Saaremaa and Hiumaa

Me at the end of our 4km hike, quite the view!

Sunset on the island of Saaremaa, Estonia

Hello all! I know that this is again a little outdated, as I traveled to the Estonian islands Saaremaa and Hiumaa nearly two weeks ago, but with finals week following my trip I had little time to compose a blog post for it. For starters my friends and I rented a car and drove to the islands, took the ferry, stayed in cute little cottages for two nights. It was a really nice time and especially because the friends I went with definitely are the adventurous kind, we stopped at various lighthouses and beaches, also other significant landmarks on the island. I bet they could write a guide book to the island, that's how much they researched it! Saaremaa was a beautiful island, quite large and full of nature, because we went in the Spring, it was especially spectacular! Flowers everywhere, green grass, and fields of wild plants, absolutely amazing. I think overall within the two islands we stopped at 5 or 6 lighthouses. So many to see and we didn't even see them all! One which we climbed the stairs to the top of had an amazing view, overlooking the Baltic Sea and its surrounding islands. In the island of Hiumaa, our cottage we stayed at had a sauna in it! It was crazy awesome! So that night after a huge BBQ feast, we went in the sauna and then ran 1 km to the Baltic Sea and went swimming at midnight. Such a fun experience and one I will surely never forget! The next day we drove around Hiumaa and "Surfers Paradise" a special beach who was known for their surfing capabilities. A nice beach too, so we ate a picnic lunch there and swam again in the Sea. We also managed to fit in a hike, which was nothing like Washington's hikes, this one was entirely flat... At the end of the weekend we took the ferry to the mainland and drove back to Tartu, and didn't arrive until 2 in the morning! A long weekend, but well spent and full of fun!

Luck O' The Irish!

Cliffs of Moher!!!

Kylemoore Abbey :)

Well! It has surely been a while, sorry I haven't kept up to date on my posts, as I have been busy preparing for finals and studying hard core! On May 19th I left Estonia foe the beautiful country of Ireland. A couple friends accompanied me and we flew into Dublin, which turned out to be a smaller city than I expected, but with so many amazing buildings and churches! For that night we walked around the city, seeing St. Peters Church, the Dublin castle, and eating some traditional fish 'n chips! We ended the night at a traditional Irish pub, a local pub so we were the only foreigners. It was refreshing from the constant hustle and bustle of foreigners running around everywhere snapping photos of everything. Which yes, I admit I have been there before. But stopping and experiencing things that the locals do, made me really appreciate their culture, and even made me fall in love with it. That night was the soccer championships between Munich and Chelsea. I was of course rooting Munich on because all of my German friends live there, but surrounded by Irish folk there was a lot of cheering for Chelsea. It must have paid off because after a 30 minute overtime Chelsea won. Oh to be in London that weekend.... it would be insane! The pub played some traditional Irish music and after a couple Guinness we finally walked home to go to bed. The next day we woke up extremely early to catch our bus that would take us to Galway (the West coast of Ireland). It was the best decision we could have made because the west coast was amazing! So beautiful and part of our tour was to go to the infamous Cliffs of Moher and Galway city. Such beautiful cliffs, I have never seen anything so amazing.... That night after a long day of history and traveling we spent the night in Galway city. The next morning back up again to take the Connemara and Cong tour! Connemara is an amazing part of Ireland, full of huge green fields stretching out as far as the eye can see. We learned all about the famine of Ireland and our tour guide should us many villages which were abandoned because the people either left or died of starvation. Quite a sad period in Irish history, and it is amazing how their attitudes are so upbeat. I realize it was nearly 200 years ago, but still something that serious and detrimental to a population usually has those kinds of repercussions. Anyways, we also got to tour the Kylemoore Abbey, an amazing castle complete with a Gothic style church, a mausoleum, and acres of Victorian gardens. The village of Cong was amazing as well, I guess it is where they filmed "The Quiet Man". A very picturesque village! The bus took us back to Dublin that night and after a very long day of traveling and touring around we crashed real hard at the hostel! Unfortunately the next morning we had to go back to Estonia. But it was an amazing trip, full of energy and really great people.

