Finland & Estonia

Turku and Helsinki, Finland & Tallinn Estonia: 6-10 November 2017

I made it to Helsinki, Finland after saying goodbye to Benjamin. These were the first nights we spent apart since we got married. I'll be honest, they weren't easy. I needed his snuggles :) 

Anette picked me up and we drove straight to Turku, got some food, and made some delicious dinner. It was so good to see Anette again after so long! Anette was one of my family's two exchange students my senior year of high school. The three of us became such great friends, which makes it hard to live so far apart. They have both come to visit at least once, but I've never had the chance to visit either of them on their turf. But this time, I finally got to take a trip to visit Anette in her home town and see where she grew up. 

A typical Finnish breakfast. Rye bread, butter, ham, and pickles. Finnish rye bread is a million times better than in America.

This is a medieval castle found in Turku, Finland. It is one of the oldest buildings still in use there. It's current use is as a historical museum; one of the most visited museums in Finland.  

Anette, Kalle, Elli, and I took a nice walk around the castle grounds. We didn't actually get to go inside the museum because it was closed for holiday. 

You may not be able to tell in these pictures, but it was literally FREEZING! 

Despite the freezing cold, Elli was loving the time outside. 

Finland may be cold, but it is also beautiful. 

Our frozen cruise ship. We got to take this day trip to Tallinn because Anette works for this cruise line.  
Our cruise ship room for the night. Although it only takes about an hour to cross the Gulf of Finland from Helsinki to Tallinn, we slept on the cruise ship because of how long it takes to get to Helsinki from Turku. Also, since we slept on the ship, we got to sleep in and skip sea sickness because of the stormy seas. 

My first snow fall of 2016... in Tallinn, Estonia!

About an hour into our adventures, my other shoes were soaked through and my toes were literally frozen. I'm pretty sure if I had stayed in the other shoes the rest of the day I would have had frost bite and would have had to cut off my toes. Luckily we found these reasonably priced snow shoes that kept my feet warm and toasty the rest of the day!

Tallinn is a very old, beautiful town. 

After seeing most of old town Tallinn (and freezing our toes off) it was time for a nice cup of hot chocolate and a piece of cake to share. I love the café life that is found everywhere in Europe. 

Me with the cruise ship on our way home from a successful day in Tallinn, Estonia. 

After a fun, long, adventurous day touring Tallinn, it sure was nice to have a place to rest for a few hours. 

The election results came in while I was in Finland. Politics and morals happened to be the subject of many of our conversations because of it. Finland is a very Democratic society, so they were all bummed (according to Anette's Facebook feed) that President Trump won the election. 

Anette shared with me a special Finnish treat she has always made around Christmas time. 

They were delicious, and so easy to make! 

This treat is often eaten with a Finnish Christmas drink called Glögi.

Shopping trip! 

We visited the place of the famous Finnish/ Swedish Muumi. 

After a great trip it was time to return home (to Benjamin that is) early in the morning. See that plane, up to that point in time, that was the smallest plane I had ever seen... or flown on. It's true, I was a little nervous. This little guy took me to Regal, Latvia where I took another plane the rest of the way to Vienna.