Winter Break: Estonia & Finland

Last night I got home from almost 12 hours of traveling from Finland.  By "home" I of course mean Germany, and by "Finland" I mean... well, Finland.  The first week of my Christmas break was spent celebrating the holiday with friends and then lounging around my apartment in my new footie-pajamas (thanks mom!)  Last Friday, however, I finally mustered up the energy to get my butt out of bed and do something.  That something happened to be taking a train to Bremen with my friend Erika.

We had a plane to catch in the morning to Estonia and being that was are but poor Fulbrighters we decided seeing some sights and then sleeping in the airport was the best solution after our supposed CouchSurfing host didn't call us.

Bremen main square

Erika at the main square

Bremen town musicians

A Glockenspiel with bells that didn't actually move. I think the music was a recording.

People staring at the Glockenspiel.

Asian food and Thai beer

Bedtime beer at the airport.  And look! We definitely weren't the only ones overnighting it!

So the next morning we awoke (more like never fell asleep) at 4:30am thanks to some very loud, possibly drunk people whom I want to call Spaniards, but I don't actually know what nationality they were.  We freshened up as much as possible and went to the RyanAir terminal to go through security.  We were both pleasantly surprised that our huge packs passed as carry on and then the waiting game started. We were both exhausted and trying not to fall asleep as we waited to board the plane.  Once on we both promptly passed out for the 2 hour flight.

We landed in Tallinn, Estonia and followed the directions we had to the hostel.  After being a confused and a tad lost, we finally located where we had to go.  The girl at the front desk said we were a little too early to check in, but she let us leave our bags at the reception and she gave us some maps.  We wandered around the old town for a bit, bought some Scandinavian sweaters (pretty much goal #1 for our stop over in Tallinn) and got some dinner.

Freedom Square. Conveniently located across the street from our hostel.

hehehehe... am I the only one who finds that hilarious?

That one makes me giggle too. 

Grandmas selling sweaters by the old wall. Just where we were told they would be!

The reindeer you could pet were disturbingly near to the stands selling food with reindeer meat.

We got back to the hostel in the early evening and napped for a good 4 hours.  The reason for that was that it also happened to be New Years Eve!  The common room of the hostel was a pretty bumpin' place anyway, so we figured it would be a good starting point to the evening.  After readying ourselves we had some drinks and made some new friends (mostly Germans strangely enough).  Around 11:45pm we all made our way to the aforementioned Freedom Square to watch the fireworks.  It was a bit confusing though, because there was no count down to midnight.  Instead we noticed at one point that there were a lot of fireworks going off and checked the time, "Oh... its 12:03 already."

New hostel friends.

Happy New Year!

Snowy streets on the way to Estonian karaoke.

The evening was capped with karaoke (mostly in Estonian and Russian) and a not too late night out.  The next day we used most things being closed as an excuse to sleep in.  When we finally rolled out of bed around 2 the sun was pretty much on its way to setting.  We first went to the tourist info office to book our ferry to Helsinki for the next day and then took a stroll around the upper part of the old town.

Maybe we hadn't noticed it before, but we definitely were very aware of the copious amounts of Russian tourists that day.  You can usually tell who they are because they wear LOTS of fur, don't usually pay attention to where they are walking, pose for picture seductively against walls and just assume you speak Russian too.  When taken individually, each component seems a bit funny... but together: uggggg.

seductive-Russian-tree-pose

normal-Chelsea-pose

Because of the heavy Russian influence, the Christmas market is left up until January.

The snow really added to the charm.

We had read at the tourist info office about a "sword fight" that was happening at the restaurant Peppersack that night.  We were intrigued.  Reservations were made and we had a good (but expensive) dinner in a medieval themed restaurant.  I had been naive in thinking that "sword fight" meant a real sword fight. You know... with swords.  It wasn't.  That might have also been because the whole medieval theme of the restaurant was a little off.  Sure the decor was pretty medieval, but I'm pretty sure they played Enya at least once and the wait staff were definitely wearing more 1600s style clothing.  There were also no swords involved, but instead fencing foils. FAIL.

On the way back to the hostel we noticed a little cellar that we had read about on our map.  We went in to check it out and low and behold... a REAL medieval themed restaurant.  It was tiny, cramped, lit with candles and run by a tough looking woman in authentic period appropriate clothing! Also, elk soup was only a euro!

