tallinn, estonia

I know, I know…I disappeared again.

But I have a good reason for it! My mom spent the last two weeks with us and we were so busy wedding planning, shopping, and enjoying each other’s company before she returned to Uganda that blogging was not priority no. 1, and for that, I apologize.

I do have something fun for today, though! I’m not sure if I mentioned this but, before we left for Sweden, my parents informed us that they had booked an overnight boat trip to Tallinn, Estonia for the whole family! What we didn’t realize was that the boat trip was to happen approximately four hours after our plane landed in Sweden (after 20 hours+ of intercontinental travel). Luckily, we found out that there’s no better cure for jet-lag and exhaustion than a long night in a cozy, rocking boat. The sun went down at around 4 pm, and we passed out until 6 the next morning feeling a thousand times better, and more than ready to explore!

But first, breakfast.

Coffee, eggs, croissants. YUM.

Sufficiently stuffed, we set off to explore.

Tallinn is Estonia’s capital, and boasts a lengthy history. The city has been under Swedish, Danish, German, and Russian rule before claiming independence in the early 90s, and it’s medieval old town square is a UNESCO World Cultural Heritage site. It’s quirky, charming, modern, and traditional all at once.

We got there just in time for some freezing temperatures and their annual Christmas market!

Margot found her namesake bar…

…while we wandered around the square.

Meanwhile, I found Li’l Sebastian!

And the best restaurant ever…

We eventually settled on a little cafe for some mulled wine, Estonian beer, and french fries (with mayo on the side – the best!) to warm up before doing some mandatory holiday alcohol shopping, seeing as it’s about half the price of booze in Sweden. Finally, we made our way back to the boat and sailed back to Stockholm to prepare for Christmas.

The trip was short, but sweet. We’ll be back, Tallinn!