Tallinn, Estonia



Alexander Nevsky Cathedral

Noah

Chilly, but without rain.  Add a little sunshine and Estonia became our favorite place on the trip.

Inside the cathedral.  This is one church that they didn't want you to take pictures in. :)

Cathedral of St. Mary the Virgin believed to be the oldest church in Estonia.  It was built in 1240.

Noah, who doesn't care about the oldest church, found a great walking stick.

Toompea Hill overlooking the city of Tallinn.

At the Town Hall where we had an AWESOME lunch.

In the "kitchen."  Lane was asking for a spoon and they told him that he'd have to sing a song if he wanted one.  Needless to say, he drank his soup like the rest of us.

What is for lunch?  Moose soup of course!  It was delicious!  Really.

Pies for lunch as well.  Kind of like a hand pie with filling.  We ate apple (yummy), spinach (amazing), cabbage, and Darin got the Moose and wild boar.  We loved this place.  Best of all, each item was only 1 euro/piece.  Truly a steal!

 

Climbing the tower of St. Olav's Church.

254 narrow, cork-screwing stairs

This is why we climbed the stairs.  Amazing city views.

The towers along the old city walls.

At the top you were kept from falling off  the slanted metal roof with super strong chicken wire.  Safety first. 

Fat Margaret Tower. 
16th century, it was built to impress sea guests, then turned into a prison and was the scene of terrible violence during an outbreak, now Fat Margaret is just a museum.  Oh Fat Margaret, what an unfortunate name.



Viru Gate.  We are the little people standing in the middle.

We found a great market for shopping.

Such good sports as we drag them all over the world.

Stockholm, Sweden

Yep, 7-11 in Stockholm too.

Rainy and cold.

We took a Hop-on Hop-off Bus throughout Sweden.  We should have just used a regular bus. 

Waiting for the changing of the guards at the palace.

Smiling because the rain stopped and the sun finally came out.

It was a big deal to change the guards here.

Navy Band joined in.  They even played such patriotic songs such as The Love Boat ? and ? (some old-time elevator music, help me out Melanie...)



Nobel Peace Museum

Waiting outside of the bakery.  It had been a long day.

Right before the little shop keeper growled about trying on the hats.



Yep.  I've got a Delicious pastry!

Back on the boat eating Swedish Fish in Sweden of course!

Father and Son and Sweden

Sailing through the Fjords.  It was rainy, and little bit foggy and really beautiful.  We sat and watched the islands pass by from our balcony while eating our Swedish fish.



We were rushed in Stockholm.  The layout of the islands made it a bit tricky to get around.  We ended up missing some of the things that we'd hoped to go to.  The buses didn't work out as we would have hoped either and we ended up rushing just to get back on the boat.  Stockholm is a place that we wouldn't mind spending some more time in. 

Copenhagen, Denmark

Waiting to take the train to get to the center of town.  Always a trick in a new city with a new language.  Thankfully, most of the people we encountered spoke amazing English.

I couldn't find a 7-11 or a Slurpee in Texas, but hey they have them in Copenhagen.  It wasn't Slurpee weather, however.

As crossing the street we literally almost ran into the guards heading to the "changing of the guards" at the palace.  We followed them along the route.  Perfect timing!

Changing of the guards.

How can they even see with that large fluffy hat?

A portly guard

The portly fellow told me to back up because I was standing too close to him.  So, when he wasn't looking I leaned in.

Windy and rainy in Denmark! Davis' poor umbrella.

Nyhavn area lined with colorful houses and shops on both sides.

Noah flipped off the chain and landed on his head twice while waiting here.

With the Barney kids in front of a fountain that we jokingly called the Lactating Woman; you can just imagine how it looked.

The Little Mermaid.  Little.

The Christus, by Thorvaldsen, is one that many others are patterned after, found in the Vor Frue Kirke (Church of Our Lady)

Statues of all of the 12 apostles line both sides of the church.

Legos, invented in Denmark.

 

Lunch at a local bakery.  Definitely one of my favorite things is finding a little bakery and eating the local stuff.  Yum.