Tallinn... How cool to have such an interesting place available for quick ferry trips. We liked Tallinn, even though it was quite cold. Tallinn (and all of Estonia) had an interesting history and we loved the night time saunas after walking around the old town or sitting in a café on the main square in the cold all day. Nice pictures, Ake!
It is interesting Not only Tallinn is interesting. All of the Baltic States are interesting. One day we will probably go for a longer road trip in Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania. Don't know when but one day. /Ake
Russian Orthodox I think I could be wrong but Russian Ortodox in my guess. The proximity to Russia and the historical ties to Russia makes me think so. /Ake
Interesting ferry route via the Åland Islands For a one day trip, this was very interesting. I always like your explanations. I wasn't aware of the appreciation that Estonians have for Boris Yeltsin. I wonder if Yeltsin is held in such high esteem in Latvia and Lithuania (the country of my wife's departed parents). I particularly like your comments about the ferry route via the Åland Islands and the tax situation that influences the ferry route. I have flown from Stockholm, Sweden to Turku, Finland but had never heard of the Åland Islands. Keep up the good photography and reporting.
Thanks Harvey Thanks for the comment Harvey. Åland Islands are supposed to be a very nice place to visit. I haven't been there myself but my sister has and she liked it there. Btw, the majority of all people who live in Åland speak Swedish, not Finnish, as their first language. /Ake
Even football coaches gets a fine One of Rome's football teams won an important game not long ago. The team coach danced in a fountain when he celebrated the victory and was given a fine for doing so. /Ake
The trough counts as a 'drinking fountain' :) There was a self-guided walking tour of Rome you could do, with a focus on fountains...I remember doing a few such 'fountain' walks on different trips with my family when I was young - they were marked on a gigantic map that was nightmare to use (and impossible to fold!). Fountains are such a beautiful part of Rome's streetscapes :)
So there was a fountain tour It was interesting to hear that there at least used to exist a do-it-yourself-tour with fountains as the theme. Thank you for telling us about it. I will actually update the text with this because it makes the blog slightly more interesting. /Ake
Fontana di Trevi I see masterpieces like this Ake, and you are right it is a masterpiece, and reflect on the oodles of money the person who commissioned this fountain must have had. The result was not just a symbol of refreshment and cooling reflection...but an enduring symbol of power. How fortunate successive generations can enjoy such monuments, commissioned in marble to endure, magnificence that was only created to display their creator's patron's power and lavish excesses.
We sure are fortunate As you say we are fortunate to have wonders like Fontana di Trevi around us. But we are also double fortunate in that we also can afford, have the time and are in good enough health to travel. /Ake
Too many to see all You are bound to miss most of them in a city as large as Rome. It was a bit fun though to stop and have a quick look at each fountain /Ake
We are Emma Holmbro and Ake Dahllof. We live in Stockholm, Sweden.
We have travelled more or less regularly since the mid 1990-ies and it seems like the more we travel the more difficult it is to decide where to go next. Not because we are running out of places to visit but because we find more places we want to go to faster than we manage to travel to them.
Some of the things from our travel bucket list we have ticked off since we started this blog in 2006 are
Angel Falls in Ven... full info
Sheri Schroeder
non-member comment
Walking the city
I thoroughly enjoyed learning about this city and so funny about the ferries detouring to Åland. I’ve actually visited these islands!