Bremen,Amsterdam, Brussels

Well I can now officially cross a couple things off my To Do List in life. I can now cross off waffles and chocolate in Belgium, riding a bike in Amsterdam, seeing the Sunflower by Van Gogh, riding on a train through France, and eating a Bratwurst in Germany. I have only been traveling for four days, but they have been a fantastic and full four days.

Monday morning around 5am we left on a train from Helsinki to Tampere, Finland to catch our flight to Bremen, Germany. We were only in Bremen for about 3 hours, but I loved every hour of it. I saw spring officially for the first time all year. Yes, I saw a little blip of it in Stockholm, but Bremen was full on! I saw trees with full green leaves on them, I saw real green grass, and I smelled spring! I also wished upon my first dandelion, if you know me at all you now how much I love wishing on dandelions. Spring is so beautiful to me now since I was deprived of it for a while. I mean the smell of pollen was so amazing!! I’m sure all of you in the States are annoyed at those yellow things that fall on your car, but right now I could just lay in a pile of those and be so happy. The little things mean so much when those little things are absent for a while.

In Bremen we walked around a park for a while that led to this beautiful windmill surrounded by flowers in the shape of the city seal. It was so pretty!! Bikes were everywhere in Bremen (although not nearly as many people rode bikes compared to Amsterdam). Then we went to the city center where we ate Bratwurst with mustard in this tiny bun.

On the train ride to Amsterdam we saw some beautiful landscapes. It was full of fields and crops. My favorite was the yellow flower field. I am not sure what the flower is exactly, but they are everywhere, so bright and pretty. We (Amanda, Brad, and I…. that is who I am traveling with at the moment. They are an American couple from West Virginia. Brad studied in Helsinki and Amanda in Stockholm this past semester) also saw a lot of cows, some more windmills, cute houses, and then some more fields. I have really enjoyed riding on the trains from country to country. You really get to see some beautiful parts of the country.

Amsterdam was amazing. I loved it. So far it has been my favorite, but I still have many more to go. I completely misjudged it thinking it was all about sex and drugs. Yes, prostitution and pot are present in the city, but they are also present in any other city. We took a tour of the city and learned that it is all about tolerance. So while most cities try to hide the fact that prostitution and drugs exist, Amsterdam makes it legal to a certain extent. There are still many rules to them, and the city is slowly trying to make them illegal again. Nothing went away when they made it illegal a long time ago. It just went underground. So they made it legal so that they could regulate it and control it.

Anyways, there was so much more to the city than sex and drugs, also known as the Red Light District. Canals run throughout the city, lined with trees, house boats, and then long narrow streets. The houses are all compacted together and a lot are leaning slightly forward. While Bremen felt like spring, Amsterdam felt like fall. These leaves or flowers were falling off the trees everywhere, making it feel like fall. Plus, the weather was a little cool and windy with some rain. I felt like spring and summer was completely taken away and that I had gone through this time machine.

We ate a lot of food in Amsterdam. We ate their pancakes, which can have cheese and bacon cooked in them (amazing!!), Belgian fries in a cone with mayonnaise (we ate them in Brussels too), and these snacks called Stroopwaffels. They are these crispy waffles that have this syrup stuff inside. They are amazing.

The first day we just walked around the city and fell in love with the canals! The second day we took out free city tour where we learned so much about the city! I won’t put it all in here, but just know it is a city full of history and amazing stories. During the tour we were walking by the Red Light District. The guide kept telling us NOT to take pictures of the girls in the windows (the prostitutes) when we get there. He really stressed this, which stressed me out because I thought I was surely going be the one to take the picture. The girls get really mad and have been known to throw things at you. So, I told myself over and over again not to take a picture! Well sure enough I took a picture, but I did not mean to! Here is the story. I had no idea we were in the Red Light District. It looked just the same and we were on the side, so we didn’t see any actual red lights. So there was this sign in a window up high that read “You are Beautiful”. I really liked it. I thought it was sweet. So I zoomed in and took a picture…. But it was right above some girls in the window… yep…. They knocked really hard and kind of got mad. I was lucky to not get anything thrown at me. I really felt bad. I didn’t know they were there! I felt bad for the guide because he is the one who gets in trouble for it. Oh I felt so stupid. I knew I was going to be the one to do it!

