Travel: Latvia & Estonia
This past weekend I was privileged to travel to Tallinn and Riga, the capitals of Estonia and Latvia, respectively. This trip was phenomenal! To me, Tallinn is very much a touristy city. It has a lot of medieval charm (plus a hippie district). Centuries ago, Tallinn was a key village along trade routes and people were heavily taxed for passing through. Thus, Tallinn became extremely wealthy and was able to build tall walls to prevent power-hungry conquistadors from overtaking the city. Much of the medieval architecture still stands or was restored after WWII. I also liked Riga because it has some older features like cobblestone streets, but has a more modern flow. Plus there is at least one coffee shop on almost every single street corner.
We left LCC at 10:30pm on Thursday and "slept" on the bus overnight to Tallinn. Well, I maybe got 1-2 hours of sleep during the time the bus pulled over in the wee hours of the morning. We also stalled around 3am. I can't say it was the most pleasant time; it sounded like the bus was exploding. I ended up sleeping on the ground because I was sharing a seat with another girl. It was decent, but really bumpy, loud, and hard. Someone also dropped a backpack on my head around 4am when I had barely entered stage 1 sleep. I was wide awake for another hour or so. Friday morning it took a good hour or more for me to be able to feel the right side of my body. BUT, we were treated to a enormous delicious buffet breakfast!
Luckily, I get enough sleep on a regular basis that my body can handle a night of insufficient rest. Friday night I slept really well! But before that, we were given a walking tour of Tallinn. Our guide was quite sassy and entertaining. After that, a few girls and I found an Estonian chocolate shop and then visited the train station flea market. There were some interesting trinkets. Since we were exhausted from the bus ride, a few of us returned to our hostel and chatted for a bit before dinner.
Dinner. We went to a medieval restaurant; it was quite the experience! It was entirely candlelit, so we couldn't really see the food. Maybe that's a good thing. Here's the menu:
herb bread, rye bread with ham, cheese spread, pâté, pickles, sour cabbage, olives, berries, onion jelly
baked cheese
ginger turnips, lentils, barley with (hazel)nuts, sauerkraut
sausage made of boar, elk, and bear meat, salmon in nut sauce, Arabian beef
apple pie with almond milk sauce
90% of those items I have never had before. Three months ago and I never would have dreamed of eating of them. But I tried most everything, with the exception of some of the spreads in the first course. I can't say I liked it all, but at least I can say I tried! I don't want to leave with any regrets this semester. If that means eating bear, then I'll do it!
Afterwards, a few girls and I found a cute little cafe and ordered chai lattes. Yes, those are by far my favorites. It was neat to sit in the window on pillows and socialize. We then climbed to the top of the city and looked out and took nighttime photos. It was sort of raining, so it was pretty cool! Then...BED!
Saturday I had a much welcomed lazy start. I tried to find a particular souvenir street, but was unsuccessful. Then a few girls (and one guy) and I went on a bike ride around Tallinn. It was neat to be able to see some things I wouldn't have found by walking. We rode to the Baltic and then found a harbor where we could climb on the ships. We rode past a castle (with a moat!) and then up a challenging hill. We saw yet another Eastern Orthodox church. And then someone had the genius idea of riding down a steep cobblestone hill! With our brakes in full power, we were still flying. And people weren't moving out of the way. It was all we could do not to fall and not to take out an innocent bystander. We felt like jello by the time we were done. My tailbone is still bruised from that...
After a bit more walking, exploration, and delicious pancakes for lunch, we boarded the bus to head to Riga. Honestly, that was an awful ride. My head was in an immense amount of pain--the worst it's been since Russia--before we even left. And then the constant starting/stopping of the bus and the bumpy roads. And there was a movie that was playing, but it was wayyyy too loud. I couldn't drown it out with music, and I could really only hear parts of arguments or cheering, which tend to bother me on a good day. I put my head down and covered myself with a blanket to eliminate other sensory stimuli, but it wasn't working for me. After a while I decided to journal and figured out some other things that were going on. Read next week for more on that!
Once in Riga, we went out in small groups. Dinner was fun and then I walked along the river and saw some pretty sweet reflections in the water. I got to chat with a girl I've been trying to get to know all semester. It's funny how things just happen to work out! I had plans to do homework and then go to bed, but I got recruited into playing a game instead. Cards Against Humanity. For those who know it, people were impressed by how I handled it and how well I did (I have a bit of a good-girl stigma, I learned). For those who don't, I'm not sure I would play again. It has to be with the right people.
Sunday morning I went out for coffee (tea for me) with a girl from my hostel. I had woken up earlier than necessary, so I had some time to kill. I enjoyed the morning! We attended an Anglican church service for Palm Sunday. I'm not entirely sure what I thought of it, but I'm thankful for the experience!
Sunday was rainy and icky so a few of us went to perhaps the greatest tea shop I have visited! It was essentially a tree house. The selection was overwhelming, but I ended up with something delicious! The seats were a bunch of pillows along a bunch of glass walls. We chatted for at least two hours and watched people outside. Fun memories! We stopped at a buffet restaurant called LIDO (same place as on the way to Russia) for a late lunch. After eating, the girl I explored Riga with on Saturday night walked with me around the LIDO complex and we talked about end-of-semester emotions. It's good to start that processing but I absolutely hate it. Goodbyes are the worst.
And then alas we had to return home. This trip was so much fun albeit exhausting. It was neat to have so much freedom to explore. I have seen the Baltic Sea from FOUR different countries now! I'm incredibly thankful for all that the SALT program has allowed me to do. I've definitely been spoiled this semester.
Panorama of Tallinn, Estonia
Those lovely cobblestone streets...
Tallinn at night!
Bike riding pals. I love this sign!!
LIDO :)
Riga, Latvia at night.
I just love those lights reflecting on the river!
Cute little tree house tea shop!
Of course an artsy picture of the tea. You can kind of see the window/outside.
