TALLINN, ESTONIA!!, A quick ferry ride from Helsinki! June 2008

Yes, sort of like a trip into Portland for us, it only took 1.5 hrs. to ferry from Helsinki across the Gulf of Finland to Tallinn, Estonia.

We walked from the ferry to the walled Old Town with its greatly preserved old world ambience. We felt it was the most culturally different place we had visited on this particular trip. While it has Nordic Lutheran culture and language, it also has a very strong Russian influence, this due to 200 years of Tsarist Russian rule and 45 years belonging to the Soviet Union.

We spent the day on our self-guided tour, walking the winding, hilly lanes of the Old Town, visiting all the sites, soaking in the ambience and the people. We enjoyed a nice lunch at a Russian restaurant named Troika. In the evening, we took the ferry back for our last evening in Helsinki, and headed back to Portland the next morning.

ELI RESPONDS TO OUR CHINA TRIP

Eli loves his new outfit from China, and being a cell phone lover as well, is calling his friends to tell them about it. In the second picture, Eli has just enjoyed his book on eyes, and wants everyone to know his favorite Chinese proverb: "A book is like a garden carried in the pocket."