Nature in the Baltics

Castle Games :)

      Recently the weather has changed from negative and snowing to sunny and warm. Estonians are saying this particular winter has lasted the longest they have witnessed in a while. It only started getting nicer in April and now I can say with confidence Spring is finally here! Trees are blooming, grass growing, green all around! With this nice weather I have been able to venture out into the national parks of Estonia and see nature through hike trips, field trips, and just plain old adventures with friends. The first trip I went on was a nice hike through the woods of a national park here in Estonia. This was in April, so there was still snow on the ground, but it was a nice hike in nature. In late April for one of my classes we went on a field trip all over Estonia. Starting off at Lake Peipsi, the very same lake I went to in February, was no longer frozen and the beaches were visible. Quite a lovely site, and during the summer I am sure it would be a nice place to hang out. Then we traveled up North to the Gulf of Finland and saw Estonia's tallest waterfall, now this doesn't mean it was necessarily large. On the contrary, it was tiny and a very ugly brown color, but nonetheless a  neat sight to see. Because this class was a nature and environment course for the Baltic Region we traveled to an industrial city where there were many artificial hills made from the factories waste dump. One hill which was not in use anymore had stairs to be able to climb to the top, very steep, but a great view at the top! The next stop was an amazing ancient castle from the Teutonic knights period of Estonian history located on the top of a huge hill. The castle has been set up as a tourist site with all sorts of fun things inside for kids. Not only do you get to dress up in what people back then would have worn, but there are also swords and other medieval activities like jousting available to try. The torture chamber was the craziest part, learning all about how they used to torture people against Christianity. Insane and creepy, yet very interesting! I will spare you the gruesome details ;) We ended our day trip at the Estonian wetlands, where a boardwalk runs all the way through and we walked to an observatory that overlooked the entire area. So wonderful and reminded me a lot of Yellowstone, gorgeous views of nature. Signing up for that course was probably one of the best decisions I made here!

Lake Peipsi, not frozen!

       A week later my friends and I went to a city called Elva, 15 minutes away from Tartu. This city is known for their two small lakes used often during the summertime, and their nature trails. The nature trail we went on was a 3 km walk around the forest and a lake. Along the way there were 24 different totem carvings which were supposed to bring energy and take away negative thoughts. It was a fun walk, especially because the weather was so nice! Later that week Tartu held what they call 'student days'. It's always this time of year and they organize so many events for a week straight before May day. There were competitions, marathons, activities, and races for students to participate in. The funniest one for me was the boat race. Students had to bring their own boat and paddle through an obstacle course on the river. The teams all had themes and costumes, there was teletubbies, nuns, nurses, pirates, etc. All so fun and creative! The student days ended with a light show on the last night. Fireworks, music, and things being lit on fire, it was really fun!

      Last weekend I got the opportunity to go to the capitals of Latvia and Lithuania. Of course because of them being further South, the weather was hot and sunny and the trees even more green and full than Tartu. Vilnius, Lithuania was amazing and such a beautiful city. It is called the "Rome of Eastern Europe" because of all its churches and I believe it because there was a different one on every corner! One day we went to Trakai, an area 30 minutes outside the city and there is a nice lake there, with an island with a castle in the middle. Such a beautiful castle and area. I would have liked to have stayed longer! We went to Riga, Latvia as well, which holds one of Europe's largest markets, and this is clearly true. There was a huge warehouse and on top of that space, the market extended outside, it took more than an hour just to walk around half of it! It was really fun though to see all the different sections they had. Fish market, meat market, vegetable market, fruit market, pickled items market, etc. Not to mention all the clothes and shoes they had for sale! Riga was a nice city, although I am sure my impression of it would have been nicer if the weather had been a bit better, cloudy and rainy is not the best to be touring and walking around a city in. Such a nice few weeks it has been with the weather getting better!

Trakai Castle, Lithuania

      As far as school goes, I am currently trying to finish 4 essays while studying Estonian and political history. It is getting quite crazy, but I am very excited to get my finals over with and be ready to finish off my 5 months here traveling to Southern Europe! Off to Ireland next weekend! Cheers!

Off to My Homeland!