The third day we rented bikes!! It was so much fun! The Dutch bikes have a back brake, so that was a little hard to get used to. We rode our bikes to a windmill on the edge of town, but we were too early for their open hours. So instead of taking a tour inside, we ate our lunch in a park by the canal. Then we rode our bikes to the Van Gogh Museum. Now, if you know me and my love for dandelions, then you must also know of my love for sunflowers. I love sunflowers a whole lot. So I was pretty pumped to see Van Gogh’s Sunflower painting. They also had a night exhibit that showed his Starry Night. Usually the Starry Night is in NYC, so the fact that we were able to see it was a big treat. We also saw all of his other paintings. I am not much of a museum person, but seeing Van Gogh’s original paintings of windmills and peasants and nature was so fascinating and amazing. Obviously the Sunflower was my favorite part and I even snuck a picture! I don’t know how long I stood in front of that beautiful painting, but I took my time. In all, Amsterdam was simply amazing. I even tried on a pair of wooden shoes. I absolutely loved it and highly recommend it!

Thursday was spent in Brussels. We took the train which again had a beautiful view the whole way. We only spent one night in Brussels. But we saw the EU Parliament which handed a whole bunch of free pamphlets, maps, and information books. Then we went to the town square, which claims to be one of the best preserved in Europe. I think I can agree with that. The Cathedral alone was beautiful. I find it fascinating how intricate and detailed some of those building are. It was also weird to see such medieval buildings on one street and then a high rise on the other. I hadn’t seen a sky scrapper in a long time. There is a famous statue of a little boy peeing in Brussels. After searching for a while, we were a little disappointed when the boy was tiny. We were expecting a giant little kid. It was still cool and funny because it was a fountain where the water came out his pee pee!!! Yes I just said pee pee. We ate Belgian Waffles and a lot of chocolate!! I even got my waffle with bananas and chocolate on it. It was amazing. I am eating really well over here, but I justify it by saying I am embracing the culture.

I’m sure there is a lot I am leaving out. However, it is late, I am in Paris (I will write about that soon…. A couple countries at a time here), and I have already written way too much. So if you have gotten this far, thank you for staying with me this long. I am having a blast, being safe, staying away from Swine Flu, and soaking up every moment I can.

The pictures above should be described in the post.

Goodbye Finland

This is it. My time in Finland is over. Wow did it fly by. I feel like I just got here! I mean wasn't it just yesterday that I went on the longest plane ride over here to this retirement center room??? How I am going to miss this silly room, and this cold windy city, and these awesome friends I have made. I am so excited about the journey ahead of me, but sad to be leaving this behind. I hate goodbyes! Today I have said too many. Luckily Facebook can bring us all together again. I just feel like it is the end of high school all over again. You know, when you know you are never going to see these people again? I'll admit that I cried today. Abbie, Asha, and I watched Grey's Anatomy (Like we do about everyday) for the last time tonight... the last time! We even bought 6 euro Ben and Jerry's to make it memorable. Luckily I am going to see them in Berlin in two weeks. But we will never be back in Domus (my building) eating chocolate and watching Grey's again.

Ok, so enough about my bittersweet feelings and emotions going on inside me. Let's talk about Vappu! Vappu is May Day. This is a huge event for the Finns! To put in a non-Finnish way, its when all the Finns come out of hibernation, wear bright colors, fill the city with HUGE balloons, and enjoy the outdoors! It was so much fun. It starts on Thursday(30th) and ends technically on Friday (1st).

The Finns get this sailor hat when they graduate high school, so this is the day they wear that hat. Also, university students usually wear these overall things that are really ugly actually but very practical. They wear them for special events. They also fill them with patches, kind of like the girl scouts vests. So, most people were walking around in their overalls and hats, but there were also cute old ladies with their cute husbands walking around in their hats too! Sailors were everywhere!

