My funny bathroom

So here's a video of my bathroom. Enjoy ;)

Kadri day and beautiful people

They often say that Estonian people are very beautiful. I agree, they are! They've got a certain "Estonian look" and I would say in general, these are attractive people. 

Anyway, speaking of appearance.... I'm surprised that the Estonians are not fat! There are so many delicious looking cakes and pastries in the stores! And I keep thinking, they shouldn't be there unless people actually buy them. So I'm wondering... how do they do it? Eat just a tiny bit? Pretend to eat? :)

So... tonight was funny. There is a phone next to my door, that rings when someone outside the building presses the number of my apartment. When I picked up to let them in, I heard kids voices saying kadriiii... and I was like oh... they don't know..!

Kadri is the name of the woman I'm renting the apartment from, and I thought they don't know that she doesn't live here now.

I open the door and there are two girls, of which one looks a bit like a "påskkärring" as we say in Sweden. And they say tere! (hi) and something about Kadri. I'm just saying that I am renting this place from her and asks if they speak English. One of them does. A tiny bit. 

I spoke to Kadri after this visit, and was informed that today is Kadri day (St Catherine's Day) in Estonia. Kids dress up like old ladies or kadrimonsters and ask for candy. They are dancing or singing and throwing some "happiness" or good luck inside peoples homes. 

This is a really cool tradition! But I googled it and according to Wikipedia, it's also got a strong (?) feminine aspect to it. This is nothing I knew about. Perhaps not surprising since I don't really read newspapers yet. And nobody at work mentioned it :D

And.. there is actually a monastery here in Tallinn named St Catherine's Monastery. It's located in Old town. I really should have posted a picture of it, but unfortunately I don't have any yet.

Instead, I've got a picture of a beautiful church not far from here, that I saw the other night when I was out walking. As I was heading to a bus stop, I didn't have time to go and find its name, so I can't tell you which one it is. But it's beautiful, right? :) 

Tallinn has so many churches! 

Now off to relax and go to bed! Good night Estonia ♥

The challenges of navigation

So when you are getting to know a new city, you kinda have to learn to make your way around not only once, but several times.
You need to learn to navigate in clear weather. At daytime. Then you have to learn it during night time (or just in the afternoon if it's up north). And then you have to do it all over again if it happens to be as foggy as in the Silent Hill games.
Ok, but that's it, right? Umm, no. Don't forget there are different seasons during the year. A place can look completely different in winter time compared to summer time.

So I have been doing a lot of walking since I moved here a little more than a week ago :D
But I enjoy it! It's a great way to get to know the city and to discover places and details.

They say tomorrow it will be snowing... We'll see what adventures I'm in for then..

Ciao! :D

What you find in Estonian cofee machines

Today and had my first day at work, starting with introduction and training. I was nervous and excited and luckily, everyone I met was nice and friendly :)

In the department kitchen, I encountered some fascinating Estonian phenomenon... Chicken soup (kanasupp) in the coffe machine!

There was so much information going on all day, trying to make its way into my head, and I felt as if I would need a bigger hard drive!

But I've had a fun day and I'm glad to be here. Spent a few hours in town tonight and now I'm exhausted and I think I will go to bed already!
Good night Tallinn! Head ööd! <3

It's real

About 2.5 hours ago, I said goodbye to my parents down at the Tallink Silja terminal. I am on my own now! It is exciting and super scary! :D

I must say that I am so happy to have such wonderful parents who believe in me and supports me in this adventure that only a year ago, I had no idea that I was heading for. <3

After the goodbye, I went through some shopping malls and I got some bath stuff from LUSH since I now have a BATH TUB for the first time in ten years!!! Yay!

Now I am on my way home and I thought, what better way to celebrate the move to Tallinn and my new place than... Cake!
And I am actually not eating it at my place, but in the cafe at the hotel where I stayed four months ago, Radisson Hotel Blu Olümpia :)

Oh and... Loving this! I can sit and listen to people speaking Russian and Estonian! <3

And yes, that is a chocolate brownie cake and a latte. And that other thingy is my house! <3

First night in Tallinn

So, I am sitting in the sofa, about to go to sleep. This is going to be my second night in Tallinn.

My first night certainly was interesting. I went to sleep at 00.30 something and was woken up around 05.30 by the fire alarm and the smell of smoke. I ran around looking for the reason for the alarm but found nothing. There was smoke in the staircase... Two fire trucks came and they went inside my neighbours apartment. They did not stay for very long and they left some windows open in the staircase.
I had called 112, to try to find out what was happening and what to do. The first person I spoke to did not know any English, after about a minute she transfered my call to someone else! But she told me to stay inside and wait for the firemen to inform us, which they never did! Haha... Aaaanyway they did their job and after some time, I went back to try and get some more sleep. It took me ages to fall asleep and then I woke up a hundred times and finally got up after 11am!

I arrived yesterday with my parents and had a quite emotional day. You see, I came here following my dream to go back to Tallinn and Estonia, but I also left behind my home-for-the-past-ten-years and my safety and friends, and on top of that, a new love.

There have been moments when I have questioned my sanity. And I also know that I need to do this, or else I am going to regret it for the rest of my life!

So, yesterday was mainly about getting some basic groceries and stuff and to go to the population office to register my address here in Estonia. Then I went to EMT to buy a prepaid sim card with surf and stuff for my phone -  very important! I wanted to get a contract right away but they said I need the Estonian ID for that, so I will start with this prepaid card.
This Friday I am going to the police office and apply for the ID card, and hopefully I will also be able to open a bank account then!

So... This second day has been really nice. After a shower and late breakfast, we headed out to Old town, by taxi. My mother isn't walking that fast lately so we did not walk a lot, but I showed them around a little bit, looking at Estonian handicraft and I got a pair of cosy wool socks to wear at home! 
We went to Oliver for food. Wiener schnitzel with roast potatoes and vegetables and mushroom sauce. Soooo good! And good wine for my mother. And really cosy place and good service and a cute waiter, who spoke a little bit Swedish! Haha, this is really nice, some of the sales persons and people in restaurants know some Swedish - tells you how common the Swedish tourists are ;)

Now I did not mean to write a novel my first time in this blog, but I'll leave you now! Good night, or head ööd!!