This will be short...I only have 4 min left on the computer! We are in Turku, on the west coast of Finland. This morning we had out first experience of train travel! Kinda fun....but really, not all that remarkable.
We spent a couple days up at Laura's Summer Cottage...her mökki in Finnish. It was WONDERFUL! The evenings were spent running between the Sauna and the lake...and we were completely spoiled with all kinds of traditional Finnish foods. This was the authentic finnish experience. Complete with hoards of mosquitoes. I think that we should have sauna's like that at home!

Helsinki

Here we are overlooking Helsinki. In the background is The White Cathedral (Lutheran). It is GORGEOUS!

This is part of the island fortress of Suomilinna. The whole island has been fortified. Fortifications date back to the 1700's.

Dugouts inside the walls of Suomilinna.

Looking down on the square outside the White Cathedral. Right in front of the fountain is a street busker singing opera.

I am told that we are in The Land of the Silent Finn. After experiencing the extremely reserved nature of the Estonians, I think that the Finns are positively EXUBERANT! I do realize that much of this may have to do with the fact that here we have an 'in' that we didn't have in Estonia: A long time friend from Ecuador has taken us under her wing and showed us the true, local side of Helsinki. We feel so blessed to be able to experience this with her!

We have done the touristy things too: Seen the big churches, gone through the Museums, eaten Reindeer at a Lapp place. Today we went through a flee market, found some Finnish music, and went to dinner with some of our host's friends at a Nepalese place.


Tomorrow we are going to enjoy a true Finnish experience: We are going us to Laura's summer cottage. It is on a lake, we get water from a well, and there is a sauna. I can't wait! We will spend two nights at the cottage and then head on to our next destination.

Onward and Upward

Today was our last full day in Estonia. Tomorrow morning we catch an early bus to Tallinn and a 1:30 ferry to Helsinki.
We have loved Estonia, and will be sad to leave. But we are quite excited for Finland!

An Adventure!

Yesterday Sheryl and I had a bit of an adventure! We have been in Kuressaare for a few days...it is on an island that reminds us both of home! We decided to rent bikes and go see the meteor crater, 24 km away. Since neither of us have been on a bike for a long time, we were surprised at how well we did! The roads are very flat and we enjoyed seeing the countryside...there were lots of poppies adding sparks of red to the green fields. I wish that this computer would let me do pictures, but it doesn't.
The crater is a perfectly round hole, with a perfectly round emerald lake in the middle. It is very cool. It is easy to see how places like this were thought to have spiritual powers. We ate a picnic lunch by the crater, and walked around town.
On the way home we realized that our bums were very bruised, and then it started to rain. And it rained pretty hard. We were as wet as drowned rats. Then, to make things a little unusual, a police car drove by and they yelled something out the window at us. No idea what....it was all in Estonian. Our legs were very tired and we were biking very slowly...when more police drive by and then a bunch of hardcore cyclists on some sort of tour. Did we ever feel silly! Some of them said stuff to us as they zoomed past...I would like to think that they were saying 'Keep up the good work' and not 'Get off the road you SUCK!' but I really don't know.We finally make it back to the hostel and showered and went out for soup.
Then, this morning we left the hostel to take our bikes back, and the road was blocked off....for the same bike tour...that zoomed past us AGAIN! And when we returned to our hostel, it was full up with .... (take a wild guess) the bike tour! Then we remembered that there was a bike tour starting in Tartu when we were there...I think that they are following us.
We also went to see the Castle! That was very interesting...there was one tower that had lions roaring at the bottom...apparently the Bishop who used to own the castle would through his prisoners to real lions...Who knows.

I am finally at a computer that will allow me to show you some pictures! Here is a sampling of where we have been:

This is Rusalka. She is a character from Germanic literature. At the turn of the century there was a ship named after her. The ship sank and everyone on board died. Now a statue of her overlooks the harbour of Tallinn to protect future voyages.
This is in Katherines Passage. Here is where some of the best artisans in Tallinn work. In it are workers in glass, silver, fabric arts etc etc.


These are three of the towers by the old town of Tallinn.

Tartu

The journey continues and we are in Tartu! Tartu is where the Estonian University is located, and quite a bit further inland. So far I really like this city. And the Hostel! We have a great set up...a little living room, a room with two beds, private bath and kitchenette. The last place was, well, a little dirty and smelly. We were glad to leave it.
It is well past noon as I am writing this, but we have barely explored the city. Last night we ran to the Estonian National Museum before it closed after we discovered that it is not open on Monday and Tuesday, the two days we are here. It was nice to get some cultural context. It is a little bit different not knowing enough of the language to really explore the culture. While many Estonians speak English, they are not comfortable for a conversation past the basics. They are also a very reserved people and prefer to let you mind your own business.
For the rest of the day we are planning on doing a self guided walking tour. We are both thrilled with the amount of public art, especially sculpture, that is found everywhere.
I also changed the settings for comments on the blog, so hopefully that is fixed! Thank you for letting me know what the settings were.

A couple more days under our belt and we can't believe how much fun this all is! I am getting braver about trying out a few words in Estonian, which usually ends up in a conversation in English, probably because my pronouciation is so awful. But I figure that I can either be an ignorant tourist that expects everyone to speak English, or a silly tourist that tries. Really it is ten to one.
Yesterday we decided it would be fun to walk all the way around the Old Town wall. The wall surrounds the original city built in the 1300s. If we had walked fast we could probably have done it in 40 min, but we went slowly and looked through shops...it was very fun! So many hidden stone walkways and shops full of artisans blowing glass or quilting or making silver jewelry.
Today we braved the transit system and went out to the Kumu Art Museum. The building itself is pretty spectacular, built just a couple years ago. The art was interesting...I don't think that I am smart enough to understand most art. They had a big display of photography depicting daily life in turn of the centry Estonia and Lithuania. That was really interesting. It gave a bit more of the traditional culture and dress.
Then we walked along the ocean and saw a big war memorial that the Soviets put up for the soldiers that died in World War II. It was interesting to see a memorial from the other side's perspective.
Tonight we are going to go to dinner at a Medieval resteraunt! Apparently they perfom a sword fight everynight at 8, followed by Oriental Dancers. We thought it sounded like fun...and who can pass up a sword fight?

To Tallinn

We have just started our first real day of the trip! After a VERY long trip, Sheryl and I were relieved to get off the plan in Tallinn. Getting into the country was very simple, so simple that we thought for sure we had done something wrong! When we got off the plane we went to get our luggage and walked out. There was no customs, no immigration...they didn't look at our passports and sadly, we have no stamp in our passports. We asked the lady at the currency exchange if there was customs or anything, and she smiled, looked amused, and said No.
We navigated the bus system and found our way to the hostel pretty easily. I was a little worried that it would be a long walk, but the scale on the map is HUGE! This really is a small city and it is very easy to walk everywhere...on incredibly old cobblestone.
The weather is perfect, around 20 degrees and nice and moist, but not too humid. The wind is warm too, which makes all the difference. I was going to try and post some pictures, but I don't think that I can at this cafe. Maybe next time.
We went to the tourist information centre and found a bunch of stuff to look through. I think that we are going to spend the rest of the day exploring and make a plan for the rest of the week.

And We're Off!

It is Sunday afternoon and I am restlessly waiting to drive to ferry. From there we will stay in a hotel overnight, and catch a 9:10 flight to Tallinn, via Toronto and Frankfurt. I can't wait! I am also unable to focus on anything for very long. And unable to go five minutes without a flock of butterflies passing through my stomach and emerging in a huge smile.
GIDDY.