I was extremely happy to meet Kirsi and we hugged for a long time. I remembered we parted in Xi'an train station in China and tears were welling up my eyes. She went with Irenues to Ping Yao and Beijing while I went to Guangzhou with Erwin. I was amazed she still remembered what I said before our parting-"2 'ang mohs' in China, speaking no Chinese, how are they going to survive?". Haha... What a fond memory. Our meeting also make us miss Erwin even more. How I hope he was with me when I met up with Kirsi. He said he was sad that he can't be there and he asked me to hug Kirsi on his behalf. When we made a snowman outside Kirsi's apartment building, we wanted to name the snowman "Erwin", but later Kirsi said, "No! I don't want my Erwin to melt!" lol...
Erwin has left for Philadelphia last night and we spoke briefly before he set off. He said he was feeling sad and I can understand how he was feeling. I was anxious and sad too when I was about to leave Singapore for Copenhagen. But Erwin is different, he's leaving for 1 year while I only left for 1 semester. Jon said I can always visit him in US but I see that it is almost impossible, because I will start my Final Year Project shortly after my internship has ended. We have been talking about a graduation trip to Japan or Taiwan together and I hope this will come true. He will graduate one semester later than me because of NOC and I'm willing to delay my graduation trip to wait for him to go together.
Estonia gained its independence from Soviet Union in 1991 and it is eager to sever its Soviet ties and revive its historical and cultural ties to its Nordic neighbours. Kirsi told me that Estonian language is somewhat similar to Finnish and Estonian people usually understand Finnish but Finnish people like Kirsi don't understand much Estonian. :) Throughout its history, Estonia has been invaded and occupied, including occupation by Danish King in the 13th Century.
I felt quite exotic in Tallin and I love the snow covered beach the most. :) It was the first time I saw the onion domes of the Russian Orthodox Church. The inside of the Church looks kinda similar to a Catholic Church. We also visited the Art Museum which was awarded the European Museum of the Year Award in 2008. The museum contains both Soviet and European arts.
Kirsi also introduced us to her Estonian friend, Merika, who brought us for dinner and bring us on a short tour. I'm really glad to know her because we learnt a lot about Estonia from her. We also met Kirsi's two other friends who came to Tallin 2 days after us and we all stayed together at Kirsi's apartment. They are Danang (Indonesian Javanese) and Ajaya (Nepalese). Danang is pursuing his Master Degree in Forestry in Finland and he has EU scholarship which is really generous with no bonds attached. I'm proud of him because he's Indonesian!:) Ajaya is a computer science Master student and also has a scholarship from a local Finnish company. Ajaya is really helpful, when he knows that we will be going to Turku, he voluntarily contacted her sister who's studying in Turku to accomodate us. I'm very grateful to him although we only know each other for a few days.
The day was extremely short in Tallin because of winter season. Sun rises at about 9am in the morning and starts to set at 3:30pm. As a result, we slept until late in the morning each day because we were lazy and usually Kirsi only wakes up after 11am. Haha... So, we spent 4 nights in Tallin, taking things easy and not rushing to catch attractions like in Stockholm.
I also bought two pairs of shoes in Tallin. One is for winter wear and another one a leather shoe which I hope will be suitable for my internship. The winter shoe was actually a kid's shoe but don't laugh at me, they are strong and rugged! My feet is small enough to fit into a kid's shoe. lol
Anyway, here are the photos.... I will comment on a few photo because there are too many photos which I have posted here... :)
cruise from Stocholm to Tallin. The name of the cruise was Romantika 
Tallink cruise
let's go!
feeling bored in the cruise
some entertainment in the cruise
feeling bored again
2 pairs of shoe and I got a membership card! And look at the kids' shoe box. Haha... I gave the membership card to Kirsi because I don't see myself going back to Estonia in near future. :)
my strong kid's winter shoe and Kirsi's winter shoe. :)
myself with Kirsi
Hesburger meal. Hesburger is a Finnish fast food chain. Kirsi told me that it's existence has affected Mc Donald's profits in Finland tremendously
Dangerous naked wire which can potentially spark a fire if left unattended. So, we reported it to the authority in the shopping mall.
throwing snow at the statue. Don't imitate our bad behavior! lol
our breakfast for the next 4 days in Tallin
outside Kirsi's apartment building
Kirsi made the snow ball
working on our snowman which we initially wanted to name "Erwin"
our completed snowman
playing in the snow covered playground outside Kirsi's apartment
at the Kissing park
Russian Dolls
at the Christmas Market in Tallin's town hall which is Europe's oldest
Kirsi told us that sometimes people see ghost of a dead man from the window. This man was buried alive behind a wall in the buolding.
outside the haunted house
skiing in winter
santa claus climbing up the house
the Fat Margeret's tower
Danish Flag. Our Estonian friend, Merika told us that during one of the wars with the Danish in 13th centure, legend has it that a Danish flag dropped from the sky and landed at this location.
the onion-domed Russian Orthodox Alexander Nevsky Cathedral
to satisfy my craving for chips. Haha....
Salmon soup for dinner
According to Merika, this stone is to commemorate the day Soviet Union tanks start entering Estonia. From left: Kirsi, myself and Merika (our Estonian friend)
at the Parliament with Kirsi and Merika
Fat Margeret's tower
This public toilet cost 1 million EEK! Kirsi used 3 EEK but was unable to open the door so she was paranoid over it. haha....
the oldest church in Estonia
Kirsi at the Finnish Embassy of Estonia
From left: Kirsi, myself and Jon
From left: myself, Kirsi and Merika
can u spot the 3 of us?
Katariinan Kaytava
my messy stuffs
on the way to Kadriorg Palace
On the way to Kadriorg Palace
arriving at the Kadriorg Palace
Kadriorg Palace
Kirsi told me a sea accident occured here (I can't remember which century it was) and this angel was made to commemorate the dead
the snow covered beach
The European Musem of the Year Award awarded to Estonian Art Museum
Art Museum of Estonia
in the Art Museum of Estonia
this looks like Chemical Engineering Compressibility curve, but the parameters are not reduced temperature and pressure, so I don't know what this is exactly.
From left: Ajaya, myself, Kirsi, Danang
beware of squirrels running around! lol
Ajaya preparing Nepalese food for us
Danang preparing Spanish food for us
Danang and myself at the onion domed Russian Orthodox Alexander Nevsky Cathedral
carrying heavy bag for Danang who left in the evening
Kirsi
view of Tallin
view of Tallin
Jon and Ajaya exhausted after walking much and helping Danang carry his heavy bags
The oldest clock in Tallin
Kirsi's apartment
this sofa was made into bed for me and Kirsi to sleep on
the kitchen
in the bus
Caught Kirsi on the camera on the cruise leaving for Helsinki.
in the cruise leaving Tallin for Helsinki
No comments:
Post a Comment