, but it was time to go. And we have the benefit of knowing we are going [View Full Entry]

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Tallinn 5th to 8th October On arrival at Tallinn airport, I decided it best to get a taxi from the airport as i did not fancy a magical mystery tour of the surroundings. This proved to be wise as my hostel was tucked away in a series of medieval passages that I would never have found in the dark! On this occassion I had opted for a private room in the hostel and this was nice given that I had to be considerate to other people in my previous destinations! I did not waste any time leaving the hostel to sample [View Full Entry]

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Tere. Greetings from Estonia. Two days ago we boarded a train in Russia and seven hours later we arrived in Scandinavia. Estonia, whilst a neighbour of Russia's, is closer in culture and style to her Scandinavian cousins. Finland is only 48 nautical miles to the north whilst Sweden is a six-hour ferry trip to the west. Estonians are Lutherans - no gilded, ornate, coloured decoration in the churches here. Not that many of the locals practice their religion. That was beaten out of them by fifty years or so of Soviet occupation (with an occupational interlude by Nazi Germany), prior to [View Full Entry]

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Everyone we had talked to about Estonia had told us only good things about it - namely, things are cheap, the chicks are hot and the nightlife great, an undiscovered diamond in the rough. So needless to say we were keenly anticipating what may be waiting for us in Tallinn. Our ferry to Tallinn was going to be something a bit different - we were going to take a hydra-foil, which is basically a tanked-up inflatable raft that goes very fast. OK, so it’s a bit more than an inflatable raft, but you understand the principle. However, given the relative size [View Full Entry]

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The historical city of Tallinn is pretty much untouched (bar the odd renovation or paint-job) since the middle-ages. As a result, the medieval buildings, misshapen cobble-stones, houses bunched one upon the other, impressive town-halls and churches that appear half western, half eastern, are most evocative and intriguing. To describe it as Disney is to do exactly the wrong thing, undermining its authenticity with a commercial brand, so I’m sorry, yet it is like something from the pages of a fairy story, down to the old well in a street off the main square where you can imagine Cinderella going about her [View Full Entry]

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Baltische trip, Episode 3. De laatste stop van ons avontuur. We vinden dat het ondertussen wel eens welletjes is met al die slaapzalen in herbergen en besluiten om een tweepersoonskamer te nemen in een hostel in de stad. Nog steeds heel goedkoop, maar dan een plek voor onszelf. Heerlijk om zo tot rust te komen en daarmee besef ik dat ik een goede keuze maakte met mijn kot in Warschau, waar ik koos voor een eigen kamer in een apartement in plaats van een gedeelde kamer in een studentenhuis op de campus. Soit, die eerste namiddag gaan we gezellig en lekker [View Full Entry]

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Many of you should have received emails by now, if you have not, I'm sorry, I'm doing the best I can to try and inform everyone by me and not through others. I am coming home this week. I know my blogs have seemed like I'm having the time of my life, it is less than half of what has been going on over here. The best way I can put it is that I am not "right" here. I don't think my time to be here is now, I can only hope that I will be able to visit this [View Full Entry]

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Dear All, Our travels have taken us via London to Eastern Europe. Apologies to all of our friends in London, but we sent those photos home on our computer, so none could be uploaded on to our blog. We had an awesome time catching up with mates in London, and wish them well. We have made it to the Baltic countries of Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania... all quite similar but with their own individual charms. Here are the photos from our journey through these countries... [View Full Entry]

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Nothing major has occured over the past few days. The whole flat (with the exception of one neighbor) has kept it pretty low key. Cassie and I have successfully made two dishes as well as making Anya her first PB&J. She said she liked it, but that it was a little sweet for her taste. All is well, though, she said she would eat it again. Last night we made our own version of stroganoff (sp?). We had ground beef and noodles and then made our own sauce which consisted of parmesan cheese, cream, and pepper. It actually turned out a [View Full Entry]

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