Thursday kicked off the Medieval Days festival. After doing some homework and chores, the kids and I hopped on the bus to catch a bit of it. I took the camera and think I have some pretty nice shots, but I will have to wait until our household goods arrive to upload them as I forgot to pack the cable.
Anyway, Zach fell asleep in his stroller on the bus and spent the first bit snoozing. Clara and I walked up and down the aisles of vendors selling a variety of items dressed in their medieval costumes. It was very charming. There were a few vendors we opted to purchase some items. There was some sort of entertainment at the top of each hour. We would break from browsing to check it out.
The first we caught was students Mystika Dance Studio which was belly dancing. I was impressed with the girl dancing with candles on her head. The second act we saw was titled "Interesting Thoughts". I'm sure they were interesting, but he wasn't speaking in English so it went over our heads. The Estonian language is very rhythmic though, so we enjoyed it anyway. The kids were starting to tire a bit before the next act performed, but it was a sword demonstration so they stuck it out. While waiting we munched on some roasted nuts that were candied and others that had garlic on them. Surprisingly, the kids enjoyed the ones with garlic the most. We were in no danger from vampires by the time we were through, I can tell you that!
So, we stuck around to watch The House of the Lame Wolf demonstrate how to handle a sword. This was fantastic! Even though we could not understand a word they said. Dressed in authentic-looking medieval attire, several men put on a show that caused chuckles just from their body language. The ladies looked quite nice too. They paused for several minutes and seemed to be sharing details about the clothing and weapons that I really wished I understood.
So, we had yet another fantastic day in Estonia! And I love the fact that we ate lunch at home before we left so this trip technically only had to cost bus fare. I did purchase just a few souvenirs for people and the nuts, so still rather cheaply done.
Pictures will be uploaded as soon as possible.
Saturday, July 7, 2012
July 4th
We enjoyed celebrating July 4th at the AmCham - U.S. Embassy picnic. We really enjoyed it and I was quite impressed with the 11-year-old Paola Meidra's performance of our national anthem. While there the kids had their faces painted. Zach was Spiderman while Clara chose to be a cheetah. There were games and live music and lots of tasty food. The cake was delicious! I'm including a link to the AmCham's page regarding the event here. You might notice that Zach looked a bit sleepy, because he was. He had fallen asleep on the way to the picnic and it took him a few minutes to warm up.
Monday, July 2, 2012
More exploring
I love Estonia! I also know that people will say I am still in the honeymoon phase of our moon and I would agree with that. Everything is so new and exciting. There are so many places I want to visit. When our time comes to leave I do not want to have any regrets. For this reason, I rarely say no to suggestions. Sooooo...
Last week our CLO let us know that you can go on a free guided tour of Tallin. So, the kids and I hopped a bus and had breakfast with the Marines and met some of the other ladies and their kids. Then several of us walked over to the starting point. I loved it! Our guide was a student and it was her third summer giving the tours. She was a riot and took us on a very unique two hour tour of Old Town. It is hard to imagine a better tour, unless you want to be driven somewhere. Later that evening Charlie and I enjoyed dinner at Goodwin's in Old Town to celebrate our 17th anniversary. Yum!
The next day we were invited to celebrate a little boy's birthday by going to see Madagascar 3 at Coca Cola Plaza. This was a very neat experience. You can go to the website to view the movies and see what languages are available. Kids movies are harder to watch in English, so there is often only one viewing in English in the evening. Adult movies are often shown in English with subtitles. We enjoyed the movie and the company as well.
The weekend was a nice one. Charlie managed to fix Clara's bike and finished putting the adult bikes together. Aside from a few chores and errands we spent the day playing around the house. Sunday was just gorgeous! Charlie had to put in a little time with work but we decided that we'd go into Old Town and when he had to leave the kids and I explored and waited until he rejoined us. This was a very fun excursion for me. First, we located the Estonian Puppet Theater so we could confirm the time for the puppet show that afternoon. Then we set off to find a place to eat. We wanted to try some traditional Estonian food so settled on Liisu Juures. Charlie ordered a pepper steak meal with roasted potatoes and beets. I had roasted pork with some sort of sauce drizzled on it, boiled potatoes, and fried cabbage. The kids each had happy sausages (hot dogs) and french fries with salad. This was not fancy food, but it was quite tasty. I'll admit I'm not a fan of fried cabbage, but I devoured the rest of it. We've been told food on the Town Square is not so good, but we were pleased. We ate on the outdoor summer terrace, making it even better.
