Estonia... bet you don't know where that is!

We were in the lovely, tiny country of Estonia for three days - and had a blast! We went to the capital, Tallinn, and a beach town called Parnu. First some very brief info about Estonia:

• population: 1.3 million. Yes. That's it.
• The entire country is wired to Wi-Fi. You can literally pull your laptop out anywhere and get a free signal.
• The capital is Tallinn, which passed hands from the Danes, Swedes, Germans, Russians, Soviets and other Baltic peoples.
  

Beneath the secret underground tunnels of Tallinn. They were used as bomb shelters.

Beach in Parnu... we got really, really burnt.

Central Town Square showcasing Tallinn's architecture.

Skyline of tiny Tallinn.

Leg 2: Latvia (Riga & surrounding regions)

Latvia, Latvia. So few people have even heard of this place let alone could find it on a map. Nevertheless, I have always wanted to come here and turns out there is no better time to be in Latvia than the end of June. The first few days were rainy but then we were able to escape to the countryside on a nice weather day. There we explored ancient castle ruins and hiked through the woods.

Streets of old Riga.

Central square in Riga.

Turaida castle in Sigulda, a region of Latvia.

We frolicked in fields. Literally!

Midsummer's Festival begins with flower wreath weaving. More on this festival in my next post...

Leg 1: Berlin

Berlin.... what a fun and eclectic place! Here are just a few shots of our six days in the unified German capital.

The Brandenburg Gate at night.

A biergarten. That's German for... you guessed it, beer garden! My friend, Radim, came to visit.

In the giant dome of the Reichstag, the German Parliament. This was a cool, cool place!

Concentration camp outside of Berlin. "Work sets you free." Not so much, as the thousands of people who died here found out.

Gay Pride 2010 Berlin. When Lady Gaga came on, everyone went wild! Really, really wild.

Eurotrip: our itinerary

View Our itinerary in a larger map ... scroll right to Europe

On June 14th, my sister, Rachel, and I embarked on a brother-sister whirlwind tour of Eastern Europe code name *Ostalgie*. Our mission: to get to Moscow without killing each other. Just joking! We get along great. The idea for this trip came after watching the German 2003 movie, Goodbye Lenin! By starting in Berlin, the formerly divided German city and modern-day German capital, and ending in Moscow, we plan to gradually ease into the East and Communism. Here is our itinerary:

June 14-19: Berlin, Germany

June 20-24: Riga, Latvia

June 25-27: Tallinn, Estonia

June 28-July 3: St. Petersburg, Russia

July 4-13: Moscow and surrounding regions