Day 16 Tallinn
I took a Ferry ride from Helsinki to Tallinn(2 Hours). Tallinn is Europe's 2011 Cultural Capital. I met my Host Irina and her friend who was in town visiting her at a Restaurant called Hanse for Lunch. It was a pretty cool place. Designed for the Medieval Times. Our Waiter spoke six different languages! I really wish now that when I was younger I would have the chance in school to learn languages like European children do. Irina and her friend Olga are both Russian. Irina works for the Russian Embassy in Tallinn. After Lunch she had to go back to work and Olga and I went for a walk around Old Town. I was very Impressed with Tallinn! The colors of the buildings and houses were so unique. It reminded me of another great city Amsterdam. The buildings also had many Russian influences.
Today was also a special day if you were Russian. It was a celebration of saying goodbye to Winter and hello to Spring. I'm not sure of the name of it. The holiday was started by the Pagans a long time ago and many people still celebrate it. They eat pancakes with sour cream and berries on top... hmmmm Delicious!!! Irina had a group of friends over and we all enjoyed a great meal. I love being able to learn about things like this when I know if I wasn't using CS I wouldn't never have found about it.
Ferry ticket- 46 Euro(64 US)
Day 17 Sightseeing with Olga
Olga and I went took a walk outside of the city and found a nice spot by the water where ducks and swans. I walked up to many of them and they were quite comfortable but I think its because they just wanted food... There is a Park nearby dedicated to a Russian Ruler named Peter the Great. We walked around for awhile and went to the Summer Cottage Peter once lived in. Later we went to a friend of Irina's who owned a nice Art Gallery. Very interesting paintings. I met up with another Surfer named Sven. He is Estonian so it was cool to get to know more about him and the Culture. We met up with Irina and Olga and went to a nice Bar where they had a band. Sven was cutting it up on the dance floor and three of us eventually joined him. Next we went to another Bar that was more like an English Pub. Olga and I took these shots that were special to the city.
Costs- Taxi ride 5 Euros(7 US)
Video of Olga and I taking a shot of "Milli-Mallikas"
Vodka, Tequila, and Tabasco sauce