Pärnu

We were so excited when our good friend Triinu (who we work with) wanted to show us her home town, Pärnu. On the 19th of March we caught a bus 2 hours south to see the summer capital. We stayed at her parent’s place, which was equipped with its very own sauna house. There was also a convenient frozen pond to jump into which made the experience so Estonian. Unfortunately Leah didn't listen to Arvi's advice and climbed out like a beached whale and got some more nasty bruises and cuts from the ice. Another incident to prove Leah and ice DO NOT mix.

ready to jump into the frozen pond during sauna

Leah paying her respect to vana vana onu, First President of Estonia Konstantin Päts  

After a relaxing night sleep after sauna, we headed out. We went to a monument of Konstantin Päts, the first Estonian President. We found out from Kanni and Anne the previous day that Leah is somehow related to him through a complicated sequence of marriages, uncles, cousins and in laws. So Leah now calls him vana vana onu. We went exploring at Rannametsa-Tolksa Study Trail (some bog, swamp, forest thing) just outside of Pärnu, or as we called it 'Shrek's home'. The scenery was beautiful, snow covered terrain with thin pines sticking out everywhere.

At the top of a looking platform

Leah, Triin, Triinu ja Arvi

Then off the see the beaches of Pärnu. We weren't exactly sure what to expect but it was amazing. The whole ocean was frozen. We walked out about 100 metres and there was still thick ice as far as the eye could see. There was even some tire tacks from where cars have driven out on the ice, crazy people!

only in Estonia

sooo much ice

'this isn't a beach'

Tallinn

We have been sooo busy we have got lazy with our blog entries, so here is a little update. Working at Red Emperor has been really fun because we get to meet other travellers. In the hostel kitchen cooking up some dinner or a visiting pub crawl in the bar we get to hear their stories and tell ours.  We have also met some really cool locals in the bar (who are their 5 out of 7 days), many did a double take when Arvi introduced himself with an Estonian name in an Australian accent. The staff are all so much fun, with an even mix between travelling Australians and local Estonians.

Freedom square at night

Checking guests into the hostel is fun because we can show them where to go and what to look out for. Whether its tasty pancakes at Compressor, cheap soup and pastries at Ill Draakon or the pirukad kiosk- perfect stomach filler after a night out.

On our days off we have been venturing out around Tallinn; the old town and surrounding areas. Our little excursions have involved sight seeing, trying out some restaurants, pubs and clubs or just getting our bearings around old town and navigating through the streets.

Vanalinn is beautiful. Twisting cobble stone streets with beautiful old buildings. It’s very easy to get lost, but fun to find a new path home.

Town hall square

We have started to take Estonian language lessons to improve our understanding of how the language works. So far it’s like being back in primary school, with many different cases being used to form a sentence. Interesting, but confusing at times. It’ll help a lot with some study and practice on the Estos at Red Emperor. We really look forward to holding a conversation and understanding what is being said when Estonians think we can’t understand them!

Since arriving in Tallinn, we have caught up with some relatives who have all been so hospitable and welcoming. We had a lovely lunch and chat with Anne and Kanni and will catch up with them again soon. We also have been enjoying spending time with Elina and Maile, who have taken us to see some of the sights inTallinn. We are looking forward to visiting the rest of the family in Viljandi at the end of April. We also have plans to visit Arvi's relatives in Haapsalu soon.

Thats all for now, more on our Estonian adventures soon.
Miss you all xx

Helsinki

So much ice

During our second week in Tallinn we decided to visit another country for the day (cause we can).

Helsinki was our destination on a crisp day. It was a two hour journey on a pimp ferry fitted with a shopping centre, bars, pokies and a even dance floor! We were the first trip over for the day so the ferry got to break through the ice that set over the sea the previous night. 

Awesome icy sea

Massive sheets of ice breaking apart and sliding over one another as far as the eye could 'see' (haha pun intended).

Traveling further north of course the weather didn't do us any favours, with chilly wind cutting through us all day while we walked around.

We visited some cathedrals, an indoor market (the outdoor one was closed for winter), lots of shopping centres, second hand stores with funky clothes, couple of bars and a cool church built into a rock face. We finished our day eating kebabs before our night ferry home because everything else was too expensive.

Uspenski Cathedral

Temppeliaukio Church

Leah slipped on the ice.... again :(

Huge organ in the Helsinki Cathedral 

I'm gunna pop some tags, only got 20 euro in my pocket. Rip off!

 Freezing in Esplanadi park

 Overall, our impressions of Helsinki was that it would be a beautiful city in summer but in the cold winter there wasn't all that much to see or do, especially on our budget since everything is pretty expensive compared to Estonia. A day was definitely enough to see the sights. But it was good to go to another country, hear another language and we can now give some advise guests at our hostel looking to go to Helsinki.

Eesti

Estonia. Positively surprising. 

Its been 33 days since we flew out of Paris, what have we been up to?

Well we made it to Estonia! And it already feels like home! 

If we thought we were cold in Munich and Prague, we were about to get a whole lot colder. So we had a stop over in Riga for 3 hours then boarded a small 50 seater plain for the 1 hour journey to Tallinn Estonia. We landed at night and arrived at our ‘Eesti kodu’ (Estonian Home) Red Emperor Hostel and Bar about 9 pm. So what do you do when you land in Estonia? We drank. We were welcomed with jelly shots and an amazing choice of Saku’s finest beers. We got to bed about 5 am the next morning.

We started work a few days later. Leah is mostly making beds, cleaning and checking people in, while Arvi is mostly serving at the bar and babysitting drunken guests on nightshift. We are enjoying work and making heaps of new friends.

 

Leah enjoying a huge pancake

Vana Linn 

5am Arvi on Night shift

Kiek in de Kök

Stay tuned more to come on Estonia soon…