the beauty of the baltic states

my week went from really sucky to kinda of sucky to alright to pretty great.

I explored the forest a block away from LCC. When you're in the midst of it, it feels infinite. You can't see an end to it, and you can't hear any hustle and bustle from the nearby streets. It's really incredible.

Thursday night the study abroad crew boarded a charter bus and left for Estonia! We left at 10:30pm, and we were on the bus all night. Talk about awkward sleeping positions.

Main Square, Tallinn

We arrived in Tallinn and spent a day and a half there. In Tallinn the first day we rented some bikes and explored old town a little bit, but we also tried to bike over to the grounds where the singing festivals are held. Also where the singing revolution took place. We didn't make it, but we could see it from a distance when we were dipping our toes in the Baltic. Instead we found a beautiful park, locked our bikes, and walked around enjoying the sunny day.

bikes & friends!

Tallinn was also an amazing place in terms of ceramics. I found a cute little handmade mug that I got

Coffee shop

myself to remember Tallinn and how artsy it was and how much I loved it. I also got some socks, coffee, and a cute little wooden box.. that smells amazing. All gifts for people I love dearly. The coffee was from this amazing coffee shop that Hannah (fellow coffee lover) and I fell in love with. And the roaster was right inside the shop, so it was definitely authentic. They were playing amazing music, had handmade truffles, and the perfect atmosphere for enjoying a nice cup of coffee. Unfortunately the espresso machine was down. Sad face.

a church door in Tallinn

ceramic art in Tallinn. YAY!

The next day was spent at open markets and little cafes. The last cafe we found was amazing, and had such a wonderful atmosphere. And quiche without ham in it! yum. If you don't know much about Estonia, I encourage you to read up about it, and watch the documentary The Singing Revolution. There is a link in a previous paragraph. It's really moving. Tallinn had a liveliness that you don't come across often. I truly enjoyed it.

Old church in Riga

Streets of Riga

Saturday afternoon we hopped on the bus bound for Riga, Latvia. We got there later in the evening so we just went out for a stroll along the old streets, came across a few beautiful old churches. And then went to enjoy some italian food with free bread and water (a rarity in europe)! Riga is a lot bigger than Tallinn, so we weren't able to cover a lot of ground.. but we discovered a lot of beauty in what we did see.

Sitting in the park eating dumplings.

The next morning we walked around, found a delicious bakery and enjoyed coffee, baked goods, and good conversation for a bit. Walked around some more, found an open market with some really cool traditional and non-traditional items. I loved the creativity of some of the artists. It makes me want to create something! I found some really cool gifts there too! The majority of what we came across was linen, knit goods, some pottery (usually not individually made), amber.. TONS of amber. this is my favorite explanation of the abundance of amber.

bakery HEAVEN

Well, that was a lot.

At the end of the day, life is precious and I am so thankful to be alive. To live and learn new things everyday.

Until next time,

Paige