The kids and I then scampered off to watch the puppet show while Charlie went to work. The puppet show was a delight! It wasn't what I expected at all, but was four young ladies wearing black dresses doing a variety of quick and lively skits. They were very energetic and talented! However, after the show we were directed by an older lady that did not speak English to check out the museum. I was able to determine where to go, but quickly realized we were the only people in this museum and we were away from all other humans. After checking out the displays, walking across the glass bridge, and opting to no go into the creepy looking/sounding dungeon that said it housed the evil/scary puppets we decided to try to get out. This is where the tour took a little sour note. Clara was a bit creeped out by the dungeon and kept worrying I was going to make her go down there and clearly she didn't have faith that I could find my way out. After several dead ends of following the exit signs only to find locked doors we decided to back track. Nearly there, we encountered the older lady. She turned us around and I thought, oh, she is going to take us to the exit. Nope. She very kindly led us on our own sort of personal tour. So, we enjoyed that for a bit longer. Then she led us to the bathroom and seemed quite insistent we step inside. We did. I asked the kids if they needed to use the service and they did not, so we went back outside. Our friendly guide had disappeared. Soooo, backtrack we did and this time we weren't stopped. As soon as I saw an open exterior exit we bolted.
I thought it was a perfect time to get a blizzard from McDonald's. The kids did not fight me on that one. Again we sat out on the outdoor terrace and watched the people. It just so happens that this weekend was the jazz festival so we walked back to the town square for a few jazz numbers. Later we did a little more exploring and checked out the Sweater Wall. We also selected a very nice shawl thing that will serve as Clara's souvenir for Estonia. I had no idea there was an official name for these vendors until I was researching it upon our return.
By this time we were making our way back to rendezvous with Charlie. He was having a hankering for chocolate so we set out to find a cozy cafe. As we were strolling, we saw the entrance to Master's Courtyard and checked it out. It was there we found The Pierre Chocolaterie. I have mixed feelings about this place. It was awesome in terms of scenery. Charlie and I each had an excellent cappuccino. Charlie also had a chocolate truffle that he shared with the kids. I thought it would be a treat to have freshly made lemonade for the kids. This was the downside. It was pretty much seltzer water with a minty flavor. I could detect no lemon. I do not recommend this, but I'd say their coffees/desserts are excellent.
We were pretty much ready to head home by then. Since we have perpetual daylight here (only a slight exaggeration) the kids were able to play outside more at home before I cooked dinner and we all went to bed.
Although we are definitely enjoying our experience, we still have our typical days of chores, errands, outdoor play and getting together with friends to play. Clara is not overly pleased with her daily math facts practice and reading requirements. I just completed the first week of my new class. I will admit it puts a wee bit of a damper on my fun now. The kids are beginning to get a little restless for their belongings to arrive. We are thinking our household goods should arrive within three more weeks. I think the kids and I have found all the good hiding spaces inside for hide and go seek for those rainy days. While I am thankful for the pots and pans I have until mine arrive, I am limited with what I can cook as a result.
No matter what, each day is a good day!
Last week our CLO let us know that you can go on a free guided tour of Tallin. So, the kids and I hopped a bus and had breakfast with the Marines and met some of the other ladies and their kids. Then several of us walked over to the starting point. I loved it! Our guide was a student and it was her third summer giving the tours. She was a riot and took us on a very unique two hour tour of Old Town. It is hard to imagine a better tour, unless you want to be driven somewhere. Later that evening Charlie and I enjoyed dinner at Goodwin's in Old Town to celebrate our 17th anniversary. Yum!
The next day we were invited to celebrate a little boy's birthday by going to see Madagascar 3 at Coca Cola Plaza. This was a very neat experience. You can go to the website to view the movies and see what languages are available. Kids movies are harder to watch in English, so there is often only one viewing in English in the evening. Adult movies are often shown in English with subtitles. We enjoyed the movie and the company as well.
The weekend was a nice one. Charlie managed to fix Clara's bike and finished putting the adult bikes together. Aside from a few chores and errands we spent the day playing around the house. Sunday was just gorgeous! Charlie had to put in a little time with work but we decided that we'd go into Old Town and when he had to leave the kids and I explored and waited until he rejoined us. This was a very fun excursion for me. First, we located the Estonian Puppet Theater so we could confirm the time for the puppet show that afternoon. Then we set off to find a place to eat. We wanted to try some traditional Estonian food so settled on Liisu Juures. Charlie ordered a pepper steak meal with roasted potatoes and beets. I had roasted pork with some sort of sauce drizzled on it, boiled potatoes, and fried cabbage. The kids each had happy sausages (hot dogs) and french fries with salad. This was not fancy food, but it was quite tasty. I'll admit I'm not a fan of fried cabbage, but I devoured the rest of it. We've been told food on the Town Square is not so good, but we were pleased. We ate on the outdoor summer terrace, making it even better.
