Although I am leaving out many details and pics from my amazing trip, I thought I would add just a few for some of you out there.
My favorite part of the trip was by far Latvia. I arrived to a beautiful snow storm and a big surprise at the airport. As I was counting my change for the bus, I looked up to find a sign with 'ms. kellie holler' on it. Peter, the friend of my old roommate Sindija, surprised me at the airport; his first words - "Hi, my name is Peter, and I will be your personal driver today." What a welcome to Latvia! Sindija and her friends, Peter and Rolands, took great care of me and really showed me a wonderful time in Riga. I hope I can do the same for them some day. I even had the opportunity to go to the opera and see Alcina. Brilliant! Even the simplest things in Riga were an experience - for example, riding the bus into town from Sindija's apartment. There were so many elderly and expressionless Latvian and Russian women in their fur hats who would not dare and look me in the eye or crack a smile. It was a very different atmosphere I experienced on the trolley bus and gazing out the window which might have been interesting and exciting for a Cold War freak like me but after a while could be quite a depressing atmoshpere to live in.
To top off my time in Latvia, Peter and Roland drove me to Tallinn, Estonia! I had planned to go to Tallinn from the get-go and even bought a bus ticket but they decided that a roadtrip was more appropriate. On the way we stopped at a waterpark on the Baltic Sea. Everything felt so surreal that day, yet so normal in some ways. As Peter would say, 'happy days'.
The Art Nouveau architecture was quite impressive.
Sindija lacing up for some fun on the ice.
Riga by night
Sindija and I
Sindija and I
Roadtrip!
Peter and Roland during a little pitstop at the Baltic Sea.
A few people had told me that Tallinn was quite a beautiful city, but beautiful was an understatement. A medieval wall with a tower gate surrounds 'Old Tallinn'. The whole city has a medieval and hansiatic feel to it. While in Tallinn, I met some really interesting people at my hostel from all over the world. Although my original plan for the trip was rest and relaxation, it became quite a social event; many late nights of great conversations and fun. It made me miss the good old days at the hostel in Minneapolis. Forgot to mention that I discovered a bar devoted entirely to Depeche Mode. I even have the DM lighter to prove it - thank you Josh.
Overview of Old Tallinn
The medieval wall surrounding Old Tallinn
Hostel fun
The last leg of the race was Helsinki, Finland which was just a short three hour ferry ride away from Tallinn. The ferry was quite the experience. Can you say farraoke? Yes, there was karaoke, a live and horrible band, slot machines everywhere, and a lot of drunk Finns. I can honestly say that I have not experienced anything quite like that before. Jen warned me though so I was a bit prepared for a trippy ride. Helsinki also revealed some amazing experiences. My favorite part happened the first day I arrived; I was sitting on a bench with a map (looking like an extreme tourist) and a little old lady sat next to me. She began to ask me where I was from. Turns out she studied at Northwestern (for those of you who are not familiar, it is a university quite close to where I grew up). She studied journalism there 60 years ago! It was really refreshing talking to someone of her age. I asked her if she could recommend anything in Helsinki and she simply said, 'I'll just show you myself!' So we spent the rest of the day touring the city. She took me to all the main sights and gave me the history as well. She was so intelligent and knew so much about the history; then again, she lived it. Once in a while she would give me an elbow and said, 'and then the Swedes took all of our money.' Too funny! I fell in love with this woman. What a cool 80 year-old! I knew that she was a writer so I looked up some of her books; ironically enough she even wrote one entitled 'Finnish Cities and Towns'. I really met the right person. She made me promise that I would write her which I indefinitely plan to do. Life is too cool sometimes.
Hostel fun
The last leg of the race was Helsinki, Finland which was just a short three hour ferry ride away from Tallinn. The ferry was quite the experience. Can you say farraoke? Yes, there was karaoke, a live and horrible band, slot machines everywhere, and a lot of drunk Finns. I can honestly say that I have not experienced anything quite like that before. Jen warned me though so I was a bit prepared for a trippy ride. Helsinki also revealed some amazing experiences. My favorite part happened the first day I arrived; I was sitting on a bench with a map (looking like an extreme tourist) and a little old lady sat next to me. She began to ask me where I was from. Turns out she studied at Northwestern (for those of you who are not familiar, it is a university quite close to where I grew up). She studied journalism there 60 years ago! It was really refreshing talking to someone of her age. I asked her if she could recommend anything in Helsinki and she simply said, 'I'll just show you myself!' So we spent the rest of the day touring the city. She took me to all the main sights and gave me the history as well. She was so intelligent and knew so much about the history; then again, she lived it. Once in a while she would give me an elbow and said, 'and then the Swedes took all of our money.' Too funny! I fell in love with this woman. What a cool 80 year-old! I knew that she was a writer so I looked up some of her books; ironically enough she even wrote one entitled 'Finnish Cities and Towns'. I really met the right person. She made me promise that I would write her which I indefinitely plan to do. Life is too cool sometimes.
Sunny Helsinki
Uspenski Cathedral - a Russian eye sore according to some Finns.
Uspenski Cathedral - a Russian eye sore according to some Finns.
Forgot to mention that my home base through all of this was Berlin. It was so nice to see all my friends and even a few friends who just moved to Berlin. That place and the people always make me feel at home. I feel so lucky that it is only 5 hours away - always nice to have that in the back of my mind.
Only in Berlin can you buy literature in a vending machine...and people wonder why I love that place. Why not buy a book for a euro to go with those kinder chocolates?
The re-celebration of my birthday...thanks Karin.
2 comments:
hey kellie!
glad to hear you´re doing so good. the story about the old lady in helsinki was so cute, how lucky were you! so random!
have you decided if you´re going to the wedding in august?
luv,
stebba.
Bed and breakfast in Rome
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