estoniaX

It's time for bed. And time to get up will come before most of the readers of this post have even gone to bed. The good news is that even though we're getting up at 3:something AM local time, the sun will be up! :) We're meeting in the lobby at 4:15 AM to head to the airport for our 6:30 AM flight to Amsterdam, where we'll have a layover of about 2 hours before we head back to Atlanta for arrival around 2:00 AM EDT. So we're within 24 hours of being home...or at least to ATL! :)

Great last day: nice bus ride to Tallin at 9:00 AM (larger, newer, less crowded--and with a working bathroom!).

We arrived at about 11:30 AM, ready to take Tallin by storm. ;P

We took a streetcar to the hotel, which is conveniently located near old town Tallin, and then we went for a nice, but relatively quick lunch of Estonian food. Then we spent the afternoon walking around old town Tallin. What a cool place! It's a really, really great city and I wholeheartedly recommend you check it out! We can't thank our friends Veiko and Hanna enough for spending the day with us, showing us the city! A highlight was the view from the bell tower of St. Olav's Church, the tallest church in the city, and when it was built, the tallest church in the world.

Veiko and Hanna even stayed with us through a nice stop at a coffee shop, where thanks to their guidance, some of us got the most amazing "chocolate sludge" drink: it was like drinking a chocolate bar--indescribably good!

Our final touring of the day was of the Toompea Hill, which features some more amazing views and a lot of interesting and important historical buildings and other structures.

We headed back to the hotel after that for a short break and Hanna and Veiko continued to hang out with us through that and through a final amazing meal out in Estonia (wonderful Italian!).

We turned in early tonight in the hopes of getting a bit of sleep before that early, early morning that's just around the corner. Speaking of which, I better head off to bed....

Before I go, a quick injury update: the biggest issue for Shannon S was a little swelling that I believe has gone away completely so she's back off Injured Reserve. Also back in the game is Chris, who has bounced back from his fall (his shoulder still hurts, but he's doing well overall). Thanks for your prayers! Unfortunately, Shannon H is still suffering greatly from her fall at the ice skating rink; please continue to pray for her.