The kids and I then scampered off to watch the puppet show while Charlie went to work. The puppet show was a delight! It wasn't what I expected at all, but was four young ladies wearing black dresses doing a variety of quick and lively skits. They were very energetic and talented! However, after the show we were directed by an older lady that did not speak English to check out the museum. I was able to determine where to go, but quickly realized we were the only people in this museum and we were away from all other humans. After checking out the displays, walking across the glass bridge, and opting to no go into the creepy looking/sounding dungeon that said it housed the evil/scary puppets we decided to try to get out. This is where the tour took a little sour note. Clara was a bit creeped out by the dungeon and kept worrying I was going to make her go down there and clearly she didn't have faith that I could find my way out. After several dead ends of following the exit signs only to find locked doors we decided to back track. Nearly there, we encountered the older lady. She turned us around and I thought, oh, she is going to take us to the exit. Nope. She very kindly led us on our own sort of personal tour. So, we enjoyed that for a bit longer. Then she led us to the bathroom and seemed quite insistent we step inside. We did. I asked the kids if they needed to use the service and they did not, so we went back outside. Our friendly guide had disappeared. Soooo, backtrack we did and this time we weren't stopped. As soon as I saw an open exterior exit we bolted.
I thought it was a perfect time to get a blizzard from McDonald's. The kids did not fight me on that one. Again we sat out on the outdoor terrace and watched the people. It just so happens that this weekend was the jazz festival so we walked back to the town square for a few jazz numbers. Later we did a little more exploring and checked out the Sweater Wall. We also selected a very nice shawl thing that will serve as Clara's souvenir for Estonia. I had no idea there was an official name for these vendors until I was researching it upon our return.
By this time we were making our way back to rendezvous with Charlie. He was having a hankering for chocolate so we set out to find a cozy cafe. As we were strolling, we saw the entrance to Master's Courtyard and checked it out. It was there we found The Pierre Chocolaterie. I have mixed feelings about this place. It was awesome in terms of scenery. Charlie and I each had an excellent cappuccino. Charlie also had a chocolate truffle that he shared with the kids. I thought it would be a treat to have freshly made lemonade for the kids. This was the downside. It was pretty much seltzer water with a minty flavor. I could detect no lemon. I do not recommend this, but I'd say their coffees/desserts are excellent.
We were pretty much ready to head home by then. Since we have perpetual daylight here (only a slight exaggeration) the kids were able to play outside more at home before I cooked dinner and we all went to bed.
Although we are definitely enjoying our experience, we still have our typical days of chores, errands, outdoor play and getting together with friends to play. Clara is not overly pleased with her daily math facts practice and reading requirements. I just completed the first week of my new class. I will admit it puts a wee bit of a damper on my fun now. The kids are beginning to get a little restless for their belongings to arrive. We are thinking our household goods should arrive within three more weeks. I think the kids and I have found all the good hiding spaces inside for hide and go seek for those rainy days. While I am thankful for the pots and pans I have until mine arrive, I am limited with what I can cook as a result.
No matter what, each day is a good day!
Monday, June 25, 2012
Random...
Tonight will mark four weeks living in Estonia! We absolutely love it even with the chilly and seemingly endless amounts of rain we receive. There are periods of sunshine nearly everyday, and ironically it seems to always come out at bedtime for the kids.
Anyway, what do you do when it is still cool and rainy outside in June...well, you put some water in the deep bathtub and put the kids in swimsuits! They had a blast and Clara determined she could sit up on the side and slide in. Our bathroom is like a giant shower stall with a drain in the middle of the floor so I'm way more relaxed about water on the floor here. Seriously. Our shower water drains that way.
The kids and I rode in to work with Charlie one morning to start our tick-borne encephalitis vaccines. Since we were already in town, we walked over to Old Town to explore a little before taking the bus back home. It wasn't raining and was quite festive. This is outside Goodwin's steakhouse. Zach later gave this guy a big hug. He was quite taken.
Our advanced shipment arrived last week, so the kids now have their bikes. Clothes from our dressers also were in the shipment. I'm not sure what happened to Zach's bin, but hopefully it is in with the household goods when that shipment arrives.
