Travel Diary in Pictures III / Tallinn, Estonia

Pretty late in the game we decided to do a day trip to Tallinn, Estonia, to visit with our New Yorker friends there. It had been quite some time since I had visited Tallinn last time, and my two younger daughters had never been there. The day we had picked for this excursion was cloudy and rainy, but it didn't matter much. We had a wonderful day and learned a lot about the very long and colorful history of Tallinn, which has been occupied by a number of neighboring states and has only had its independence since 1991 after the Soviet Union collapse. Tallinn is quite different now from the time I first visited in 1985.

We took the Eckerö Lines ferry, which was the cheapest option.
Not very luxurious, but it was fine for getting us to Tallinn and back. 

Did I mention it was rainy and cloudy? 

Coming off the ferry at Tallinn this hanging thing is what first catches your eye. Apparently it's a restaurant. Not sure how it actually works..and not too keen to find out either. You would have to pay me a lot of money to eat up there! 

Our Tallin Squad (minus one)

Love the old Tallin and its pretty houses

Tallinn still has a very strong artisanal culture, with a lot of arts and crafts hand made items for sale

The houses in the old town have been beautifully restored

And there is so much nice detail in them

The legendary Wabadus Cafe has been around since the 1930's and sits on the side of the Freedom square

The independence / victory cross memorials flanks one side of the Freedom square. Out tour guide told us that Estonians hate the statue (not least because of the slight resemblance of swastika..) I didn't think it was that bad. But I guess if I'd been grown up in a country that had fought for independence for hundreds of years, I'd a bit underwhelmed too.. Although it does look nice when it is lit up at night. 

Travel Diary in Pictures II

One thing every self-respecting Finnish person does in the summer time is spend some time in the country side, preferably at the family summer cottage. My yearly pilgrimage to the mother land must also include a trip or two the summer cottage. It's literally a summer cottage (I've actually never been there in winter), and in true Finnish tradition, it has no modern luxuries, i.e. no running water. This is part of the charm for the Finns, as the lack of amenities forces you to slow down, to live a more simple life, and really get back to the basics. It's good for the soul to take a break from the news, the social media, the constant compulsive need to check emails, etc.

And since I got to this down time mode and restricted myself from cellphone, camera, etc, I don't have pictures of the forest trip, or the blueberries I picked, or the pie I baked, nor the mushrooms the kids picked, or the quiche my mom baked with the mushrooms. You just have to believe me that we all thoroughly enjoyed being in the forest and then utilizing our pickings for our delicious nourishment.

Travel Diary in Pictures I

Bye Coco, we will miss you lots! 

Midnight in Iceland

Finally asleep on the second leg of the journey

Sun rise somewhere east of Iceland

When in Finland, first things first. Fresh food from the farmer's market, i.e. TORI. 

A little jet lagged but not much worse for the wear. 

Three generations

Uusia perunoita! Metsämustikoita! Superfood!

Haven't used a VIHTA for years. Should have bought one! 

Käsityön taidonnäyttöjä. Tyttärilläni oli mansikkahattu ja siitä saivat aina New Yorkissa isot kehut ja ihastukset.
I'm not so sure about the piggy hat... 

Tapolan Mustaamakkaraa NAM!

First stop - Pingviinijätski

Next stop - Wayne's Coffee

Yay Vacay - it's slowly sinking in... 

And BTW - Wayne's Coffee's skinny vanilla latte is better than Starbucks' version. 

Pikkukakkosen puisto is a must every day we are in Tampere. 

And finally - here's the real deal. New potatoes, butter, herring, turnips & onions, wild mushroom salad.
This meal is everything.

Pom Poms & Tassels

Our annual 4th of July barbecue party took place on Saturday. I don't have any photos from the actual party, but here's my outfit.

I'm in love with these new Sam Edelman sandals.
I promised to share them with my daughter though, so let's see how that will work out...