On to Estonia ...

I apologize for the sheer size of this post! Maybe one of my longest posts ever! There's just so much to share, and so many pictures! But I mostly write things like this, including lots of details, for myself (and for those who know exactly where I'm talking about).

After two hours of sleep, Adam, Brandon, Mason and I had an early morning flight taking us towards Tallinn. But first, we flew through Munich, and had a 10-hour layover there. We took a train into the city, and were somewhat uncertain what exactly we were going to do to fill the day. Thankfully though, I was with Texans! And Texans always seem to find other Texans - it may have had something to do with the large 'Texas' on Adam's hat, or the fact that their every word identifies where they come from - but standing outside a bank deciding where to head next, we met up with a fellow Texan, living in Munich working as a tour guide. He was helping to organize a group to do a tour of Dachau concentration camp, and invited us along, if we were interested. We decided it sounded like a good thing to do - and soon we were headed off towards Dachau with a tour group.

While I wouldn't say that the couple hours we spent touring Dachau were fun, I am very glad that we took the opportunity. I've heard other people talk about being overcome with emotion, and extreme sadness while walking through Dachau or other similar places - and I can fully agree. I couldn't even fully process what I was seeing - but to be in a place where, not that many years ago, incredible atrocities against humankind were committed, was very sobering. We walked through the reconstructed barracks, the 'Bunker' (which was used for torture), and the gas chamber. It was overwhelming, to say the least, and I couldn't help but wonder how we, as humans, are capable of such evil. I only took two pictures at Dachau, as I really felt it was a place that I shouldn't be taking any pictures.

After Dachau, we headed back towards the airport to catch our final flight onto Tallinn! Finally, at about 11 PM, we arrived at the Tallinn airport - and were greeted by many smiling faces! It felt good to be 'home'!

Now, I love travelling, and seeing new places - but there is nothing quite like going to a place that feels comfortable. Where you know the place, and the people. Where you've invested yourself, and developed relationships. And Estonia has become one of those places for me over the past couple years. I don't have to worry about what to expect there - because I know. And I love that! It felt good to return to one of my homes, and to walk its familiar streets, and hug so many familiar faces. I just soaked up being there - enjoying all my moments with friends. But I also really needed alone time while I was in Estonia - and it was SO good for me to walk through Old Town, or Kadriorg, or by the sea - and think, and process, and contemplate, and pray. I treasure all my times spent in Estonia - whether alone, with one friend, or in a big group - so much.

We had one day around Tallinn before Sunday, which meant church at Asunduse, and then heading out to Camp Balchyoca in the evening. I was up bright and early (and ready to get out in one of my favourite cities!), and walked from Asunduse to the Town Centre. I wandered through the Viru Keskus, and eventually made my way into Old Town. I've spent so much time in Old Town - but my heart still honestly flutters a little when I step foot each time into it. I made my way through the town square, and then up to each of the look-outs, spending time at each just soaking up the atmosphere! :) Mid-morning, I met up with Hunters (more friends from Texas), the whole Canadian crew, and the rest of my travel crew, and we soon made our way to Kompressor. Any time spent in Tallinn is NOT complete without a trip to Kompressor! So many memories in that place! We all enjoyed our pancakes, and then headed out for more walking around Old Town! By evening, we all converged back on Asunduse, and had a kick-off camp meeting! It was so fun to see even more familiar faces, and give lots more hugs! Finally, to end the night off, several of us headed out to Peppersack - one of the best restaurants in Tallinn - for an amazing steak dinner!

Contemplating being back in Estonia! :)

Me and all my Texan friends!

Sunday morning brought church at Asunduse - and it was so sweet to be back there, singing all the old 'classic' songs together! We had lunch at a nearby cafe, and packed up to get ready to head out to camp at 4 PM! People started arriving at the church slowly and surely - and soon we loaded up 3 big buses, and drove out to Camp Balchyoca!!

I LOVE Camp Balchyoca! Back in 2005, we heard so much about it during the summer - and I knew I'd love to actually go to it someday! Last year gave me my first opportunity - and it was an awesome experience! Camp memories are some of my best summer memories from growing up - and it's so fun to form even more camp memories, but even more importantly, to be a part of helping to form those memories for ALL the kids at camp! It's a unique camp experience - nearly 200 campers, and translated into 3 languages (Estonian, Russian and English) - but so much the same too! We spent the week singing, learning, playing games, swimming in the sea, laughing, eating, waiting in line to eat!, doing crafts, and just spending time together. I loved being all together at the same time with so many old friends - and making so many new ones at the same time!! It was definitely an unforgettable week once again - and I can't wait to go back! I'm pretty much hooked now! :)

With Logan

New friends! :)

The whole camp!