Vappu is a just a huge party on the streets of Finland. On Thursday there is this ceremony where about 7 or so people get hoisted up on crane in the air so that they can place a huge sailor hat on Havis Amanda, a statue of a naked girl in a park in the city. It was really cool. Then, after they party in the streets for the rest of the night, they wake up early to cookout in the park. The park was so crowded! We went with this disposable grill, which is the neatest and coolest thing ever!!!! Anyways, the Finns were much more prepared than we were. Some had actual tables, others had DJ's and mini dance parties, and then a lot brought their own grills. The park was so crowded, full of balloons and people in sailor hats and bright colors. Vappu is a huge deal for Finland, so it was neat to experience it here.

After everyone got burnt by the sun in the park, we grilled out again on the roof of our building. What we thought would just be a couple people turned out to be a huge gathering! It was great though just to hang out with everyone. I miss cooking out.

The weather is not warm, but its not cold either. Its about 50 F. So, Sunday a couple of us went to the beach and had a little picnic. The sand was actually out and not covered in ice! It was weird to be at the beach! I hate that I am leaving right when the warm weather is coming.

In about two hours I am off on a train to the airport where I will fly to Bremen, Germany. I am about to start my travels around the rest of Europe. Let me just say it is so bittersweet. I am so excited to see the rest of the world!! But, I am so sad to leave everyone. Also, I am sad to be leaving Europe all together in less than a month and to go back to the "real world".... but I am so excited to see everyone and to be back in TN with sweet tea and BBQ. A little side note: the Europeans/Australians call grilling out a BBQ, which is really confusing. I keep trying to tell them that you can have BBQ and have a cook out, but not every cook out has BBQ...confusing.

All day I have been packing and cleaning and saying goodbye. I guess this is real now. I am really leaving...

Above are pictures of my Vappu weekend.

Sunshine in Sweden

This past weekend I went with ESN, the organization for exchange students, to Stockholm, Sweden! We rode on a huge ferry (almost like a cruise, but not exactly)from 4:30 pm to 9:55 am when we arrived in Sweden. The ferry was fun but very crazy. We were in the worst rooms, you know the ones underneath the water! Yea, I felt like Jack from Titanic. I actually ended up in a room with three guys (which would never happen in the US! Guys and girls just aren't separated like they are at home). It was actually an accident that I ended up in that room. Anyways, The ferry was filled with live music, a lady with a mullet, amazing older couples who just wanted to dance, and me to watch it all! The live act consisted of three women in sparkly dresses and two men in matching tuxes. The older generation on the boat just wanted to get down and boogie with the sparkly people, and so they did. They would not let you get in their way either! The songs ranged from Finnish to Cher to Garth Brooks (which the Brit and Aussie claimed someone else sang. I think they were in denial of Garth).

As soon as we arrived in Stockholm, the jackets and socks went off and the sunglasses went on! It was amazing. I'm sure those of you back home don't think much of that. But after spending four months in a jacket and living in a city with wind and some sunshine, yea, I was very excited to not wear socks. Oh the little things in life. Asha, Abbie, and I just walked around the city. We found a park with green grass!! After lying in it for a while, we found another park! We also found a lot of cool playgrounds. I think each one we found had a castle and some crazy see-saw or spinning object in it. The second park we went to had the biggest and thickest blade of grass I think I have seen in a long time. Once again, oh how the little things make you so happy.

Our first day we really just walked around, saw the older city, ate a lot of ice cream, bought fruit from the outside stands, and sat by the water a lot to eat whatever we were eating at the time. Stockholm and Helsinki are very similar, but oh so different too! Both are on the water and both have little islands everywhere. But, Stockholm's city center was more surrounded by the water than Helsinki's. There are just so many bridges to connect the islands, meaning there are a lot places to walk along the water. It was so pretty! There were boats everywhere!

I am not trying to dis Helsinki. Its just that Stockholm was warm! Plus, everyone was out and about. The Finns claim this happens in the summer, but sadly I will not be here to witness that. Stockholm also had really beautiful architecture! Everyone who went came back with pink and red faces from the sun. Our poor skin hasn't seen the real sun in a long time. Okay, the sun comes out in Helsinki, but it just doesn't seem as warm as it did in Stockholm.

On our second day in Stockholm, we only had until 4:30 pm. Since we spent our first day in parks and walking around the city, we spent the second day going to the market and a museum. We went to the Nobel Museum. Sadly, we had to leave pretty Stockholm and get back on the ferry. On the way back we all stayed at the top of the ferry to be in the warmth and sun as long as possible.

