Estonia, sounds a lot like Genovia but unlike Genovia, Estonia has potatoes instead of pears. That and Estonia actually exists. Ya I'd never heard of it either until I met Sam but it's a real place and I've been there. (Sorry to go all Princess Diaries on ya.) We chose Estonia as part of our Europe trip because Sam served his mission there and he's always wanted to go back and show me around. It's been about five years since Sam served there so I was impressed that he still had the language down. He would speak Estonian while ordering food or talking to people on the streets and it was so fun. But the best was when he would translate what the locals said about us because they thought we couldn't understand them...well obviously I couldn't. I do have a few Estonian phrases under my belt though, like I'm pretty bomb at the sacrament prayer if you want me to recite that. (Idk why Sam taught me the sacrament prayer but #bummed I didn't get to use that one on the trip). But little phrases like "minu nimi on Erin" came in handy (my name is Erin for all of you non-Estonian speakers).
Again we stayed in an Airbnb (<-- check out this link for pictures) and it was right in the heart of Old Town Tallinn which was perfect! It was the cutest yellow apartment building with the best mosaic tiled entry way. I was in love. Like when can I move in? But I'm not a fan of the cold so I don't think Estonia living would ever work out.
I'm thankful for missions because talk about personal tour guide for when you go back to visit! Samuel showed me all the good restaurants that being a tourist you would miss. The first was Kompressors which is a precious little restaurant Sam went to on pdays. They serve their version of pancakes, basically glorified crepes that were soooo good! And the next morning we went to Narva Kohvik for pastries.
Being in Old Town Tallinn was surreal. The town is basically preserved from the 13th century and it feels like nothing has changed since. It's even surrounded by the original wall with guard towers and everything. 
And the old churches scattering the city just adds to the illusion. We first went to the top of Oleviste Kirik (St. Olaf's Church) for a fun view of the city. It's on the list of tallest church buildings in the world so imagine climbing to the top....yaaa but we made it! Basically I'm Super Girl. (#againwiththeprincessdiaries)
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| Sam all matchy patchy with the church steeple |
And the Alexander Nevsky Cathedral is a Russian Cathedral that was built when Estonia was part of the Russian Empire so all Estonians basically hate this building. But you have to admit, the Russians know what's up when it comes to churches.
And ok can we just talk about how perfect this city is!?
Cobblestone streets, colorful buildings, the red rooftops and the most perfect views. I die!
We also walked along some streets in Nomme, part of Tallinn Sam spent a lot of his time teaching. I loved this because ever since Sam and I were just a crush (please tell me "Crush" was your fave song on the Princess Diaries soundtrack too!?) we would take walks or drives to see neighborhoods of cute houses and Estonia was no exception.
Pirita Klooster was one of our last stops and it's the ruins of a great monastery from 1436 that was burned down by Ivan the Terrible.
I'm so glad I had the opportunity to visit Estonia with Samuel and learn all about his mission and make new memories with him there.
|| Erin
