EUROTOUR pt. I: Sweden, Denmark, The Netherlands, Belgium, and France

Yesterday, on the 20th of June, I sailed across the Baltic Sea from Finland for the last time in my exchange. This week I said goodbye to many of the exchange students I have gotten to know so well over the past year. It is unbelievable to think that ten months ago I was just meeting these people at the Karkku Language Camp, six months ago I was skiing with them in Lapland, three months ago I was crossing the border to Russia with them, and only two days ago touring Europe with them. It still feels surreal.

But, I'm now back in Tartu and it's not time to say goodbye just yet. So I now present to you... EUROTOUR (part one):

Sweden
Eurotour started on the 3rd of June in Turku, Finland, with an overnight cruise to Sweden. Highlights of the cruise include Swedish meatballs and tiramisu. The next day our two buses began the long drive to southern Sweden, and along the way we quickly stopped at a candy factory because, well, candy.

After that, we took a ferry to the next country on our tour, Denmark...

Denmark
In Copenhagen we were given a free evening to spend at Tivoli Gardens, an amusement park packed into the middle of the city. On Tuesday, we had a bus tour of Copenhagen. Unfortunately the weather took a turn for the worst, so it was cloudy and rainy for a bit.

Despite the weather, I had a great time in Denmark. Soon we moved on to the next country, the Netherlands...

The Netherlands
Something about the scenery in the Netherlands really stuck with me. It was full of fields and pastures, but each house had its own yard with sheep and such, and some even had a moat surrounding their houses. We stopped at a cheese & clog factory and then had lunch at a small town on the coast before moving on to Amsterdam.

This town really reminded me of something you would see on Martha's Vineyard, MA.

In Amsterdam, we took a cruise of the canals and visited the Anne Frank house. I would have to say that Amsterdam was one of my favorite places of the whole trip, simply because of the interesting architecture and the overall vibe of the city.

Then, off to Belgium!

Belgium
We made a quick stop in Brussels to have a tour and some free time in the city. Fortunately I was able to meet up with one of my friends from NH on exchange in Belgium, so naturally we ate chocolate covered waffles.

Audrey's blog: http://audreyenbelgique.blogspot.com/

France
After our short stop in Brussels, we moved on to France. We went straight to Paris, where we stayed for a few nights. On Friday we had a tour of Paris by bus, roamed around Versailles, and took a cruise on the Seine, but on Saturday we were given a free day and night to explore Paris on our own... This was another highlight of the trip. During our free day we visited the Eiffel Tower (though the line was too long to go to the top), the Arc de Triomphe, and the Louvre. That night I went out with a small group of friends to a nice restaurant, where we ate escargot! (I actually wanted to try frog's legs too, but couldn't find anywhere that served it...) After that we roamed the Parisian streets (and metro) until finally getting back to the hotel.

On Sunday, June 10, we drove through France to Grenoble, where we got our first taste of the Alps... After an overnight in Grenoble, we continued through the French Alps, in the direction of Nice.

That's all for now... Coming soon: The rest of France, Monaco, Italy, Austria and Germany.

My Inexplicable Love of Mountains

The first week of the Eurotour has ended and now I find myself in Grenoble, France, staring at the great French Alps.

As we drove from Paris to Grenoble today, the landscape slowly turned from flat to hilly to slightly more hilly, until finally, we were surrounded by mountains. Ever since spending a few weeks in Salzburg, Austria, two years ago, I have loved the Alps and I am so happy to have them in front of me once again.

This year, while living in Estonia, I have missed mountains. Estonia is relatively flat in the north, and more hilly in the south, near Tartu. In fact, the highest point in the Baltics is located in Estonia (known as Suur Munamägi or "The Great Egg-Mountain"). But these small, rolling hills--however nice they may be--do not compare to the Alps. Even the mountains in my home state of New Hampshire do not compete.

Later this week we will be going for a hike in the Dolomites in Italy... Admittedly it is one of the things I have most looked forward to throughout this trip!

Springtime in Estonia pt. II

Tomorrow I am going to Tallinn with my host family, then on Sunday heading to Finland to start the Eurotour!
I probably won't have the opportunity to make a post until after I get back from Eurotour on the 20th of June, so, before I finish packing, here are just a few pictures from the Tartu University Botanical Gardens that I took last week when the weather was nice:

And relaxing on the Emajõgi afterwards...

See you in two weeks!

Evening Drive

This evening I went for a drive with my host dad and host brother to see Lake Peipus, which forms most of Estonia's eastern border with Russia. The lake is large enough to not be able to see across it, and it's the fifth largest lake in Europe. We drove along the coast a bit, making some pit stops, and reaching our destination of Mustvee before heading back through Jõgeva to watch a bit of the town's laulu- ja tantsupidu (singing and dancing festival). Then we got home and watched the finale of Eurovision, a Europe-wide song competition. Sweden came in first, but Estonia came in sixth (out of 26 finalists)! Here is Estonia's song: Kuula (Listen) - Ott Lepland

And here are some pictures from today:

One week until Eurotour!

Springtime in Estonia

Tonight I completed one of my exchange goals.

There I was, walking home at approximately midnight, when I started thinking, "I have done so much this year... but what else do I still want to do and see?"
I remembered reading about all the wildlife of Estonia, and how it's one of the most forested countries in Europe. I remembered reading about moose, wolves, bears, foxes... but there was one animal, above all the others, that I had hoped to see.

As I continued walking, I realized I probably would never see that animal, and that I was out of luck. My time had run out. So, I despairingly rounded the corner to walk down my street and, to my surprise, there, standing proudly in the middle of the road, was...

...a European Hedgehog.

Thus I can die happy.

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In other news...

On the third of June I'll be heading to Turku, Finland to start the infamous Eurotour. Eighty-six exchangers take part in this 2.5-week trip through central Europe.
We will start in Turku (about seven hours north by ferry and bus from Tartu) and take an overnight cruise to Stockholm, Sweden. There we have a few hours, after which we'll head by ferry to Copenhagen, Denmark. Then begins the long, long bus ride... We'll be driving through Bremen, Amsterdam, Brussels, Paris, Grenoble, Nice, Monaco, Verona, Venice, Innsbruck, Nuremberg and Berlin.
Then we'll all fly back to Helsinki and head to our respective host cities.

In total we'll be visiting nine countries! (Sweden, Denmark, Germany, Netherlands, Belgium, France, Monaco, Italy, Austria)

Of course, look forward to many pictures when I get back in mid-June. I'll have about two weeks left in Estonia after I get back from Eurotour... I'm officially flying back to the US on July 3.

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The sun was shining today so I decided to dust off my macro lens and play around with it again:

Alas, a measly beetle was the only insect I could find...