This past Saturday was the first day where the family had zero obligations since we arrived here. While the kids and I have been exploring quite a bit, Charlie has mainly been occupied with work. I asked him what he would like to do and he responded with, "I'd like to go visit Old Town." I admit I can be a bit focused, but I also rarely let things get in my way. Like rain. It turns out that Charlie had not looked outside when he made that statement. I assumed he was game. So, we grab rain coats and buy an umbrella on the way. It was POURING. And windy too. I'll not go into great depth, but we managed to find a pricey Italian place to eat in Old Town. It was ok. Definitely not worth the price though. Anyway, after eating, and me battling to hold on to the umbrella, we decided to call it a day and go home. As we were walking, Clara keep making comments like, "My feet are freezing!" "I can't feel my feet!" I was laughing as it was the Hollowell version of National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation. If you've seen it, remember Audry became frozen and couldn't see the tree? Well, I'll forever remember that day as National Lampoon's Tallinn Vacation. Luckily we made it home, got into dry clothes, and enjoyed the rest of our evening. It wasn't really THAT cold though. I know Charlie thought I was insane for dragging us out, but we are only here for a short period of time. I've got to enjoy every day!
It looks like we are in for another day of rain though. I start my seventh class today too. If I do not take any more breaks I think I should be finished with the degree a couple days before Christmas!
I apologize for the compete randomness of this post.
Thursday, June 21, 2012
Google Translate
I've got to give a shout out to Google Translate. It makes my life easier. It also adds humor to my day. I find myself grabbing products from the grocery store to learn how to prepare items, or even what they are. I use it to help fill out forms so I can get grocery store discount cards, translate letters from the cable company, etc. The humor comes in the translation though. I was scoping the menu for the restaurant we are going to eat at for Clara's birthday. By the way, it is an American style bbq restaurant. I have discovered that a lot of the websites will have an English version, but it is often limited. This menu had English labels, but the description is in Estonian. Enjoy!
Southern Style French Cafe Chicken I think this one is easily detected.
Translated description: Southern States concerned to burnt sugar-marinated chicken
Grilled Pork Neck I do not recall ever seeing pork neck at a restaurant! A little research determined that I am just plain ignorant (or was). However, it is not your leanest cut of meat but apparently tasty.
Translated description: Grilled pork chop with mushrooms fried in butter
Catfish I've not been able to determine what the last word of the description is. Google Translate failed me but with further research determined it must be lemon curd.
Translated description: Crackers breaded boneless white fish tartar and sidrunivõiga
I spared you the whole menu, but was in the mood to share. It really is helpful and I am so thankful to have such technology at my fingertips as I learn to navigate in a new country.
Southern Style French Cafe Chicken I think this one is easily detected.
Translated description: Southern States concerned to burnt sugar-marinated chicken
Grilled Pork Neck I do not recall ever seeing pork neck at a restaurant! A little research determined that I am just plain ignorant (or was). However, it is not your leanest cut of meat but apparently tasty.
Translated description: Grilled pork chop with mushrooms fried in butter
Catfish I've not been able to determine what the last word of the description is. Google Translate failed me but with further research determined it must be lemon curd.
Translated description: Crackers breaded boneless white fish tartar and sidrunivõiga
I spared you the whole menu, but was in the mood to share. It really is helpful and I am so thankful to have such technology at my fingertips as I learn to navigate in a new country.
Happy Birthday Clara Grace!
It is amazing to think that my little Clara is now eight years old and soon to be a third-grader. She has turned into quite a fine young lady and continues to do little things each day that make me so proud of her. Clara has handled our latest move admirably. She has embraced all the change and plays along with her new friends as though she has known them always. She is such a trooper! She is smart, tender-hearted, generous, silly, sweet, and sometimes a little ball of fire. I am blessed.
Happy Birthday to my little sack of sugar!
Happy Birthday to my little sack of sugar!
Sunday, June 3, 2012
Sayonara and Tere
Nearly a week ago we boarded a plane and said goodbye to Iwakuni, Japan. We loved our nearly three year stay and had many adventures. Japan is the only home Zach knows. It took just over 25 hours from the time we left our apartment and walked into our new home in Tallinn, Estonia. In case you were wondering "Tere" is hello in Estonian.
While the trip was long, I think it went as well as it could have. Our cat didn't make the flight. That is a whole different post but was by far the biggest glitch. Let's just say that I have spent a lot of time on the phone trying to get the kitty here.
We love it here! Our biggest wish was to have a yard, and we have a nice big yard with plenty of pavers for bike/scooter/skating fun. Our home is very nice and meets all of our needs. I must admit that I have had to adjust to European appliances. Although the loads of laundry must be smaller here and take 4 to 5 times the amount of time per load to complete, I am getting it done. I've not been brave enough to run the dishwasher, but we have so few dishes it hasn't been necessary.
