Baltics Cruise - Tallinn

Our second stop was Estonia, a small country with just over a million people. Estonia has a long history of occupation by other nations, most recently Russia, but has been independent for the last 20 years and seems to be doing well. We visited the capital city of Tallinn, whose Old Town is one of the best preserved medieval cities in Europe.

A wall and series of towers was built around the city of Tallinn starting in the 1200s. Over the next few centuries these fortifications were enlarged and strengthened and many of the towers, gates and sections of the wall are still intact today. This "Old Town" is now a very charming place to visit.

We entered Old Town through the Great Costal Gate, which is connected to the Fat Margaret tower on the left. Sadly I didn't take a picture of Fat Margaret, a tower that is as wide as it is tall. 

Our first stop was St. Olav's church, which was at one point the tallest building in the world. It was originally built in the 12 century, but it has been rebuilt several times due to damage from lightning strikes and war.

St. Olav's is a Lutheran church, and so the interior is mostly white and plainly decorated. 

We climbed up the tower to a viewpoint. The stairs to the tower are very narrow and steep and must be shared by those going up and down. I was glad we were one of the first groups to go up, because it was pretty difficult to pass people going the other direction when we were on our way back down. 

We had a great view of Tallinn from the top

Some of the towers and wall that surround Tallin

Like Stockholm, Tallinn's Old Town had lots of colorful buildings, cobblestone streets, little shops and restaurants. 

The town hall and town square. In the square is also the Raeapteek, a pharmacy that has been in operation since the  15th century. We paid a visit and were glad to see that they now carry modern remedies instead of sun bleached dog feces and burnt hedgehog powder. 

We then left the merchant buildings of "Lower Town", and climbed up Toompea hill to "Upper Town." You can see Upper Town in the first picture, sitting higher than the rest of the buildings on a stone wall. The Upper Town has historically been the seat of power for the city. 

The Alexander Nevsky Cathedral is a very grand building and popular tourist destination, although it is disliked by Estonians. The cathedral was built during the Russian Occupation and directly faces the Parliament building, and thus is a symbol of Russian oppression. 

As an orthodox cathedral, every inch of the interior is ornately decorated. Quite the contrast from the Lutheran churches. There were several tour groups in there with us and they all seemed very eager to participate in the custom of lighting a candle. It was a little unsettling to be in a big crowd of distracted tourists, walking around with fire. I was glad to leave without having my hair or clothes burned. 

Our "Onion Dome" pose

We found this guy near the cathedral

After the cathedral we went across the street to Parliament (the pink building) which is connected to Toompea Castle. Three of the four towers of Toompea Castle are still standing, and the biggest one, Tall Hermann, is behind us. The flag on top shows the government currently in charge of the country, which is Estonia!

Our final stop was Kiek in de Kök. Kiek in de Kök was an artillery tower built in the 1400s, and now it houses a museum about Tallinn's military from medieval to modern times.  There are cannonballs from 1577 still embedded in the tower walls, which are 13 feet thick. 

Trying out some restraining devices. Although I'm smiling, I actually felt a little panicked because the collar was locked on, but I had to hold myself up with my hands or I would choke because I was too short. 

Military hats from different eras that my mom was very hesitant to put on, but luckily no one got lice. 

An enormous cannon that was probably close to 15 feet long

Modelling a surprisingly heavy flak jacket

Farewell Tallinn - we enjoyed our visit!

Baltics Cruise - Stockholm

Our first port stop was Stockholm, Sweden's capitol city. Stockholm is probably one of the most beautiful cities I've ever visited. The city is built on a series of 14 islands so there are bridges everywhere and water is always nearby. The buildings have lots of color and charm, and the old and the new blend together perfectly.

Stockholm is also very big so we did A LOT of walking. I was wishing I had something like a FitBit to track our journey because I'm pretty sure we walked close to 8 miles over the 7 hours we were out sightseeing. We walked through Gamla Stan (historic old town), saw the changing of the guard, went to the Vasa Museum, and over to the town hall where the Noble Prize Banquet is held each year. And there was still more we could have done if there had been more time.....

One of the famous Dala horses. Sculptures of these are everywhere and come in all colors and sizes. This pattern is the most traditional. They started off as children's toys, but have now become a symbol of Sweden.

Entering Old Town. Parts of Old Town date back as early as the 13th century. This part of Stockholm is full of colorful buildings, narrow alleys and cobblestone streets. There were tons of restaurants, little shops, and ice cream parlors.

The Royal Palace is in the middle of Old Town. We didn't pay for the Palace tour, but admission to the Royal Chapel is free. This church dates to 1754 and was pretty amazing to look at.

We also visited the Church of St. Nicholas, also known as Storkyrkan. It is the oldest building in Stockholm (consecrated in 1306) and it is still used for religious services, and significant events such as coronations or wedding ceremonies.

In the cathedral is a statue of Saint George and the Dragon, a representation of Sweden's victory over the Danish army. It was made in 1489 from oak and elk antlers.

These colorful houses in this small town square are from the late 1400s. Also in the square is the Noble Museum, featuring exhibits about Alfred Nobel and prize winners from the last 100 years. We didn't visit the museum, but it probably would have been am interesting to see if we had more time.