Elk soup only 1euro!

The next morning we packed and went to a place called Kompressor for what we were told were "HUUUGE pancakes."  They weren't.  Well, at least not in the American sense.  They were more like crepes, in either sweet or savory, and they were delicious and cheap.  Erika and I definitely both recommend going there if you're ever in Tallinn!  We then grabbed our packs and trudged to the ferry dock.  Our ship, the Baltic Princess, was waiting for us and after doing a lap or two of the decks we settled in a lounge sort of area.  Most people curled up to sleep and some enjoyed some cocktails.  After the ship started to move and the band began playing annoying swing/jazzy covers with thick Estonian accents we peaced out and moved to another part of the boat.  We then found ourselves in the karaoke lounge.  After about 2 hours of Finnish karaoke the motion of the ocean started to get to me and I had to lay down for fear of being sick.

Goodbye Tallinn.

I'm still confused as to why most of the karaoke songs seemed to have an undertone of Soviet to them.

The next thing I knew we were in Helsinki!  It was 4:30pm and dark and snowing.  Perfect introduction to the true Scandinavia.

That night the Graz reunions began when my friend Jaakko picked us up from the train station.  He, Erika and I went to get coffee while we waited for our other friend Susi's plane to land from Germany.  It took a bit longer than expect as the luggage trolley was stuck in the snow for a while.  But eventually we did meet her and we all went to go get some dinner.  Unfortunately that was the only time I saw Jaakko while I was there, but it was very nice!  

We figured out the trains and train tickets and rode about 25 minutes to the outskirts of Helsinki to where we would be staying with my friends Mave and Ulle, who actually met in Graz.  They were amazing hosts the whole week, especially considering they were both sick when we got there.  We really owe them a lot! That night was spent catching up a bit and talking about Graz some.  We eventually passed out and slept until late the next morning when we went to meet Anni.  She lives in a city a bit north called Jyväskylä and came to Helsinki in the afternoon.  We went into the city and walked around with her doing a bit of sightseeing.

Yes, it was 3:36pm and it was pretty much dark with the moon out.

Anni and I 

obligatory-Russian-wall-pose

That night we had dinner at a cute little cafe/restaurant that looked like it could have been right at home in Brooklyn.  We slowly made our way back to Mave and Ulle's house for a relaxing evening of watching X-Factor and chatting.  

The next day we woke up earlier than before and made our way to the Helsinki harbor.  There we visited the fish market where Ulle had previously worked and sampled some different fishes.  

Harbor and a boat named after my favorite tyrannical Czar.

Inside the market hall

 

If you know me well, you know I'm not really the biggest fish fan.  But I did try the little buggers.  Head and all...

We then ran to the other side of the harbor to catch the ferry to Suomenlinna, an island fortress off the coast.  Though the weather was extremely windy and a bit rainy we marched around the islands for a while, stopping in the church (that has a lighthouse on the top!), walking through the passages of the fortress walls, and gazing out to the rocky coast of the island.

People actually live on the island too. 

 

After being sufficiently frozen, we thought it was as good a time as any to try out the Finnish past time of  visiting the sauna.  If I'm being honest, I must admit that the Americans were a little nervous about the prospect, seeing as how Finnish saunas require one to be naked.  Americans tend to not be the most open people when it comes to their bodies.  But we all agreed that we didn't want to miss the opportunity for a true Finnish experience.  By the end of the sauna session we all agreed that when we were rich, we would immediately put a sauna in our own home.  It was a wonderful way of warming up and experiencing the culture.  Thankfully we had two Finns with us who knew what they were doing!

The sauna we visited was from 1929 and nothing has been modernized.  Though repairs have sometimes been made, almost all of the furnishings and equipment were original.

The night was ended by meeting Mave and our friend Aarne for dinner at a traditional Finnish restaurant.  

The name of the restaurant means "tractor" in Finnish.

The next day, our final in Helsinki, was spent shopping for souvenirs and presents.  Afterward we went to Torni Hotel, which we had heard had a great view of the city.  We weren't disappointed, and even the bathroom had a spectacular view!