Everyone has been so very kind to us here and kept us quite busy. My sponsor has introduced me to quite a few people and shown me how to get around. We had a tasty lunch at Vapiano one day in which I had the Asian Pasta. Yum! The kids each had a bear shaped pizza and loved it based on how much they consumed. We went to a yard sale where I scored an alarm clock and hair dryer for 1 euro each! It was so nice drying my hair without the transformer today. Anyway, I've also had a cappuccino at Gourmet Coffee in Kadriorg, and enjoyed dinner with several ladies last night at another neat place but I do not recall the name. Today the family caught the bus into the city and did a little stint into Old Town, did some shopping at a couple nearby malls, ate at McDonald's and came on home. Next week I'll be touring a couple of schools to consider for Clara. Charlie has been very busy learning things at work. Clara has already been able to play with several children although she still misses her friends. As you can see it has been a whirlwind of activity for us and we've not even been here for a week yet.
I must admit it is a bit cool here. We are expecting it to warm up a bit as we begin the warm time of year. It is 5pm here and 54 degrees F. Not too cold, but for June 2nd it is a little cool. We are also adjusting to the long days here. It wasn't completely dark last night at 10:30pm when Charlie and I went to bed. When the kids go to bed it is still quite bright. Luckily the blackout shades help make it a bit dimmer in the bedrooms. I think it is cute that Zach likes to vacuum! I plan to drastically increase the number of chores each child performs while here.
Here are a few pictures while we were in Old Town. I am really looking forward to exploring it in more depth and going on up the city wall (3 Euros a piece...I wanted to wait for a warmer day) you see here in the picture.
Zach fell and needed a little first aid on his finger. That is what Charlie is doing. The little shop behind them is a neat children's shop. We found several items we would love to get friends and family in there!
This was inside Solaris shopping mall. Although coats are needed outside, they wanted ice cream. This was Zach's first cone and he did really well! There were lots of people eating ice cream. I'm guessing the locals consider this quite warm right now, although they are still bundled up right now. I've heard the locals will actually lecture you if you do not dress your children warmly enough.
Grocery shopping has been an adventure. I've been shopping at Selver and have found that while it isn't quite what we are used to, we will mostly be able to get what we need. So far the kids haven't complained about the juice, milk, eggs, etc. My sponsor has been helpful and I've also downloaded two Estonian language apps to Clara's itouch that are helpful as well.
Oh, we also discovered we can have pizza delivered! And we did. It was pretty good. Now we just have to get a car. Aside from work, that is Charlie's main mission for this coming week.
I've rattled on enough at this point. More to come later...
While the trip was long, I think it went as well as it could have. Our cat didn't make the flight. That is a whole different post but was by far the biggest glitch. Let's just say that I have spent a lot of time on the phone trying to get the kitty here.
We love it here! Our biggest wish was to have a yard, and we have a nice big yard with plenty of pavers for bike/scooter/skating fun. Our home is very nice and meets all of our needs. I must admit that I have had to adjust to European appliances. Although the loads of laundry must be smaller here and take 4 to 5 times the amount of time per load to complete, I am getting it done. I've not been brave enough to run the dishwasher, but we have so few dishes it hasn't been necessary.
Everyone has been so very kind to us here and kept us quite busy. My sponsor has introduced me to quite a few people and shown me how to get around. We had a tasty lunch at Vapiano one day in which I had the Asian Pasta. Yum! The kids each had a bear shaped pizza and loved it based on how much they consumed. We went to a yard sale where I scored an alarm clock and hair dryer for 1 euro each! It was so nice drying my hair without the transformer today. Anyway, I've also had a cappuccino at Gourmet Coffee in Kadriorg, and enjoyed dinner with several ladies last night at another neat place but I do not recall the name. Today the family caught the bus into the city and did a little stint into Old Town, did some shopping at a couple nearby malls, ate at McDonald's and came on home. Next week I'll be touring a couple of schools to consider for Clara. Charlie has been very busy learning things at work. Clara has already been able to play with several children although she still misses her friends. As you can see it has been a whirlwind of activity for us and we've not even been here for a week yet.
I must admit it is a bit cool here. We are expecting it to warm up a bit as we begin the warm time of year. It is 5pm here and 54 degrees F. Not too cold, but for June 2nd it is a little cool. We are also adjusting to the long days here. It wasn't completely dark last night at 10:30pm when Charlie and I went to bed. When the kids go to bed it is still quite bright. Luckily the blackout shades help make it a bit dimmer in the bedrooms. I think it is cute that Zach likes to vacuum! I plan to drastically increase the number of chores each child performs while here.
This is the exit from Old Town.
Oh, we also discovered we can have pizza delivered! And we did. It was pretty good. Now we just have to get a car. Aside from work, that is Charlie's main mission for this coming week.
I've rattled on enough at this point. More to come later...
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