An Offer We Couldn't Refuse

Our Ship Baltic Queen

An email from the Tallink Cruise Lines appeared in Helen’s inbox with an offer we could not refuse.  Last August we took a weekend cruise with this Baltic cruise line to Riga, Latvia.  We moved to Sweden, in part, to see the sights, so we did not hesitate in booking a weekend cruise to Tallinn, Estonia.  We also included a 2.5 hour English language tour of Old Town, a UNESCO World Heritage Site, in our tour package.

Helen in Snowy Tallinn

Our evening cruise across the ice-choked Baltic Sea on the Baltic Queen was uneventful.  We reached Tallinn a few hours before our scheduled guided tour, so with adventure in our hearts and tightly wrapped scarves about our necks, we headed out into the ice and snow to Old Town, looking for the Tallinn City Museum.

City Museum Building

Old Thomas

The city museum is a former medieval merchant’s house with exhibits encompassing the town’s history from its very beginning to present day. There were film chronicles and videos, mannequins and models, and portraits of formerly reigning monarchs, including Swedes, Danes and Russians.  The museum also contained the original Old Thomas, a weather vane that sat atop city hall and was declared the town symbol in 1530. 

Despite February being wayyy off season the cruise ship was full.  We were surprised, however, to find that we were the only passengers who had signed up for the Old Town tour.  An Australian couple had also signed up, but they were “no shows,” so we had a private bus and walking tour of upper and lower Tallinn and the surrounding area.

Old City Gate Towers

Tallinn is one of those old, walled European cities with a rich history which we never learned about in school.  Absent any prior knowledge, we absorbed our tour guide’s narration.  She passed on what we think was “urban lore” that people lived in the area as far back as 11,000 years ago. Archeologists have confirmed settlements dating back to 3,000 BC.  Her stories of the dominance of Swedes, Danes, Germans and Russians rang true based on the thick stone walls and towers that were left behind. 

European interests in Tallinn moved into high gear in the 1200’s during the Baltic Crusades. At that time Swedish, Danish and German Christian kings engaged in warfare against pagan people in the area. The Protestant Reformation displaced Catholicism with Lutheranism.  By 1561 Tallinn, which means “Danish city,” settled in to being a dominion of Sweden. 

In 1710, Peter the Great included Tallinn in his collection of Baltic ports.  Russians held dominance until 1918 when the Bolsheviks retired Nicholas, the last Russian Tsar.  This dethroning allowed Estonia’s first independence that lasted 22 years, until the Russians returned in 1944. The turmoil in the post-perestroika era of the USSR again opened the door for Estonian independence in 1991. Estonians now celebrate two independence days!

Band Shell at Song Festival Grounds

Snowtubing Signage

We drove through the newer part of town, past the Parliament that overlooks a beautiful park and the harbor, then on to Song Festival Grounds.  The band shell on the festival grounds can host 30,000 singers for lawn crowds up to 100,000 people.  Crowds have gathered for Michael Jackson, Madonna, The Rolling Stones and Metallica. The biggest crowd, estimated at 300,000 people, gathered for a political rally during the turbulent days leading to Estonia's recent independence. On the wintery day we visited, only families with laughing children gathered to enjoy snow tubing.

Old Town Vista

Pharmacy in continuous existence for 570 years

On our walking tour, we enjoyed vistas of this charming town of 400,000.  A visit to the largest town square in Estonia brought us to a pharmacy established in 1442, 50 years before Columbus sailed across the Atlantic to the new world. Our American sense of history remains challenged as we witness a European continuity that measures time in centuries. 

The tour ended in Old Town.  It was cold and we were hungry.  This may be a town of centuries-old history, but the nearby McDonalds was perfect for a quick lunch. 

Traditional Russian Appetizer

Back on the Baltic Queen we warmed up then had dinner at a wonderful Russian restaurant.  A traditional Russian appetizer served with honey, sour cream and sour pickles started the meal.  Such are the things we do when the call of adventure is heard.

Coming Soon

We are unable provide our normal weekly post this weekend.  We will be in the middle of the Baltic Sea on our way to Estonia.  We know...we know, "if you had a nickel" for every time someone dished up the "in the middle of Baltic Sea" excuse.  But such is our fate this weekend.

This cruise was a spur of the moment adventure.  The cruise link (Tallink) had our e-mail address based on another short weekend cruise we took to Riga, Latvia and sent us an offer we could not refuse.

We are still in a Swedish harbor until 5:45, but shortly will be heading out to sea.  We will take pictures and capture memories that we will faithfully share upon our return our Sunday.

We know we have a tough life...but someone's got to do it.

Winter Has Arrived

Snowy Stockholm Walkway

With a blanket of snow covering the ground and the temperature resting peacefully at -10 C (14 F), it can now be declared that winter has arrived in Stockholm.  Up until a few weeks ago, Swedes remarked that this winter has been the most mild they could recall.  Their comments are typically augmented with a retelling of the bitter cold of the last two winters when snow fell in October and remained until March.