It was such a nice break to be in Stockholm, especially not having to wear a jacket! I hate how pictures and blogs just don't do tt justice though. Now I am back in Helsinki, and it is actually getting a little warmer. Today I only wore a light jacket.

As for classes, I took a test today and I have an essay due at the end of the week. Other than that, I am through with classes! Once I finish this essay, I just have to clean my room and pack for my trip to Europe! I officially have all my plane tickets bought and my Eurail pass ready to go! It is so insane to me that this time next week I will be in Germany on my way to the Netherlands!

A lot will happen until that moment though. April 30th-May 2nd is Vappu, or May Day. It is a huge celebration for Finland. Someone once told me it was the St. Patty's Day of Finland... so I will let you know about that.

I have just put up pictures of lovely Stockholm.

Big Ole Time

It has been a while since I have written. But I figured you wouldn't want to read about me attempting to study and getting distracted by Facebook and Surf the Channel (a site where you can watch almost anything you want for free! Don't go... it can be more addicting than Facebook sometimes).

Easter weekend was very interesting and different for me this year. We got a whole week of classes off, which was really great. I tried to spend most of it getting work done before my mom came to visit. Saturday I made a traditional Polish Easter basket with two of my Polish friends. We boiled eggs with onion peels to make then a brown/orange color (and then colored on them to combine my usual tradition of dying Easter eggs). Then, we covered the eggs in butter to make them shiny and put them in a "basket". Our basket was just a gladware bowl, but it worked. We also put frozen sausage, bread, salt, a sheep figure to represent Jesus, and some chocolate in our lovely basket. Then, we walked to the Polish Catholic church where we got our baskets blessed! Yep, that's right. I got a blessed Easter basket this year... very different from the Easter bunny. The church was packed, so sadly I did not actually see the blessing of the baskets, nor did I understand anything! The priest said everything in Finnish and Polish. Either way, we walked out of there with a blessed basket! I just thought that was so cool.

That evening we went to a big bon-fire that the Finns have every Easter. It was the biggest fire I have ever seen!! But all the little kids were dressed up as colorful witches. I won't go into too much detail about the tradition, but it has something to do with witches did a lot of bad things during Easter weekend, so the bonfire was made to scare them away. Now the kids dress up as cute little bright witches. The bonfire was on an island nearby.

Easter Sunday was very different from what I am used to. I mean this was the first time in my life that I did not spend it at home, going to church in a new Easter dress (which by the way the Europeans think it is silly that everyone gets a new outfit for Easter), and getting a visit from the Easter bunny (he just came late this year). I started the day off with eating our blessed basket of food and some really good Polish soup. Then, Abbie and I spent the rest of the day at the indoor waterpark! Yep, I spent Easter Sunday at the waterpark. It was a lot of fun though. I will say that the wave pool didn't seem as cool as it used too.

This Wednesday Mom came to visit! She stayed for 5 days. We had so much fun. It was really neat because we did a lot of things I had never done and had been meaning to do for a while. Her first whole day we just took a tour of the city. We were really lucky to have four out of five sunny days! The sun didn't mean warm weather, but it just makes everything a bit brighter. I showed her the harbor and the beach. Although I had been to both places before, I had never seen them unfrozen! All the snow and ice has melted, finally. It is still really windy though, which is what gets you.

We also went to the Opera. It was a Finnish opera about Finnish life. I thought it needed a better happier ending, but it was still fun. One day we also went to the zoo, which is on an island! We had an interesting time getting there. We rode the metro and walked a little ways to actually get to the zoo. However, to leave there was supposed to be a ferry that went back to the harbor. We waited for about 15 minutes next to the creepy Vulture cage, and then finally realized it wasn't coming. Then, we waited for the bus for about 15 minutes... and then realized we had the wrong time. So right when we decided to hike back to the metro station, the bus came pulling in. Let's just say it was an adventure. The actual zoo was really neat. We saw everything from pink flamingos to a llama that stared us down to reindeer!

Another day we went to the open-air museum that is an island that the Easter bon-fire was on. It was really cool. Its made up of different kinds of Finnish houses over time. It sounds weird, but it was neat. We just walked around the really windy island and looked at interesting wooden houses and barns. It reminded us a lot of Cade's Cove (minus the 11 mile loop).

