Note: It's 4 a.m. and Ed and I are both wide awake, same as yesterday and the day before. We simply don't bounce back from travels to faraway places as easily as we did when we were young(er). But that doesn't keep us from going. It just takes a few more days to readjust.
We are home from two and a half weeks of travel, starting with a too-short layover in Brooklyn to catch up with Mary and family and ending with a long weekend in Berlin with Jack and Kasia. In between, Ed, Jack and I traveled to Finland, Estonia and Latvia. It was one of our best trips.
The idea for this trip began with our desire to visit Jack and Kasia in Berlin. We wanted to extend our trip with travel to places in Europe that we had not explored, so we pulled up a map and talked about options – settling on the Baltic countries and narrowing it down to Finland and Estonia, with a quick trip into Latvia. Then we had the brilliant idea that we could spend the night in Brooklyn and see Mary, Brian and Roscoe for a bit before taking the flight to Helsinki.
Once we figured out our itinerary, Jack figured out that he could join us in Finland and travel with us to Estonia and Latvia. We got to spend time with Jack and he got to be our unofficial tour guide and navigator; all three of us got to color in three more visited countries.
We were enchanted by each place we visited, often feeling like we were characters in a storybook: Colorful wooden houses, winding cobblestone streets, ancient forests where we often spotted mushroom foragers, apple orchards at every turn, miles of unspoiled beaches, boardwalks through otherworldly bogs, thatched-roof homes with neat stacks of firewood ready for winter, striking examples of art nouveau buildings, and a fox on a village dirt road.
I hope you get the picture, but if not, here are some:
Our journey
The beginning: Red Hook, Brooklyn (stop 1 on map)
Our hearts about burst when we saw Roscoe on the sidewalk as she walked home with her mom from pre-school. Such squeals of joy and laughter! That afternoon, we got a tour of Mary and Brian's soon-to-be new home, atop the warehouse of Brian's business. We had an alfresco dinner with them at a neighborhood Italian bar. Then bath, books and bedtime for Roscoe. Not nearly enough time together, but we had a flight to catch the next day...
The end: Berlin, Germany (stop 10 on map)
Our trip ended with three days in Berlin, staying with Jack and Kasia. As much as I loved our Baltic travels, our stay in Berlin was the highlight of the trip. Jack and Kasia are fantastic hosts; their apartment is lovely; and our days and nights were filled with relaxed wanderings, delicious meals, and good conversation.
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The in-between
This is where you could stop reading. I just wanted a record of where we stayed and dined along with highlights.
Stop 2 Helsinki, Finland: the capital of the happiest country in the world
Accommodations: Hotel St. George
Restaurants: Saaga, Cafe Ekbert, Elite Restaurant
Highlights: Sauna at the hotel, Suomenlinna Sea Fortress, Marimekko Shop
Stop 3 Porvoo, Finland: the most beautiful town in Finland
Accommodations: Hotel Runo
Restaurants: breakfast at the hotel, Zum Beispiel, Salt and Manor & Spa Hotel Haiku
Highlights: Studio of Albert Edelfelt (renown Finnish painter), hotel attic spa, Old Town and Porvoo Cathedral, red wooden houses along river, licorice shop
Stop 4 Tallinn, Estonia: the capital and largest city in Estonia
Accommodations: Hotel Nunne
Restaurants: Vaike Rataskaevu, NOP, Moon
Highlights: Sauna in hotel, Baltimore Jaam Market, Kalamata (old fishing village) with the Kalamata Community Museum, Kadriog Palace (of Peter the Great)
Stop 5 Lahemaa National Park, Estonia: beautiful National Park in Estonia renowned for its bogs
Accommodations: Vihula Manor
Restaurants: Altja Körts, Kaval-Ants Tavern
Highlights: Jägla Waterfall, Viru Bog, Altja fishing village, Octoberfest competition (that Jack won), hotel spa
Stop 6 Cēcis, Latvia: our favorite small town
Accommodations: Karlamuiža Country Hotel
Restaurants: Sezona, hotel
Highlights: apple trees everywhere, medieval castle, art galleries, Luthern Church bell tower, hike to Zvartes Rock, after-dinner walk to river
Stop 7 Pärnu, Estonia: Known as the Summer Capital of Estonia (but very quiet the rest of the year)
Accommodations: Ammende Villa (a most impressive early example of Art Nouveau)
Restaurants: Steffani, Supelsaksad Pärnu, Restaurant Barbara
Highlights: Trail hike at Randu Meadows, Mary Magdalene Gild (artist workshops), Pernau Museum (Holiday Machine exhibit), Hedon Silent Spa
Stop 9 And back to Helsinki for an early-morning flight to Berlin
Accommodations: Hilton at the airport
Restaurant: Winest (Georgian)
Highlights: Marimekko Outlet
Last stop Berlin, Germany
Restaurants: dinner at home (yellow pepper pasta & Kasia's famous Blue Cheese Cheesecake), Neumann's (for coffee and pastries), Einsteins (snitzel), Katz Orange (farm-to-table), Prater Beer Garden
Highlights: Finding turkish delights for Ed, neighborhood farmers market, walking tour and boat ride down the Spree, Max (Collegiate exchange student in 2003) and his kids (Nono and Clara) for brunch
And some more photos...