     Last weekend I got the opportunity to take a short cruise to Stockholm, Sweden. ESN, a group that organizes fun events for us international students, put together a 3 day cruise around the Baltic Sea that took us from Tallinn to Stockholm and then back to Tallinn. There started out being just around 500 of us from different universities in Latvia, Lithuania, and Estonia of course! We left port on Sunday afternoon and arrived to Stockholm the next morning at 10 am. Going on a cruise is so much fun, you've got free food, drinks, you get to go somewhere you haven't been before, and you pretty much have as much fun as you want. The only downside to these set ups is when you get to the destination you only have 6 or so hours to tour it. So when we got to Stockholm, which let me say is a very large city, we were only able to see a bit of it. Of course we saw the Old town and the changing of the guards, which were very neat. Walking through the old town was fun because it was all of these little thin alleyways and lining the streets were souvenir shops, cute restaurants, bakeries, and cafes! And of course walking through all the shops I noticed shelf after shelf full of viking hats, elk stuffed animals, viking boats, and traditional Swedish dolls. I really enjoyed the architecture in the city, it was so beautiful. Old and tall building with such great detail decorating the walls. For lunch we visited this Italian restaurant, which was known to be famous and indeed it was because inside the walls are covered with pictures of famous people who have visited. One for example was Stellan Skarsgård, who played Bootstrap Bill in Pirates of the Caribbean! Crazy! After we ate we headed for the shopping part of the town and visited a four story H&M, which originated in Sweden, so you know it had to be great :) We did some shopping and then by the time that was finished we had to get back to the ship. 

   Me in front of the Parliament building

      Now this time around the ship picked up international students from Sweden, Denmark, Finland, and Norway. You can imagine that it would be more than the first group and it was. We picked up 1,500 international student, which meant that 2,000 international students were abroad this ship. It was insane, crazy kids running around, some a lot more drunk than others, but all having a great time. That night the group had organized activities for us to take part in, like a comedy show, speed dating, etc. It was a pretty funny experience! The disco and dance floor were open until 7am! Unfortunately being exhausted from the night before and the day of touring Stockholm I only lasted till 4 :) The next morning we docked back in Tallinn and headed back to Tartu on a bus. I actually met a guy on the ship from Boise, ID! And he said he knew of my friend from school who is from Boise. Crazy small world to meet someone who is only a state away from yours across the other side of the world! Anyways it was an amazing trip, full of fun, too much for some because on the bus rude back home there was not a single eye open. Everyone was exhausted and passed out the whole 2 hours. That proves it was indeed a good time :) Visiting Stockholm was so nice, and because I was only able to be there for a little while it is all the more reason that someday I will want to go back again, maybe this time with the whole family! After all it is our homeland!

 The first blossoms I have seen thus far in Eastern Europe. Spring is finally coming!!

Germany Getaway!

Well I can now cross Germany off of my list of places I wanted to visit while in Europe, although I will say four days was not nearly long enough in such a huge and beautiful country. Jessie accompanied me on this trip ad we started off in Bremen, Germany. We were able to walk around the city for a few hours before getting on our train to Munster. Bremen is a beautiful city! Small, but very nice. We hopped on the train for Munster (my very first train ride and the first of many on this weekend getaway). When we arrived in Munster we were greeted by our friend Matt, who lives in a small village called Velen, an hour away from Munster. In Munster we walked around the town for a bit, got to see this really cool church, where during the reformation people against the Church were literally put in cages, which still today hang above the clock on the top of the tower! There was really interesting history in this town. Our friend Matt had a fraternity buddy in Munster and we got to visit their Frat house. A beautiful house with huge rooms compared to sororities and fraternities back home. It was very nice visiting with them and the best part about having Matt there to show us around was that I really didn't feel like a tourist, which is a feeling I very much dislike.

 Me in Munster at the main university building on campus

       That evening we went to Matt's house and his mother had made a delicious casserole, a home cooked meal :) the best tasting I had had since my Mom and Grandma's  manicotti before I left the States :) That night we drove to Dortmund to a club, which was surprisingly awesome! It had four rooms, each with a different kind of theme of music. It was a really nice nice of dancing and testing out those German beers!
The next morning Matt's mother made us an Easter brunch, and once again a home cooked meal eaten with a nice family the perfect way to spend Easter Sunday! Although I didn't make it to church, I still had the other best thing about Easter, eggs and bacon :) Oh and some quality family time- even if it wasn't my family! haha.

         If you look really closely you can see the cages located right above the clock where people were put and suffered under the hot sun until they died of hunger, thirst, or exhaustion.

