The Baltics

HOLY COW! We just got back from a two week trip to Ethan’s mission! Ethan served in the Baltic mission (Estonian speaking) & has been home for 4 years. I remember on our second date we went out to dinner & he was telling me how he wanted to go back to his mission so badly. His goal was to go back summer 2019. In my head I was thinking how I wanted to go with him, even though we weren't offically dating yet! HA! We knew we really wanted to go but didn’t know if it was going to happen this summer. We had a break after graduation & to when we move to Utah. We found cheaper flights & just decided to go for it! This trip was filled with some of my favorite memories with my husband. I LOVED seeing him speak the language & show me around. 

We flew to Denver Wednesday, August 7th and stayed with Ethan’s Aunt. Her name is Anna and I got to meet her and her family for the first time. We spent a whole day with them on Thursday and then flew to Helsinki with a layover in London. We got to Helsinki late Friday night. We didn’t get to our Airbnb until 2am. The streets were a little sketchy at night, to say the least.

Saturday, the 10th we explored Helsinki for a few hours. We were blessed with beautiful weather. We went to the market & got fresh strawberries. It was so fun to explore the waterfront. We went to the Uspenski Cathedral & the Helsinki Cathedral. Both were GORGEOUS! We rode scooters around the harbor and just enjoyed and explored. We then hopped on the ferry to go to Tallinn. The ferry was huge and so nice. We got some food on the ferry and it was so yummy. We got to our Airbnb in Tallinn & headed straight to Old Town. We ate dinner at old hamsa which is a medieval restaurant. Super interesting food but really really good! We just explored old town a bit and got some pancakes. And of course we scootered some more! 

Sunday, the 11th we woke up late for church. It was pouring out. We get to church and no one is there. Ethan knows this is the church because he spent several months going here! We went closer and looked inside and there was construction going on. We finally got the address and we’re late but was still able to see everyone! People were so happy to see Ethan it was adorable. Estonians are very chill and not super energetic. It was so sweet listening to Ethan sing in Estonian. There was English, Estonian & Russian speakers there. We changed to street clothes and went out for the rest of the day. And guess what!? It stopped raining! We explored old town & holy cow I LOVE IT! It actually reminds me a lot of old city Jerusalem. Cobblestone streets and lots of the alleyways. There is so much to explore. You make a turn and there is a huge amazing church or cathedral. I love all the pastel buildings and red rooftops. There was a little market going on and some music. There were so many flowers everywhere I loved it. We ate at this amazing restaurant & it was to die for. We got crepes later for dessert at Kompressors. We scootered more of course too. 

Monday, the 12th we went to the Kadriorg art museum and it was such a pretty area!!! It was in this huge park and we rode scooters around and it was just pretty! The colors of the garden and the museum are amazing. We then went to the market and ate some yummy food. We then rode a bus to Parnu! Omg I loved Parnu. It’s a cute little beach town. There isn’t much to see but we were riding scooters and Ethan asked if I wanted to see the church and so we went and he was like there are missionaries inside. So I put my face to the window and see them and some other young adults. One of them lights up and comes running out the door! It’s one of Ethan’s converts! They were having a little FHE so we stay with them. We then went scootering more in the pouring rain! It was so insane and fun at the same time. We were drenched haha. We then got food at this yummy Italian restaurant. 

Tuesday, the 13th we slept in and went to “lunch” with Ethan’s friend. We then went to the beach! We rented bikes and rode down the coast. It felt so nice to be outside in the prettiest weather in the prettiest place. We went swimming and the water was actually pretty warm! We were out there a while. We ate out for dinner. We rode some scooters in Ethan’s area. He was so happy to be there, it was so cute. We went to his old apartment. It was one of my favorite days cause it was so chill.

Wednesday, the 14th we got on a bus to Saaremaa Island. It was a 3 hr bus ride that includes a ferry. It was really pretty over there. All we basically did was went to a castle and get ice cream. Let’s get real we got ice cream every day. It was pretty to explore around it and take pictures. We then went back to Parnu and hopped on a bus to Riga. 

Thursday, the 15th was a full day in Riga. We walked to Old Town from our Airbnb and there was so much to see on the way there. We just went where our heart & eyes took us. We saw a steeple and our feet took us there. There are so many pretty buildings and churches. We ran into the market. It’s the biggest market in Europe. We found so many pretty flowers. Ethan found me a skirt too! Old Town was beautiful with all of its architecture & history. We took a lot of breaks. We scootered in the middle of the day in a park. I don’t want to talk about how much money we spent on scooters oops. We ate at this really nice restaurant.

Friday, the 16th we woke up so tired from the day before from being on our feet all day. We took it chill and went to the market again. We went to this really yummy bagel shop. We took a river canal cruise and was so nice and fun. We ate at a Latvian buffet place which was so yummy. We then went to the best bakery!! It made all of my dreams come true! We then took a bus to Vilnius! We stayed at the cutest Airbnb, I loved it!!

Saturday, the 17th we saw beautiful Vilnius. We loved that it was all spread out. We just really liked how chill it was! We went to Old Town and all the touristy places. We went up the bell tower and the castle. It was a really good day. There are so many pretty cathedrals and churches there. We rode scooters around a lot, it helps our little legs so much when they are tired. We ate at Vapianos, a yummy Italian place with homemade noodles and everything! I loved it. We also had yummy gelato. Oh and we saw like 20 million weddings. Almost every church we went into, there was a wedding going on. We also got crepes because I always want crepes ugh. We got home and watched a movie and Skyped Ethan's family because his sister got married that day.

Sunday, the 18th we took a bus to Trakai. There is a really pretty lake there and a castle on an island in the middle of the lake. It was GORGEOUS. This was also one of my favorite days. The sun was out and shining. My only regret was I didn’t bring a swimsuit! We walked around the castle and while we were heading back to the town, a guy says to us “private sailboat leaving now?”. We look at each other and without any hesitation, we both say yes! It was so fun and our captain was a hoot. It was romantic and fun. We then took a long bus ride back to Estonia. This time we drove to Tartu, which was Ethan’s first area.

Monday, the 19th we spent the day in Tartu. It’s a college town but is still pretty big in size. There really isn’t really much to do. We rented electric bikes for the day and that was the best part. So fun. We road to just random places and explored. We went to the main square and took pictures in front of the kissing statue. We saw more churches and ate more ice cream. I saw the sister missionaries but I was riding my bike so fast that I didn’t stop. But I did yell hello! We went on a night ride along the river and the sunset was the best ever! It was a good chill day!

Tuesday, the 20th we traveled back to Tallinn! We only had a few hours there. We went to the Telliskivi district. We ate the best food there! And the best ice cream!! It the creative part of the city so there is art on the walls everywhere it’s pretty cool. We rode scooters to the seaplane harbor and then had to get to our ferry. The ferry was really pretty with a nice sunset. 

Wednesday, the 21st was our last day and we spent it in Helsinki. We went to Suomenlinna Island. It’s a little free boat ride to get there. There are remainings of the castle and is known for its sea fortress. It’s pretty cool. It was really pretty and serene. There were very few people on the island. It was cool to just walk around and explore! We found a Finnish buffet that we loved. We got back to Helsinki and got bubble waffles! It was expensive so we shared but it was big! It was really good though I could have eaten it by myself. We then went to an underground church that’s in a rock! It was pretty neat. We then took a bus to the Helsinki temple! It was pretty! We got back to the city and scootered and explored on our last night in Europe.

It was the best trip with my husband. I’m so glad we got to go back to his mission and have the best time. These are memories I will never forget. We had great weather, food and got to meet some amazing people. I love the Baltic’s and it's culture. I hope to go back one day!