The Rest of April

Finally taking the time to catch up on the rest of April. If you haven't noticed, we've been pretty busy lately. We haven't been home or finished supper before 9:30 the past couple of weeks. Which means little time to blog. Let's just say we are making the most of our time, as it's getting shorter and shorter!

So... to finish up our Spring Break trip. We spent the rest of the week in the Baltic countries, Latvia (Latvija), Lithuania (Lietuvos), and Estonia (Eesti).

After we got back from Nice, we repacked and reloaded. The next day we flew to the capital of Latvia, Riga. We toured around the city for the day, seeing the changes in the past decade.  Latvia has had its independence for only a few years. They became their own country in 1993, gaining their independence from Russia. We could see the communist affects on the country, especially the capital. The buildings were very drab and run down. On the other hand, there were several new buildings, big, tall, and fancy. They didn't fit in very well with the rest of the city. They are definitely still in the rebuilding phase. The city wasn't one of the most beautiful ones we've seen, but learning the history was quite interesting.

Then next day we drove four hours up to Tallinn, Estonia. This city has a different story. Estonia has had it's independence for longer than Latvia. It wasn't quite as run down and had more up to date buildings. The capital city was quite beautiful. It wasn't touched by World War 2, so the city is still in its original condition. The wall around the city still fully stands, protecting the rest of the city. The small roads that run through the town were crowded with small shops, several of them filled with wool clothing. This was definitely my favorite place in the Baltic.

Part of the outer city wall.

Inside the city walls

As we were walking along the wall, I had to stop to build a snowman!

This is the president's home, placed right in the middle of the city.

 We laughed about how it compares to the white house. Similar in size and style.... but this one we could walk right up the front steps!! I was going to knock on the President's front door!

We drove back to Riga the next day before heading to Vilnuis, Lithuania, a four hour drive south. This country wasn't much different from Latvia. It was also run down, but showing signs of rebuilding. We stopped to see a national park and castle on the way.

The least exciting part of the trip.... the four hour drives each day. There wasn't much at all to see as we were driving. The roads were lined with trees, but that's all there was to see. Also, the speed limit was 90kph..... which is a whole 54mph. To you Iowans, that prolly doesn't seem like a big deal. But we're used to driving 90-100 mph..... so this was super slow to us!

Over all it was a good trip. It wasn't the most exciting with the most beautiful things to see, but the history and the changes made it very interesting. We got back Sunday night, just in time to write lesson plans, check email, and get ready for work the next day.

Next trip for us coming at the end of May. By then.... school will be almost over, Jay will be close to giving up his command position, and our house will be being packed up! Lots of changes coming around the corner.