       That afternoon Jessie and I headed out on our own to the beautiful city of Hamburg! We met up with a very nice guy who was hosting us in his home. He took us on a tour of Hamburg that evening through the Reeperbaun (pretty much identical to Bourbon Street) and the harbor and also this awesome place called the Dom. It was like the Strawberry Festival on Vashon Island, but without funnel cakes and a lot larger! It was very nice to walk around, we also rode this Ferris wheel and got to see an overview of all of Hamburg, so nice and lit up at night! The next morning (and all day) in Germany is a holiday, so mostly everything was closed. I am so happy we had Sven with us because he showed us a lot of cool things and we even got to go to a free concert! That evening we ate at the hofbrauhaus, (HB) and tried some Munich beer, it was lovely :) Then at midnight we hopped on our last train ride back to Bremen, waited 4 long, cold hours in the train station, then got on a  tram to the airport and finally got on our plane at 6:30 am. What a long four days! I am positive I only got around 15 hours of sleep in four days, but it was totally worth the sleep deprivation!

 An amazing ornate alter at the Church of St. Michaelis in Hamburg, Germany, so much gold!!

      Overall I really enjoyed my stay in Germany! It was especially nice to experience the country with people from the area. The whole not getting lost and being completely confused all the time was such a  treat! I hope to someday go back, but this time to the South of Germany, the Bavarian areas, like Munich (Oktoberfest). Those areas have more hills and mountains, which is what I am used to. In the North where I was, it was very flat and reminded me a lot of Ellensburg! I love the mountainous regions of the West Coast, so I can imagine that I would love South Germany. I can't wait until my next visit!
     As far as conditions in Tartu are, things are going very well. School is getting to be a bit more challenging, what with papers being due and presentation and reading assignments. But not too much to handle! The weather here is bipolar, a lot like whats going on in the states right now, we got snow here last week, 5 INCHES! In the middle of April. That is a crime. Now for the first time today it has  reached 60 degrees Fahrenheit! I sat in the sun all day, it was so nice and I hope that the rest of April is just as lovely. Next weekend is Seabattle, the infamous trip to Sweden via cruise  ship full of 2,000 international students from Latvia, Sweden, Tallinn, Tartu, and Lithuania. I am sure I will have lots to report after that trip! Until next time! Nägemist!!

Tallinn!

Last weekend I got the opportunity to go to Estonia's capital, Tallinn for the day! It's crazy how every time I travel to a new place I realize how I have underestimated it's beauty. Looking at pictures of cities and villages is one thing, but seeing them in person is a whole other experience, one that words cannot describe. And I know that that is what everyone says and it is a little bit cheesy and obvious, but that doesn't make it less true! Tallinn was actually founded by the Danes in the 12th century, where the Northern Crusades were going on and Estonians were being forced to convert to Christianity. The area of the city that hold the most history is the Old Town and that was where we spent our day. We started our day off at a pancake house, said to be number 1 on a list of 200 places to visit while in Estonia. I can check that one off my list now! It was actually pretty good too, rightfully earned its place on that list.
       Next we took a free walking tour hosted by a student who attends Tallinn University and learned all about the town and its rich history. There are five churches in the area, which is a little ironic because Estonians are known for their lack of interest in religion. We got to hear stories behind every church and I learned that a couple are now museums, one is a Russian Orthodox church (the most ornate and beautiful, in my opinion) and there is one that clearly is the oldest because its exterior is worn down like it had been through a hurricane. Our tour guide told us that one of the museums buried a famous General who owed a lot of money when he passed away and rediscovered the body in the basement of church 100 years later. His body was so well preserved (they say because of all the alcohol he drank) that they put his mummified body on display in the church, charging people money to see it and making back all the debt he owed. Who knows if this story is true, but it sure was fun to hear!

                                       The Russian Orthodox Church in the Old Town of Tallinn

   After the tour, tired and cold we thawed out in an Irish pub because after all it was St. Patrick's Day, had to celebrate somehow! Seeing fish n chips on the menu brought me back to my trip to London. Although nothing compares to fish n chips in London.... unless it is Spuds (which I do miss a lot over here!). We waled to the port of Tallinn and saw the craziest thing I have ever witnessed! It is well known here that because Estonia is a lot cheaper than Finland, people from there come on ships to get alcohol. So there is this store which is right on the pier and it is stalked full with cases and cases ad cases of alcohol. People bring giant suitcases in and just fill them! It's insane, really it is. Also we got to walk around the market for a bit and I found for the first time here what I thought were bagels and turned out to be some kind of round sweet bread, but nonetheless exciting. Then we found a nice little Italian restaurant for dinner and after headed back to Tartu. It was a great trip, but one that will have to be repeated come Spring... when it's warmer!
     Speaking of Spring, the last week has shown great spring weather. Sun, rain, sun, etc. But just yesterday  it snowed. All night. This morning at 7:14 am was the first day of Spring and it was snowing. And here I thought we were through with the snow! And now this afternoon the snow has melted almost completely and the sun is out. I am starting to think that Washington isn't the only place whose weather is bipolar, in fact this behavior is happening all over the world. I am hoping Spring comes sooner rather than later!