Beach time!!

Sweet action shot of me playing soccer!

Artjom's baptism

Heading back from the beach!

With a few of my favourite girls - Olga, Anna and Asja

Circling up to pray for supper, and then line up!

Sweet friends, Mare and Merlin

With Allan and Andrea

Devo at the beach on Thursday night

Fireworks on the beach

Heading up the 3-legged race station at the Olympics with Adam and Anna

My cabin (minus the two that went home sick during the week)
(L to R - Nika, Anna (my Junior Counsellor), Diana, me)

The only bad part of camp was that I ended up sick with a fever and sore throat by the end of the week. I had to miss a few fun times - but thankfully, I didn't have to miss out on too much. I wouldn't have been impressed at all if I had been sick for all of my final days in Tallinn. On Saturday, I took it fairly easy, going out for awhile in the afternoon, and then to see Eclipse in the evening with Anna, Andrea, Sarah and Victoria. After the movie, we caught some of the 3rd place World Cup game being shown on a big screen in a square just outside Old Town. There were so many people there!

Sunday brought a camp wrap-up church service at Miss Kate's new school, lunch at Lido (a Latvian restaurant - so delicious!) and some wandering through Old Town with some friends. Midway through the afternoon, I headed back to Asunduse, and spent a couple hours wandering through Kadriorg, and down by the sea. It was so beautiful! Sigh. How I love this place! In the evening, a whole bunch of us gathered at Nikolai & Olga's to watch the World Cup final between Holland and Spain. I had cheered for Spain in the semi-finals (which we watched crowded around a little TV out at camp) - even though everyone else was cheering for Germany, so I had to stick with them for the final. And they came through! Partway into the second half, Anna and I called scores on the game, and I called Spain winning 1-0 in extra time. And I got it exactly right - I'm that good! HA! Of course, Olga fed us some delicious food, even though the game started at 9:30 PM. I love that woman!!

On Monday, Anna, Adam and I had our own 'secret' fun day! It wasn't really secret - but we just didn't really tell anyone what we were going to do until afterwards! Anna got the car for the day, and we went on an Estonian roadtrip!! It was good times, for sure! We went to Rakvere Castle, and had some fun exploring, including trying out all kinds of swords, walking on stilts, and riding a wooden horse with Anna! We also ran into Allan (one of my favourite campers) at Rakvere - so it was super fun to see him again! After Rakvere, we went to Kuremae, and walked through the convent grounds, and then filled up all our water bottles with some delicious spring water. We enjoyed a delicious supper and good conversation at a restaurant on the way home, before arriving back into Tallinn late. Such a good day! :)

Rakvere Castle

Allan

Adam and Anna filling up water bottles at Kuremae

On my final day in Tallinn, I met up with the lovely Anna Banana for a little bit of shopping, and then some tea and visiting. She's so great! :) Then I met up with the boys and Anna, and we walked down to the port where all the ferries and cruise ships come in. Later on in the afternoon, a big group of us toured some of the tunnels under Tallinn, and then enjoyed some tea at a restaurant just off of Freedom Square. We spent more time wandering through Old Town, eventually making our way to the Kompressor for our final meal together. Our group changed in size as we moved along, some leaving, some coming. It always seems to work that way here - and you always seem to run into someone you know while you're out! After supper, we stood around on Town Square for a good length of time, until eventually a plan was made! We said goodbye to the LST girls, and the rest of us (me, Adam, Brandon, Mason, Ave, Triin and Iiris) walked down to the sea. We sat there for quite awhile, talking and wading calf-deep into the water. Siim and Anna eventually joined us as well, but soon we had to squeeze our last goodbye hugs to all these precious friends, as they headed off to catch the last tram of the day to take them home, and we walked back to the school to pack, and 'sleep' for the night. Those last moments on the beach with friends are nothing spectacular ... in fact, they're quite ordinary, normal moments. But it's a bunch of moments like these that make up all my favourite Estonia memories. Simply put - time spent together with friends. That's what makes life here so sweet.

Anna Banana

One of my favourite pictures that I took - walking through Old Town

The Tallinn LST team (I was an 'honourary' member while I was there!)

Daniel - I've known this guy for 5 years now, and he was a lot shorter back then! He has grown into an incredible young man, and I so enjoy seeing him whenever I go back.

Once again, the night was far too short, and the morning came far too soon - but on Wednesday morning, we were up bright and early, and bid farewell to one of our favourite places. We flew back through Munich, and into Rome, where we spent one more day wandering its streets, before all going our separate ways on Thursday morning.

Saying goodbye at the Tallinn airport

In short, an incredible trip. Exactly what I needed. :)