The last week has been a whirlwind! My friend Andrew from college who is traveling though Europe visited me so we decided to take a weekend trip through the capitals of Latvia, and Estonia! This is a trip that I have wanted to do since I got here, and I am so glad that I got the opportunity to go. Before we left I got the chance to show him around Klaipeda which was fun since I know my way around a bit now, its always fun to be a tourist in your own city.
Being able to travel is an enormous blessing. I met so many wonderful people during my travels, and I always learn so much when I get out of my comfort zone. This past week before I left for my trip I got to have many wonderful conversations with students. The kind of conversations that remind me why I am here, why I love my job, and why I am a follower of Jesus. I can tell I consider Klaipeda home when I am sad to leave it for the weekend! Thank you to all of my followers and supporters. It is going to be interesting missing Thanksgiving, Christmas, and New Years this year but I know that I have a home here, and people praying for me all over the world, so thank you :)
Klaipeda
Here are some pictures of our time in Klaipeda. These were taken at about 4:30pm, this is how dark it is at that time in the winter!
Latvia
Next we hopped on a bus from Klaipeda to Riga, Latvia where I had my first hostel experience, and my first time seeing snow fall from the sky! It was so magical until I realized how cold I was. It continued to be magical from indoors :) Latvian Independence day was just last week so we got to see some of the celebration while we were there. During the day we went on a walking tour which I loved. We learned so much about the history of Riga and saw many landmarks that I normally would have just walked by without knowing they were important. At one point in the tour I was leaning against a wall we had stopped by, and the tour guide told me that the building I was leaning against was the sight of the last execution in Latvia....not such a fun fact.
It was incredibly beautiful to see the city freshly covered with the first snow of winter. I am in constant awe of God's creativity! If it took me 23 years to experience this form of beauty I can only imagine what else He has in store for me to marvel at!
A sweet little courtyard that looked like Christmas!
The steeple of this church has been replaced SIX times! There were a few reasons for its destruction but the most common culprit was being struck by lightening!
Estonia
Estonia was such a magical place. Tallinn was not really damaged by war like a lot of the other Baltic countries so it is really old, and has many original structures. This town is very Medieval, one day we had lunch at this restaurant called "Dragon" that is in the side of the old City Hall, it felt like a little cave really. They have no electricity, only candles, and they serve one meal, Elk soup and meat pastries. They had no utensils for the meal, and you could also fish pickles out of a barrel for free. It was an interesting experience that felt like a time warp.
We did another walking tour in Tallinn and learned that it is pretty much an Atheist country with a lot of churches left over. They wanted to make one of the churches in town an Atheist museum but that never happened, thankfully. They also called themselves E-Estonia because they are so technologically savvy. Estonia is responsible for inventing Skype!
Here is the Estonian flag, the blue represents the sky, the black the earth, and the white hope.
We were lucky enough to stumble upon a Christmas Market in the town square, there is no Thanksgiving here so Christmas comes early!
On the bus ride back home I had a few more hours in Riga, it was crazy to see that all the snow had melted so soon, the city had a different feel.
The blue dot is Klaipeda where I live and started this journey and Riga and Tallinn are labeled. Just to give an idea of the trip.
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