Mom actually experienced the Finnish sauna twice! Although, one was a traditional public sauna in the city that was very interesting. It was really old and "authentic", but ended up just looking really creepy. It warmed us up from all the cold wind, so I guess it was worth the creepiness.

We ate out twice too! Which means I have eaten out twice in Helsinki in the whole 4 months I have been here. Helsinki is really expensive, so I just eat in and at the university cafeteria. The first time we ate at Memphis and the second time at a Finnish restaurant. I think the fact that a restaurant was named Memphis entertained us way too much. At the Finnish "ravintola" we had reindeer and salmon, which are both pretty Finnish.

It was great to see Mom and we had a "big ole time" as she would say. Now, I am back to normal life of attempting to study and get everything done. I leave for Stockholm, Sweden on Thursday. We leave on the ferry and spend two nights on the boat and one in Stockholm. Basically, I am going on my first cruise since the ferry is really just a big cruise. I'm really excited. Plus, rumors have it that it is a lot warmer in Stockholm than in Helsinki. Country number four, here I come!

Spring is here?

March and April have always meant Spring to me, well at least the sight of warm weather. But apparently in Finland, this is not the case. March was freezing! Okay, we did see a couple +4 C days(39 F), but that was rare and only lasted for a bit. This cold weather has been getting a little annoying too. Yes, the snow is pretty. Yes, I enjoy wearing hats and scarves and cute mittens... but only for a couple months! It also doesn't help that everyone's Facebook statuses let you know exactly what the weather is doing. I have been jealous that all my friends are "loving this warm weather!" or "Going to the park to enjoy this amazing weather!". Okay, you get the point. At first I was pretty bitter towards Finland for being so cold and forgetting Spring should be here by now. However, now I have decided to take a different approach... humor with a bit of hope. April 1st was a new day in Finland. A lot of the bars and restaurants put out their outside chairs and tables. Plus, flower and fruit vendors are on every other corner of the streets. This is what I mean when I say humor... it was pretty cold the day everything came out. Today, however, I have hope. It started out as +7, then went to +8, and now we are at +10!! That is 50 F!!!!! Oh I am so excited. The sky is blue, the sun is out, it is a beautiful day! I have been walking outside with just a long sleeve t-shirt on! Crazy! The Finns are all bundled up still, which doesn't make any sense to me. I had to take off my jacket because I was dying from the heat. Anyways, lets just say I now have hope that Helsinki is ABLE to get warm. There were times I didn't think it was possible.

I know I haven't written in a while. Not much has been happening except my attempt to actually study. I say attempt because it is not going very well. I finally have work to do (I guess it was about time) and I can't focus to do it! Don't worry though, it is slowly getting done.

I did have upsetting news last week. My Australian friend Ashley who I had been planning to travel with decided to go home early. I was not only upset that he was leaving, but that I was without a traveling partner! I stressed out about it for a couple days, but have now worked everything out. I am going with Brad and Amanda, an American couple from West Virgina. We have decided to take a different route from before. Its rather strange, but it works. When I leave here I will have been to 16 different countries! That is insane to me! I mean what an opportunity I have! I feel so lucky. When I leave here I will have been to Finland, Latvia, Estonia, Sweden, Luxembourg, Germany, Netherlands, Belgium, the Czech Republic, France, England, Scotland, Italy, Poland, Slovakia, and Hungary. Phew, that is crazy! Everything is official too because I bought my plane tickets! I think I am most excited about warm weather and cheddar cheese!

Last night Abbie, Asha, and I went to the Opera! We only paid 11 euros for it as well since we got out student discounts and bought them the day of. I had to be there at 8:30am on my day off to get them, but it was well worth it. We saw Mozart's The Magic Flute. It was in Finnish with English and Swedish subtitles. I wasn't quite sure how they were going to pull off the subtitles in the opera, but they did it. They were on a screen at the top of the stage. It was nice because you didn't have to read the screen the whole time. Since they were singing and it is was in Finnish, one sentence lasted for a while. We really enjoyed it and felt very classy! Abbie and I sat in the balcony, but Asha had to sit on the floor since our seats weren't all together. During intermission we splurged on a white chocolate and coffee cake that were both amazing!

