24 hours of dining......

Jen and I struggled navigating our way into downtown Stokholm, the signage for the bike paths was minimal, unlike the excellent signage on country roads.  But that was okay cuz there was a Goldsmith, Brltek (spelling) on his way to work on the bike path and he led us in.  We chased him (and his unloaded bike) along the path and into the city streets and all the accelerations made it feel like a criterium at the end of a week long stage race.  He stopped at his place (his own custom jewlery shop) and directed us the rest of the way to the ferry.  We had our tickets by noon leaving us 4 hours to check out Stokholm.  And our legs were zapped.

We stopped at the first cafe I saw for dining experiene number 1.  It was a great spot according to those we asked and we ordered up a pizza and beef plate...excellent.  And chatted with a couple nice locals outside under the awning as it rained.  Lots of people on bikes there and everyone was so much more laid back than in the states.  People all dressed up commuting thru the rain on bicycles too...  We followed that with a trip down Kings street (like Bostons Newbury street only way better) to Stokholms old town which was great.

Then it was off on the ferry, the Tallink, to cross the Baltic sea to Tallinn Estonia, 400k to the east.  It was not the cheap ride we intended but posh instead and featured the best buffet dinner I ever had....dining experience 2.  I got stuffed, especially on the cured raw salmon and the kaviar.  The boat was so luxurious that Jen said "I feel like Im on my honeymoon, then I look at you".  I sure had a great laugh!  Actually Oracle Jens boyfriend Kyle should be joining us for a week or so mid September which I am looking forward to.  Especially after one time Jen mentioned that he brought her coffee in bed once and sort of asked me if I would and I responded with "I dont think Im qualified".  She had a good laugh that time.

The next morning started with dining experience number 3, the breakfast buffet.  And, of course, I got stuffed, again.  It was good but not exceptional.  I have made better breakfasts in my opinion.  So I made a sandwich for the road and snuck it out.

3k from the ferry in spectacular old town Tallinn we found our youth hostel, checked in, and set off on foot.  Our mission, find water treatment drops or a filter.  We walked to the address Jen found online, which took a while.  The address turned out to be just a warehouse with a  repair garage with Russian/eastern bloc style fencing around.  Not going to give up I hit an intercom button on the back door, said we were looking for a water filter, and we were buzzed in.  Tarmo, who is on the company board, said we had found the corperate office and gave us directions to the real store in town.  Fun guy to hang out with and spoke great english.  We succeded in our mission when we finally reached the retail MATKaSPORT which was a very very cool store.

Then we ate another buffet (dining number4) and walked thru old town.  Old town Tallinn is a tourist trap but so spectacular that I highlly reccommend it.  Features great cobbled streets, countless old buildings (including the oldest town hall in Europe and a church that was supposedly the tallest building in the world at one point).  People in Tallinn are real laid back, except while driving they are on the throttle so obey those crosswalk signs.  Minimal traffic in the old town

I am so full from lunch and the past 24hrs that I still havent eaten my Tallink sandwich yet

last picture of Stokholm

first picture of Tallinn