Estonia and the Baltic countries

September 3, 2013

Route: Helsinki to Tallinn (ferry)
Tallinn-Parnu (current location)

Gaby with new prayer flag decorations courtesy a new Buddhist amiga

An all vegan, raw Sunday brunch in the rain. Where is the microwave and the hot sauce?

Butterflies in my stomach, about 10 km from Estonia

The old city, Tallinn

Helsinki was my least favorite city in Scandinavia. The city is very industrial and had a large coal island just outside of the city center. There are also many railroad connections made in the center of the city, splitting it in two with long stretches of railroad ties. On Monday I took the ferry to Tallinn Estonia and spent the day wandering the old medieval city. During the 14th and 15th century Tallinn had the tallest building in the world. Cobble stone streets, archways ancient churches are scattered about the old city. I practiced Chinese with some of the many visitors and drank some local beer while wait out a storm under the eve of an 13th century church.

View from the old tallest building on earth

Tallinn

Today I cycled to Parnu. The countryside is littered with old soviet military buildings. It was only in the early 90’s that Estonia gained independence from the USSR, and one can still feel its influence in culture and language. Good bye English and atm/debit card convenience. A lady this morning bought my groceries because she felt bad! Drinking is a major past time here, with most gas stations having full bars! The three Baltic countries, Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania are relatively and I expect to be in Poland in the next ten days.