Evening in Stockholm

Although our birthroots from Michigan and New Jersey instilled in us a sense of adaptation to the cold - head down, shoulder to the wind and all that - more than a quarter century of Southern living in Atlanta has re-wired our winter fortitude.  So despite diminished winter capacity, our plan is to soldier on with neck scarfs, knit caps, sweaters, gloves, boots, woolen socks and take on whatever Mother Nature cares to dish out. 

We have discovered that in this winter cold Swedes don’t necessarily “soldier on,” but rather simply continue to go about their normal lives.  Children bundled head-to-toe in snowsuits and seemingly oblivious to the cold bound about in playgrounds.  The cold has no discernable impact on their playfulness and delightful giggling.

Biker Riders on Snow Packed Road

So when in Stockholm . . . carry on as Swedes.  Jay continues his 40-minute walk to and from the office.  He navigates the snow-caked streets with other Swedes and some who zip up and down the icy streets on their bicycles.

View from our Kitchen Window

There is, of course, real beauty to this winter landscape.  The view from our kitchen table reveals a snow-covered slope with tree branches cloaked in snow under which people frequently walk their dogs.  We have also made an extra effort to feed our neighborhood birds by putting out suet balls, left over bread and crackers.  Framed by a beautiful winter scape, we enjoy sitting at our kitchen table watching the birds as they come to feed.

Large magpies, very common here, pull at the nylon net covered suet balls attempting to carry away whatever food isn’t tightly secured by netting and string. Smaller sparrows and chickadees wait their turns to peck away at the bread and cracker crumbs.

Millie Watching Birds

All this avian munching takes place under the watchful feline eyes of our cat Millie.  Perched on a kitchen window ledge, Millie positions herself in an attentive crouch set to pounce on any bird that may attempt to penetrate our thick double pane glass windows.  

We peer out these same windows each morning to determine just how many degrees below 0 C each new day brings us.  Faced with -4 to -12 C temperatures, humor helps.  Our standing joke is, “What does the thermometer say?” Followed by the retort, “It doesn’t say anything. You have to read it!”  Ha! (rim shot) To family and friends, bundle up and stay warm. Spring is just a few weeks away.

Another Empire On Which the Sun Does Not Set

British Empire in the 1800's

It has been said that Spanish kings of the 1500’s strode about claiming they ruled an empire on which the sun never set. Yet as the sun did set on Spanish positions, the British Crown of the 1800’s could clearly boast even more time zones under its realm.  Eventually, the sun’s glow on the Union Jack slowly diminished as well. 

There is, however, a 21^st century realm that now has undisputed universal dominion across all lands on which the sun shines….the New York Yankees! 

Alright, we confess “universal dominion” may be a stretch, but we have seen repeatedly the outward presence of the Pin-Striped Empire on the streets of Stockholm.  At first little notice was made of the occasional Swede striding down the street with a Yankees cap, but then world news drew our attention to global Yankees dominance.

Mohammed el-Bibi not fooled by
Gaddafi Spit Ball

We witnessed in the darkening October days here how the once wily Muammar Gaddafi was just no match for a Yankees cap clad freedom fighter named Mohammed el-Bibi.  Details of Gaddafi’s capture are confusing, but there is no doubt that Gaddafi’s long string of success based on spit balls and inside curves failed when Yankees prowess was employed.  Mohammed got the gold-plated gun and Muammar…well, he retired from the field.

Little North Korean Yankees Fan

Then in December, we saw a Yankees presence planted where none should be present. In video footage of the funeral of the supreme North Korean leader Kim Jong-il, a small knit-capped Yankees fan was spied. Clearly the world penetration plan of the Bronx Bombers is modeled on a subtle substitution of hometown favoritism by some type of absorption program. An absorption plan akin to Kevin McCarthy’s frantic admonition in the 1956 sci-fi thriller, Invasion of the Body Snatchers, “They’re here already!  You’re next!” 

No doubt whispers were shared among the obligatory North Korean mourners repeating the famous phrase of the supreme catcher Yogi Berra. “It's déjà vu all over again." Oh how true.

Yankees Fan with English Lesson
in Library

Most of our Yankees sightings in Stockholm have gone unrecorded. Lately we have been more adept at capturing their fleeting presence. At the library at the Kulturehuset (Cultural Center), a Yankees fan sat in plain view as he carefully scribed his English language lesson over and over again in his spiral notebook: “Roger Maris is the only authentic single season home run title holder.”

They're already here!  You're Next!

Then just the other day in a snowy blizzard, we caught a glimpse of a Yankees fan darting, collar upturned to the cold, but cap clearly visible from our apartment window.  Unmistakably, they are in Stockholm already.