Video: We took a lunch break near the Royal Palace around noon, hoping to catch the daily changing of the guard. When we finished, nothing had happened so we decided to move on. As we started walking away a parade of about 50 horses rounded the corner and began their march to the palace. I'm glad we didn't miss it!

Beautiful Stockholm!

After lunch we walked over the Vasa Museum, one of the highlights of our trip. The Vasa was a 17th century warship that was built too high and too narrow, and thus sank on her maiden voyage only a thousand yards into Stockholm's harbor. Amazingly, a council held afterwards decided that no one was at fault.

It sat buried for 333 years until it was discovered and recovered in the 1960s. The ship was raised from the ocean floor in one piece and is 98% original. So awesome!

Because the Vasa was buried in mud and silt, the bodies of those who drowned were found along with the wreckage. Some still had remnants of clothes, shoes, and hair.

Crossing one of the many bridges overlooking a canal on our way back to the ship - farewell Stockholm!

Baltics Cruise - Copenhagen

We just returned from an amazing trip to the Baltic with my parents and brother Derek. Our fridge is still empty and laundry is waiting in the washer, but I have finished sorting through pictures!  

Our first day was spent in Copenhagen. This was our second visit to this city, and it was nice to actually see some of the sites this time. When we were here a year ago it was only for a few hours, and all we did was travel in a daze with suitcases from the airport to the harbor. This time we arrived a day before our cruise departed so we had an evening to spend in this beautiful city. 

At the airport waiting to get train tickets. You can't buy tickets at a kiosk with a foreign credit card - you have to purchase them at the window. Luckily my dad had been through the process a few hours earlier and told us to be helped at the window you had to take a number. Our number was #227 and they were only on #124. Lots of waiting!

After we arrived in the city, we met up with my family at the hotel and then left together to see Copenhagen. Our first stop was the King's Gardens at the Rosenborg Castle. 

The castle is from the 1600s and the gardens, which used to be for the King, are now open to the public. It was a nice day so there were people everywhere enjoying the sunshine. 

We then walked over to the picturesque Nyhavn Canal for dinner. 

At most of the restaurants along the canal you have the choice to dine-in or dine-out. We got dine-out fish n' chips and ate them on the edge of the canal. Delicious!

After dinner we climbed to the top of the Rundetårn, or Round Tower. It was also built in the 1600s and was used as an astronomical observatory. 

The unique part about this tower was how wide it is. 

Normally tower climbs are up steep, tightly winding steps, but this tower was one huge ramp, wide enough for a horse and cart, all the way to the top. The center column was hollow and you could peek through little cutouts all the way down to the ground below. 

At the top we had great views of Copenhagen

After seeing a few more churches and buildings we went back to the hotel. We stayed at the Cabinn, who's slogan is "All You Need to Sleep," which is pretty accurate description of the rooms. They are tiny and the beds go wall to wall. It was not the best night's sleep, but it was nice to lay down after a long day of travel.

These are the good days

Tonight I felt like I should do a blog post, but as I thought back over the last week or so, only depressing things came to mind. We've had a string of bad luck lately, but things ARE good so I guess this is great opportunity to push my negative thoughts away and count my blessings.

Blessing #1: This girl. She definitely is a light in our lives and makes us laugh all day long. I am so grateful to be her mother. In two short years she has taught me so much about love, patience, sacrifice, and joy. 

The other day there was a napkin lying on the ground and Dave asked Sophie to pick it up and throw it in the garbage. She obeyed and we praised her! Next thing I knew she had taken all the brand new napkins I had just put in the dispenser and also threw them in the trash. 

She was SO proud about the pile of napkins she put in the trash that she told me she wanted a prize, specifically a treat. How can you resist that sweet face?! I had to teach her that clean napkins don't need to go in the garbage, but then gave her two chocolate chips for her efforts.

With "Head". She put him together all by herself

First taste of twinkie - gotta love that creamy filling!

Bubble Beards!

Blessing #2: We have been able to spend lots of time with family recently! My grandma Mimi lives here in Utah and we love seeing her every couple weeks. My mom also came down to take my little brother home from BYU and we got to spend a few days with both of them. And, my grandparents from California came to visit for two weeks! While they were here we had a Lambert-side get together to celebrate one cousin's engagement and another cousin's baby that was soon to arrive. 

Sophie with Great Grandpa and Grandma Lambert

Four generation lunch with my Grandma Mimi, my mom, and Sophie

Lambert Family Dinner

Blessing #3: Dave. He is the best husband and father. I am spoiled daily by him. He also recently passed his oral and written exams! He is now considered a PhD candidate, instead of a student, and will continue to work on research, his dissertation, and prepare to teach a business class at the University of Utah in the fall. 

As I was cleaning the freezer over the weekend  the cookie dough tub, that I thought hadn't even been opened, was suspiciously light when I took it off the shelf. Now I know where Dave's extra 10 pounds came from!

Blessing #4: Vacation! One week from today we are headed on a cruise without Sophie. She will be in great hands while we're away, but I'm still getting anxious about leaving her. I haven't done anything to prepare for this trip and it's just around the corner. Time to start packing!