Last weekend someone threw a movie themed party in their flat. Abbie, Asha, Emma , and I went as the Pink Ladies from Grease. We just bought cheap pink shirts, wrote "Pink Ladies on the back", and put a scarf around our necks -simple. Everyone did a great job at dressing up! I saw Austin Powers, Apollo 13, Sarah Jessica Parker, Indiana Jones, Snow White, and Mitch from Baywatch. People get so creative! I even saw a Telly Tubbie!

So above are photos from the move theme party with Abbie and then Marg Simpson and our night at the opera.

Bean's visit

Adam Bean, my boyfriend for those that do not know, came to visit me this past week! He was only here for 4 days, but they were a fantastic 4 days at that. He used his dad's frequent flier miles, so he got a really good deal on his ticket. He arrived on Saturday around 3ish, so we had from then until Tuesday night when he left around 3 am.

Saturday we just relaxed and enjoyed being with each other most of the day. That night we went out for a little bit to watch a Rugby match between Ireland and Scotland.

This seems really weird, but it wasn't until Bean came that I think all of this became real to me. I mean I know I have been living in Finland for about 2 months now, but it became such a reality with Bean's visit. I know that seems crazy, but it is hard to explain.

Anyways, Sunday we went to this bay area on another side of town. It had this Winter Garden that was really pretty and the Olympic Stadium from 1952. There was this tower that you could go up and see the whole city.

Monday we went to Suomenlinna, the sea fortress. It was really cold outside, but it was also really pretty. It is made up of a couple islands. On the ferry ride over we were amazed at the ice in the water. It has been melting (slowly), so there were huge chunks of ice all in the water. It sounds lame, but it was actually really cool. Soumenlinna was really pretty and neat, with random underground passages and walls to climb through. Crazy.

Tuesday we took the train to the Finnish Science Museum. It was fun, lame at some points, but still fun. Although we went to this Planetarium video that we thought would be really neat, but turned out to be really weird. We made it fun though.

Since Tuesday was St. Patrick's Day we found this random Irish pub to hang out in. There was this "Irish" band playing live with a bunch of old people wearing big Guinness green hats, so we were entertained.

Now Bean is gone and I am back to reality. It was such a nice break with his visit and we had so fun together. It was nice to show him my life this semester, where I live and who I hang out with.

Not only was I sad today since Bean left last night, but I had to deal with my computer. Bean brought the Recovery disk I thought I needed to fix it. However, after talking to a couple HP people on the phone, I found out I didn't need it all along... meaning this whole month I have gone without a computer was pointless. I really just had to press F11 a bunch of times... yea.... I know. I think I lost everything too. I say think because I also think it is still on my computer. I am not sure, but I am going to try and recover all my pictures and files and music. I can handle not having my music since it is on my i pod, and I don't think I had any really important documents saved, I just want to get my pictures back. At least I haven't deleted any from my camera since I have been in Helsinki.

Good news is I have computer again!!

Bad news is my time here is almost up. I mean this is my half way point, but I have less than 2 months just in Helsinki. It is all going by so fast!

Above are pictures of Bean's visit.

Backpacking

This past week was our "spring break" or really just the break in-between grading periods. My friend Asha and I went to Riga, Latvia and Tallinn, Estonia. This was my first time really backpacking through Europe, so I was really excited. We left on a train on Monday from Helsinki to Tampere. There is this really cheap airline, Ryanair, which flies out of Tampere but not Helsinki. Once we got in Tampere we had to find the bus station, and then take the bus to the airport. Luckily we caught everything just in time. So turns out the reason Ryanair is so cheap is because the airport was a warehouse! Our boarding passes were hand written and the plane looked just like their website - obnoxiously bright and flashy. Our flight was only an hour long, but they spent the entire time over the speakers trying to sell us stuff. It was very funny.

Finally we arrived in Riga!! We stayed at a hostel called Fun Friendly Franks. There were actually 4 other girls that go to school with us in Helsinki on the same flight and hostel too. Right outside the hostel was this bridge that was basically the Memphis Bridge and then some. That made me laugh, but no one else really got it.

