We decided instead of going home for Christmas and enduring the canceled flights, dangerous weather and inevitable delays, that we would travel a short distance to Tallinn, Estonia for a short break.
Dan and I had no idea what to expect of Estonia. We booked two tickets at the Nutcracker ballet in advance, and left all of the rest of the planning until we arrived.
The streets of old town were filled with stalls and vendors, selling their handicrafts from the region. One of the neatest things that they made were called "Bear Pants." They are a knitted pair of pants or stockings that grandmothers in Estonia traditionally make for children. People in Estonia certainly know how to dress to keep warm. There is a lot of knitting and knitted products for sale here, but they specialize in multicoloured yarn that is felted.. and they make hats with amazing, adorable and sometimes astonishing detail.
Even though Estonia is apparently a very secular country, the most beautiful attractions in Tallinn have to be the churches. The Russian Orthodox church was just incredible - ornately decorated, and just very peaceful and quiet.
On our last day, we went to the Kadreorg Palace. The building was gorgeous and was filled with art exhibitions, mostly Dutch artists. We enjoyed the paintings and the beautiful painted ceiling and then took a stroll by the President's office and through the park and gardens surrounding the palace. Although it was bitterly cold, it was very nice to be able to walk through an actual forest in the middle of a city. Apparently in the summer the gardens are even more beautiful.
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| Ceiling at the Palace |
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