Our last night in Helsinki was topped off with a party at Aarne's apartment with my American friends, old Finnish friends, and new Finnish friends.  Overall a great way to end the week, despite the fact that I was too enthusiastic with the alcohol.

Even though I'd heard some warnings from other people about visiting Scandinavia in the dead of winter, I'd say the country exceeded our expectations.  For some of us (Erika and Susi) there weren't really any expectations going in, and therefore a great first impression was made! For others of us (me) who has known Finns for a while and heard stories of their majestic land, I was certainly not disappointed!  I have to give a truly heartfelt thank you to all my friends who were awesome guides and hosts to us last week, especially Mave and Ulle who let us pretty much take over their apartment!  Even though the three of us have memories to last a lifetime, I hope it won't be a lifetime before I get to come back and visit again! <3

Until Next Time,

Chelsea

So we knew it had to happen at some point, and that time has finally come... a blog post with no pictures.  The past couple weeks have been wetter than the previous few months, but thankfully not all of it was rain.  We did get a bit of snow during the first week of December, but it only stuck around for a day or so before being washed away again by rain.  Christmas is now 9 short days away (8, if you're using the German day of Christmas celebrations) but deep down I don't think I can say it really feels like Christmas.

At home Christmas is always a time of decorating, baking, watching cheesy movies and most importantly snow.  I can't remember the last time I was home for Christmas and we didn't have at least a little snow.  Here it seems that a white Christmas really will be only a dream for me.  The Christmas season is also normally one when petty annoyances are set aside and I really try to appreciate the people in my life and the time I get to spend with them.  While it is nice that I have friends here who I have a lot of fun with, as well as super roommates who are quickly becoming some of my best friends in Germany, the people I'd really love to be with now is my family.

This will be my third year living in Europe and not returning back to the US for Christmas.  The first year, when I was doing my Rotary exchange in Bavaria, I was living with a host family.  While it was difficult living away from my family for the first time and not seeing them for the holiday, living with another family who cared about me made it much easier to bare.  The second time, when I was studying in Austria,  I was living in a dorm and most of my friends were either at home for the holiday or traveling to see friends.  Luckily my best friend at the time, Kelsey, was still in the city and her mom was visiting as well.  It was nice to have a bit of the family feeling (in the form of a surrogate mother), though the holiday was still more difficult than the previous time.

This year, I plan on celebrating with two of the other Fulbrighters who will still be in the area.  I am expecting it to be not too much different than the previous time in Austria, except for the fact that I believe I am a much more mature person than I was three years ago.

By that I mean, the older I get, the more family oriented my life seems to become.  Three years ago, I was very much in the mindset of getting up, out and as far away from my hometown as possible.  With that, my family (who still lives back in my hometown) didn't factor into my life picture too much.  I was so happy to be living somewhere other than the US, and I was so concerned with myself and what my life would hold in the future that it was sometimes hard for me to be interested in where my loved ones factored in.  Yes, I am a self-centered person by nature, but aren't most of us in some regard? For me it seems to be mostly in terms of my goals.  If I want to accomplish something, nothing is getting in my way.  I am often told that drive is a gift, but sometimes it can feel like a curse, especially when I look back on the past few years and realize that the drive I've had could be misconstrued for selfishness.

Now that I am older (and a teeny bit wiser) I am beginning to more and more realize how important family is.  I have friends from my hometown that I will always love and will always look forward to seeing, I have friends literally all over the world who I would welcome into my home with open arms in a second, but I am aware now more than ever that family are really the ones who will be there for you til the end.

With that in mind, I must admit that so far this holiday season has been one of the hardest I have experienced.  I miss baking elaborate Christmas cookies with my grandma, watching Bing Crosby movies with my dad and even just sitting in the warm glowing combination of fireplace and Christmas tree at my mom's house.  I have tried to bring a little cheer to my room by making paper snowflakes, drawing a (pathetic) Christmas tree on my white board and burning holiday scented candles.  The next week or so before the holiday I will try my best to be more excited about Christmas, but it definitely won't be easy.  On the days leading up to and on the 25th I will constantly be thinking of my family at home and wishing them all the best.  Though I don't always take the time to tell them (and even if I sometimes do it through cheesy blog posts), I hope my family knows that I truly love and appreciate them and wouldn't change them for the world!