The next day we explored Riga! The first thing we did was find the market. Wow was the market amazing! We bought a couple things for breakfast, and I don't think we each went over a euro. Helsinki is actually really expensive, so it was a nice break. Latvia isn't on the euro, but the Lat. After falling in the love with the market, we explored some important sites around the city. We stayed in the old city the whole time since that was where most of the tourist sites were. The old city in Riga was sweet, but not as sweet as Tallinn's old city. I do think Riga's old city is more incorporated into their daily live though.

Once we saw all the major sites, we went to the Museum of Occupation, which explained Latvia's history with the Soviets and Nazis. It was incredibly sad. The Russians occupied Latvia until the Nazis took over, which were actually seen as a saving grace for the Latvians. Then, the Russians took back over from the Nazis. It is so sad and interesting to hear of Russia's rule over the Baltic States (Latvia, Estonia, and Lithuania).

Ok, well after that we went to this sweet restaurant for lunch where I got, of course, meat and potatoes with sour cream. It is actually really good. I never thought sour cream would be my number one dipping sauce, but it's pretty yummy on almost everything I have eaten here.

We met some really neat people at Frank's hostel. One girl, Nell, is an American who lives in Poland teaching English. Then we met this group of Australians that were travelling. It was actually 3 Australians and 1 Brit they picked up along the way. They actually had this crazy guy in their room who ended up macing them!! I know, crazy right! Turns out that crazy guy was on the run from Lithuania for macing someone. In the end we all laughed and joked about it (well not the macer who was escorted out by the police). Slightly intense though.

So after our day and half in Riga, we headed off to Tallinn, Estonia. Yes, I have already been there, but only for a day. So we took a 4 hour bus ride from Riga to Tallinn. It was a long ride with only the view of snowy fields from the window.

After a very long bus ride, we finally arrived in Tallinn. Our hostel was this sweet homey looking place in the old town, very different from Frank's. We went out that night and explored the old city, which was so beautiful at night time! We found this sweet French restaurant (themed like the one I had gone to before). It very sweet with candles everywhere. We had mushroom soup and filet mignon! Living the high life. It wasn't as cheap as Riga, but we thought we would treat ourselves. We kept taking pictures of everything, so our server opened this other room for us to take pictures in. I thought that was sweet until I saw what it was full of... animal heads! ahh!!! We took a couple pictures then got out of there, or at least I wanted to get out of there. But it was sweet of her to do that. She thought we were such tourists, which of course we were.

We spent a lot of time hanging out in Riga that we were really worn-out when we got to Tallinn... so we actually watched a little TV! I haven't watched TV from an actual Television is almost 3 months! I mean yes I have been watching Grey's Anatomy a lot with Asha and Abbie on the computer, but that is different. We actually watched a little Grey's on this TV, haha, but only because it was on! We also watched a little Discovery Channel and ESPN America. The America part at the end made me laugh. It was the Alabama vs. Auburn basketball game! I was all into it (who would have thought I would have missed ESPN), but Asha didn't really care at all.

So after having a lazy night, we woke up energized for Tallinn! We decided to go for the market again since it is the cheapest way to get breakfast. We had to venture outside the old town to get there. The market wasn't nearly as amazing as Riga's and actually slightly creepy, but we still managed. We found this pretty park to eat in right next to the old city castle wall. We also found this amazing work out center. It looked like a playground, but it was an outdoor workout room! It was pretty crazy.

Although I had already been to Tallinn, it was also fun and different with Asha. We did the walking tour guide again, but in a different order than I did before. The sun actually came out half way through the day! Not only was the sun out, but it wasn't that cold either (I mean, it wasn't freezing like it always is)!

Finally after touring all of old city Tallinn and warming up in the sweetest tea room, we were off on the ferry back home to Helsinki. Please note that we used almost every form of transportation in just 4 days (we didn't use the tram though). The ferry ride back wasn't as entertaining as the one before, mainly because good ole Steve Webb wasn't there to entertain. However, we were pretty tired from everything, so the relaxation was nice.

Now I am back in Helsinki. It is actually snowing pretty hard today. I don't think that is fair at all considering it is 70 in Tennessee right now! However, I guess I should be enjoying the snow while I can.

Above are just some photos of me and Asha in Riga, Tallinn, and the neat outdoor workout area.