Fish 'n Chips and a Pint Please!

       Thanks to Ryanair, a friend and I were able to purchase some cheap tickets to London, and off we went! We arrived on Wednesday and departed the following Monday, a whole six days of adventure. We started out touring off at Buckingham Palace and made out way to Big Ben and Westminster Abbey, all of which were amazing sites, breathtaking. Especially Westminster Abbey, it is my new goal in life to get married there... but it looks like my only option of making that happen is marring the little Prince Harry. Hmm... Anyways, the abbey was amazing, the architecture and style reminded me of the art history class I took last quarter. Unfortunately we didn't go into the church, but I was plenty satisfied with what we did get to see! We walked along the River Thames and then went to the Tower of London. Little did I know, just how much I was going to enjoy that tour. We got a tour from the "Beefeaters", the guards of the Tower. Which as funny as it sounds, they don't know the real reason that they were called Beefeaters! The common idea is that back in the day the King would serve the guards meat every night and because meat was so expensive and valuable they were named this by the peasants living nearby. Very interesting tour, full of history, especially of Anne Boleyn and her execution.

     Piccadilly Circus, Camden Market, Covent Garden, all wonderful shopping areas! Going to London was like going home. First off there was the rain, then the fact that we saw so many familiar stores, which by the way I got to eat a Cinnabon :) sooo yummy! But the pubs were very cool, they themselves were full of history! And not to mention the beer was good, expensive, but good! At one point we went to Notting Hill and walked through the shops and markets, where I surprisingly found lots of cupcake teapots and cups! (Kesley, sorry I am now regretting not buying one for you...) Notting Hill was where I had my first fish and chips, which I am missing already and I have only been back in Estonia for a few days! The Lion King had ticket left for their Friday night show and so we signed right up and I am so happy we did because it was amazing! The costume designer gets two thumbs up from me! They were so cool, detailed and extravagant.
    The museums we went to were very interesting! One was more focused on how humans began and other species, like dinosaurs, bugs, birds, and apes. But the British Museum was my favorite as many of its exhibits were based upon Greek and Egyptian history! My favorite areas of history to study. I got to see the Elgin Marbles, which Lord Elgin took from the Parthenon under permission from the Ottomans ruling Greece at the time. He donated them to the British museum and today they stand there, under constant debate as to whether or not they should be returned to Greece where they belong. Very interesting story behind them which I learned about while I was in Greece, so it completed the whole picture when I got to see them in England!
     We signed up for a pub crawl Saturday and had fun there! I met a lot of people from America, mainly the midwest and east coast. We were taken to five pubs and were able to get into a club for free. The club itself was actually really cool, it used to be a horse barn, so it had 6 large horse stalls which were now used for either private party sections or bars. The idea was really neat and the inside of the club was so fun!
    Our last full day In London, we actually went on a tour to Stonehenge and the city of Bath. Of course it was the only day that it rained and so at Stonehenge we faced sideways rain... not ideal. But it was beautiful nonetheless. When we got too Bath I immediately fell in love. The city is situated in a valley, surrounded by grassy hills and trees. Home of the Roman Baths, the city had very old structures and architecture. Although it went from rain to hail to sun and then back to hail, I was still able to take in the beauty of the city. Here I purchased my very first tea cup :) It was expensive, but was made for a special event, the Queen's anniversary of gaining the throne. It has 22 carat gold painted on it and the crest of the United Kingdom, one side a lion, representing England and the other a unicorn, representing Scotland. It is gorgeous and I can't wait to use it! We are having a tea party as soon I get home! This is a picture of the Roman Baths museum:

   So our last night in England and we didn't feel right paying to stay in a hostel for only sleeping three hours and then having to leave for the airport. So we went spent the night in the airport and left for Tallinn at 7 in the morning. It was a magnificent trip and on I will never forget. Although next time I go I am going to make sure that someone I know is there! Of course out of the three people I know in England, none of them were actually there the weekend I was! But the trip was awesome and I fully enjoyed myself, I can't wait to go back! Someday soon!