Blogs from Estonia, Europe - page 3
July 11th 2011
Hi everyone, So, here I am excitedly preparing for my first trip to Europe. Destination, Tallinn, Estonia! Yes, most people who travel to Europe typically head to better known, more exotic locations, like England or Ireland, the south of France or perhaps, Italy. Mine, however, is a more humble destination. The reason I chose Estonia is quite pragmatic. My travel companion, Mari, is originally from there, having emigrated 18 years ago. Her family still lives there, so we’re going to visit them. Estonia is a quaint little farming and fishing country of 1.3 million people. It is nestled on the Baltic Sea, bordered by Russia and Latvia. It is a 40 minute ferry ride from Finland and was formerly part of the Soviet Union. I am a bit of a history buff and I learned that ... read more
July 5th 2011
What fun it is to discover something unexpected and pleasant. Tallinn was totally unknown to me and therefore was a pleasant surprise. We started with a walking tour through its Old town through its two totally different parts:Upper Town and Lower Town. Tallinn was once a free trading town, a member of the Hanseatic League. We see vestiges of this in its guild houses, warehouses, unique Town Hall in Gothic style and Churches with charming slender towers.We visited the Dome church and observation platform where a great view opens over the city. After having lunch at a local restaurant, we returned to the ship and heard Kristof's next lecture ❇Monarchy in Scandinavia❇ We then had time to rest and change into formal clothes for our second formal night at dinner.... read more
July 4th 2011
I can't seem to add photos to an already published blog so am adding them to their respective countries now. Got home yesterday - took me 48 hours almost exactly to get from Krakow to my door step and I am very glad to be home! Back to work and real life tomorrow, but with an amazing experience behind me!... read more
July 2nd 2011
The start to our week away was a little shambolic. We went to see Black Eyed Peas at the Wireless Festival in Hyde Park and decided to ‘party’ like we were 26 again with not a great result. Luckily we were packed and once the taxi called for the second time at 4.30am we were out the door in less than 10mins. On arrival at Stanstead Airport we joined the longest queue I have ever seen for our Easyjet flight. It went down the hall so you weren’t even in the area where you line up for the counters. You were lining up to get into the area to line up for a counter. The flight was long (3hrs) and uncomfortable; those cheap flights are just a little too squished for a flight that long. Our ... read more
July 1st 2011
I have just arrived in Tallinn after the long flight from Melbourne. The weather is better than I expected (19 degrees) and the city is very pretty. After I checked into my Hotel ( Nordic Hotel), I went out to the town square to look around and see what it is like. All of the building are old but that doesn't mean there not nice. The buildings are cool and it is a nice place. My favourite building in Tallinn is the Russian Cathedral it's brown and white with cool black swirl things on top of the towers.... read more
June 28th 2011
So, my first slightly drunk blog so please excuse any spelling mistakes (beside the usual). Tallinn was awesome compared to russia. From the moment you get off the boat people are more friendly and welcoming, with stalls and free internet the second you walk off the boat. I got off the ship with my cabin mate Aldis (sound engineer whos job I want) and we took the shuttle to old Tallinn. Old Tallinn is exactly like a medieval theme park, with sections of old casltes, old style stalls and traders everywhere. They have really embraced their roots and live it to the full. Everyone in all the shops/stalls are in period costume, so there really are sections where you could belive you have gone back in time 500 years. We walked through the old market squares, ... read more
June 26th 2011
Well, it's 2am over here and the fecking tourists outside won't shut their traps. I'll lighten my statement with a :p. Yep, turns out Old Towne Estonia is much like the Las Vegas of Nevada; a huge tourist draw, huge and fun, but not necessarily reflective of the entire country. Prices are inflated within the old town, but eh, what to do since here is where the fun is, where the experiences are. Or so we thought. Yesterday we went out on a tour of the country, via some help from our hostel *which is fabulous by the way. Estonia is so incredibly green, with grasses and just trees everywhere! Still no pics, but when we do get some you'll see photos of: Circular graves-much of the area is covered with limestone, so if you were ... read more
June 25th 2011
We have been following the Midsummer celebrations across Northern Europe. In Helsinki all of the young people get all of the beer they can carry and head off into the country and camp around huge fires and drink themselves silly. In Tallinn they seem to drink themselves silly midsummer or not. I think it is mostly the young tourist that are bent on getting drunk and acting like fools. On the ferry over the Baltic sea they had huge tree branches strapped to the boat to celebrate the midsummer. Amber and I snagged a great table on the deck and had some rowdy company that I am sure we did not want to know what they were being so loud about. It is still light for about 16 hour a day. Come to find out they ... read more
June 24th 2011
We have arrived in Estonia via our ferry trip across the Baltic Sea. It is always good to be on the water and the site to behold when arriving in Tallinn was amazing. We are staying right in the middle of the old towne, with shops and medieval styled buildings everywhere, the perfect location to be in. The streets are cobble-stoned and it rained buckets there for a while, but that didn't stop us from getting out and enjoying the area. Am a bit surprised that the absolute cheesiness that Las Vegas has created with the Excalibur is really not too far off, in a weird way, hopefully Estonians don't take offense! Tomorrow we will go to the national park and enjoy the city more. Am not able to upload pics, but definitely have some good ... read more
June 23rd 2011
All I can say is WOW! Our hosts have given us the most wonderful view of Finland ever imagined. They took us out into the countryside to a delightful cabin by a lake and let us see what a piece of heaven looks, tastes and feels like! We traveled by car 100 Klm through the farms of Finland. The plants and trees were spectacular and oh what scenery! On the edge of the lake was a wood fired sauna and a path for taking a plunge into the cool water. I have been in saunas before, but I can honestly say that this is the first time I enjoyed it the right way in the right place. We had a wonderful dinner cooked on the Weber grill and a few different cocktails. Soile and Sanna you ... read more