Until Next Time,
Chelsea

Long Time No See!

As you might have noticed (but probably not), I haven't written a blog post in over a month.  A whole 46 days to be precise! "What a slacker," you're probably muttering to yourself.  But the truth is, I was being a slacker with this, but not in any other area of my life.  I've been totes busy, yo!

So what have I been doing for the past month? The answer: lots of things.  Let's start from the beginning.  When I last wrote I had just come from Turkey and was flush with post-vacation enthusiasim for life, which quickly subsided my second week of the fall break, when all I did was watch movies in bed and occasionaly venture out to squint into the sunshine beyond my four walls.

When I got back to school the following week, I had a pretty set schedule and I began actually teaching most of my classes.  It is nice to feel like I am actually contributing something now, though I am still trying to get a hang of what I am doing.  My favorite things to do with the students involve speaking exercises (aka, games) and activities where I get to work with them in smaller groups.  Most of my students are really  sweet and seem genuinely interested in speaking English, even if it isn't always easy for them.  I know that some are still shy speaking English, especially around me, so during the class breaks I usually try to speak some German with them so they can see I'm not perfect either!  I think its really helped a few kids open up to me more.

As time goes on, I am enjoying my work more and more, even if some days can be a little frustrating.  I have definitely learned to always have a back up plan!

So obviously I haven't been working all the time, especially as I only work 12 hours a week, so what else have I been up to?  Well at the end of October my American friends and I celebrated Halloween by carving pumpkins and going out dressed in costumes.  We were excited because Halloween is a really popular holiday at home, but here it was not so enthusiastically embraced.  We still made the most of it though!

Bethany, Erika and Ariel carving pumpkins.

Our German friend, Shishi, even got in on the action!

Beautiful pumpkins.

Animal themed outing, obviously.

The following weekend was spent in Hamburg.  We had a surprise birthday party for our friend Jessica and it was super fun!  We had a party, went to a club and then visited the infamous Hamburg Fish Market.  By that point it is usually around 6am and people go to the Fish Market to eat some food, check out some crafts, and possibly drink more beer.  We skipped the extra beers, but got breakfast and listened to a band that was playing.  I'm glad I got that one checked off my "Living in Northern Germany Bucketlist".  Not that I actually had one or anything.

Birthday girl!

Foggy Hamburg

Harry at the Fish Market

So back in Kiel, the weather turned cold immediately after we stepped off the train from Hamburg.  No lie, I think it had dropped like 15 degrees over the one night we were there.  It also quickly turned extremely dark and foggy.  The fog, which is almost always encompassing and drifting through the city, is so thick it is sometimes hard to see in front of you.  I tried to get into the wrong apartment building one day. I'm not even joking.  I did set myself up with some nice candles in my room though, so at least the darkness isn't so bad when I'm at home.

On the 11th of November (11/11/11 anyone!?), Erika and I went to a music festival called Rolling Stone Weekender.  I had originally rented a SmartCar online with the plan of me driving us to the festival, which was located at a pretty remote beach resort about 45 minutes from Kiel.  When I got to the car rental place, however, I noticed the paperwork said I would be getting a Citron.  "Oh no, no, no," I said to the woman behind the desk, "You see, I had ordered the SmartCar online." "Well," she responded," We don't have one at the moment, so you are getting an upgrade!" Looking into her wildly grining face, I knew I had a problem.  "The only thing is that I had specifically rented the SmartCar because I can only drive automatic," I mumbled sheepishly.  From the onset I knew it was going to be difficult finding an automatic because everyone here only drives manual.  Being the lazy American that I am however, I didn't take my stick-shift driving lessons all that seriously (sorry Miles!) and for a split second had visions of the two of us hitchhiking to the festival.  After checking for a moment on her computer, the woman responded with, "Alright, no problem! We will give you another upgrade!"  Know what that means?!

I got to drive a Mercedes!  Don't get me wrong, it was no CEO-mobile or anything, but it sure did drive like a dream.  The best part is, since it was an upgrade and a mistake on their part we still only had to pay the price of a SmartCar.  Sweet!

