Singing Revolution

Tallinn - the capital of Estonia. A country who's entire population is less than Los Angeles, Phoenix, Indianapolis. At roughly 1.4 million inhabitants, it has a population just a little smaller than Milwakee. I only planned on staying in Tallinn for two days, but it turned into six. I always said that during this journey I wasn't going to stick to a solid timeline; that I was going to allow myself the flexibility to come and go as I wish. If I desired to stay longer, I would, and if I wanted to leave sooner, I would do that as well. It started in a bookstore: the day before my original proposed departure I went to the bookstore to get some new reading material for the four hour train ride I had. There I met an Argentinian/Swedish guy with whom I exchanged numbers and met up with later that night.

Shots in Tallinn

 I met his friends, one Spanish, one Estonian, and spent the night on the town. I met some American basketball players that are in the European league who invited me to a game the next day, I met some locals and other travelers, and was convinced to stay at least another night. It continued to unfold and turned into a great week; all of which was made possible by my generous host allowing me to stay with her some extra nights. But alas, I tore myself away and went to Tartu, which is where I learned about The Singing Revolution!

"Welcome to beautiful Finland - #1 country!"

According to Newsweek, I just spent the last week in the World's Number One Country! The United States ranks number 11. Judge for yourself here: (http://www.newsweek.com/2010/08/15/interactive-infographic-of-the-worlds-best-countries.html) 

I stayed with the family of the wife, of a friend of mine from the Marines. When he found out I was in Norway, he said that he and his wife would be visiting her family in Helsinki during the first couple of weeks in September. I thought it would be a great opportunity to meet up with an old friend and see the town with some locals, so I coordinated my travels to be in Helsinki while they were there. I had no idea what I was in for!

I was welcomed with all the warmth often reserved for family. Within minutes, I was offered a drink: vodka or whiskey - I opted for the whiskey... And so began a long week of indulgence... or perhaps it was more than a week? The family is originally from India and emigrated to Finland over 30 years ago for education and work opportunities. They were able to create a very comfortable living owing to many of the reasons the country is now Number #1 overall in the world. This is something we were all happily reminded of multiple times a day with nearly every toast. "Welcome to beautiful Finland - #1 country!" It was said with such joy that I never got tired of hearing it, and in fact started saying it myself! 

For 6 days I ate like a king, drank like an unruly prince, and laughed like a hyena. I gained 4 pounds, have new laugh wrinkles on my face, and I'm pretty sure I need a new liver. But it wasn't ALL fun and games. I did actually see the city, learn history, and talk economics and politics.  I spent time with an amazingly generous and fun loving family that took me in like part of the family. I was sad to leave, but had I not left when I did, I may have just ended up moving in! Now, on to Estonia and the rest of the Baltic nations.