GPS & S-H

So moving on, we drove through the pretty Schleswig-Holstein countryside until we came to the Weissenhäuser Strand beach resort.  Don't be fooled by the name though, I still have seen no beach since I've been here.  When we arrived we parked, got our bracelets, bought some beer and walked around the complex.  The place was super cool and I can see how it would be really popular during the summer months.  The bitter cold and whiping wind would probably dissuade me from staying there now, but I'm sure warm weather would suit it well.  We made our way to the main pavillion and saw some of the first band's performance.

After they were finished, we quickly rushed to the front of the stage thinking people would make a mad dash to get a good spot before Death Cab for Cutie played.  Not so.  We were two of maybe 15 people who waited there in between bands.  I still find that hard to believe, because I think at home people would knock down doors to see them.  Well the good part of it was we were FRONT ROW, CENTER!

It is hard to tell from that picture, but I was basically about to puke from excited-ness.  For real.  Right before the concert started a lot more people came in, but no one was really freaking out like I had expected.  I guess its just as well though, since my attention was already focused on one thing.

I like Death Cab for Cutie. And so do photographers.

The band was awesome and played for a whole hour and a half.  During "We Looked Like Giants" a 2nd drum kit was set up on stage and Ben Gibbard, the lead singer, did a killer drum solo.  The only thing I could have asked for would have been for the band to play "I Will Follow You Into the Dark."  Everyone agreed that it was an understandable leave out though, considering Ben Gibbard just broke up with his wife a couple weeks ago.  Oh well... next time!

The second band that played was equally amazing and sounded just as good as the first (the sound quality of the concert was outstanding!)  Fleet Foxes is a band that I have been into for a while, but hadn't really paid a whole lot of attention to.  They had always been pleasent background music that every once in a while I would catch myself thinking, "Hmmm this song is awesome." But the concert really changed my mind.  They're now in my top 5 bands, hands down.

Fleet Foxes

Fleet Foxes

Overall, I think both Erika and I would give the festival two very enthusiastic thumbs up.

The next day I went with Barbara to Lübeck to visit some of her friends there.  The city is gorgeous and I can't wait to go back again now that the Christmas market is open! We have a field trip with one of my classes planned for the 14th, so not only do I get to miss work, I get to have a history centered guided tour of the city (my favorite!) and check out the Christmas market!

Lübeck

The middle part of November is kind of a blur to me, but that might just be because of all the fog we had. I mentioned it before, but it was seriously so bad at points, I actually had a hard time riding my bike and seeing where I was going.  Thankfully we really haven't had any of the infamous Kiel rain that I've heard so much about, and in my opinion the fog is actually rather pretty.  

Fog at the Baltic Sea dock

More fog... this time at the Kiel "palace"

First day in a while that the sun was actually visible.

To round off this long overdue post, I think it would be fitting to write about the amazing Thanksgiving dinner we celebrated here.  On the day of actual Thanksgiving I had to work and then I had my German class, but I was still able to celebrate with my mom's family over Skype, which I was really pleased about.  It was nice to just sit back in my computer world and watch them over the webcam as they bustled around getting things ready and occasionally coming over to chat at a computer screen.  

The Saturday after Thanksgiving the other American teaching assistants in the area and I were invited to a Thanksgiving dinner held by Barbara's mentor teacher's mom.  Our wonderful hosts really went all out and even had the turkey (not a common dish here), potatoes, veggies and cabbage catered for us!  The six Americans of course did our part and brought dishes to pass as well.  I'm actually quite proud of how my banana bread and apple pie turned out!  The night was spent in great company with excellent food and after we said goodbye to our German friends, the Amis went back to Barbaras apartment and chatted and joked long into the night.  A perfect way to end a great night, in my opinion. :)

Turkey locker

Turkey and potatoes! 

Heidi, our hostess, setting everything up.

Ready to feast!

Desserts

Bethany's cookies and my apple pie :)

She's a natural

So now here I find myself on the second day of December and I can't believe how quickly the time has been passing already.  The weeks leading up to Christmas will surely prove to be a whirlwind of activity, especially as I already have almost each weekend and most nights of the weeks booked with exciting things to do!  I'll end this post with a picture from the opening night of the Christmas Market here in Kiel, and the hope that you're enjoying the Weihnachtsstimmung (Christmas spirit) as much as I am!

Please ignore the chub-ness of my face, or at least chalk it up to me being "jolly".

Until Next Time,

Chelsea