Tallinn, Estonia: A Quiet City With a Difficult Past

We've been on travel for the past five days and this is the first chance I've had to get on here and write about it! A terrible error indeed! This trip has felt like two or three trips all jumbled into one as we flew into London, spent one day at Windsor Castle and Stonehenge; one day in Britsol where we got to meet the fine folks at Trunki (!!!!!); and then we headed off for Tallinn Estonia. Since the other places we've been are pretty typical on the average travelers itinerary (well maybe except for the meet up with Trunki) I'll stick with Tallinn for now.

Tallinn is an old city that has been beset with invasion after invasion over it's time. In ancient times it was the Romans and the Vikings. In more recent times it was the Nazis and the Soviets. Tallinn seems to be trying hard to cut ties with it's interloper past and prove that it is a city, and a country, of its own. During WWII it was first taken over for a short time by the Nazis who then lost it to the Russians. The people of Tallinn certainly seemed to suffer under the Russian occupation with many people being sent off to Siberia, foreign Russian workers brought in to "russify" the area, and a take over of their economy. After the fall of communism in Russia, though, Estonia worked hard to get back on its own two feet and looked to make itself more like the west. Today Tallinn is quite a popular tourist spot for many Europeans and Scandinavians and it seems to be doing well for itself.

There are some drawbacks to all this popularity for tourists at least. Namley the cost of things. Now I didnt expect to come here and be able to go on a giant shopping spree but when it's $10 just for a fridge magnet I'd say teh price of things has gone a little overboard. Granted we've been hovering around the prime tourist trap areas and I would expect some level of inflation but really, comon, $10 for a magnet? I saw a hat I could easily have made for myself selling for $35! Ouch! The food is good and our hotel is once again exceptional thanks to TripAdvisor.com (my new favorite website) but everything else has been a hit to the pocketbook and almost a turn off.

There are good parts though. There are parks EVERYWHERE, Maya loves all the old cobblestone streets and there is some really beautiful architecture here. I've been impressed with the beautiful wood carvings here. We went in one church that was covered with intricately carved wooden plaques made whenever the patriarch of a prominent family passed. Also, many of the buildings have beautifully carved doorways and walls. Maya loved the Estonian Hisotory museum and we found a great many coffee shops and sweet stores to pop into for a break from the cold.

Over all Tallinn has been a nice break from the business of back home. Despite not being able to buy my VERY IMPORTANT useless bric-a-brac at a reasonable cost I would say Tallinn is nice if you want a little taste of history with some lovely walks and beautiful scenery.

Here are some of Josh's beautiful pictures as always

Top Ten Ways to Keep Your Sanity While Traveling With Kids

People are always asking me "How do you not go crazy when you're going all over the place with a kid." Well some of it's me but most of my ability to keep my cool has been learned through a lot of trial and error. Believe me, I've been there and done that in pretty much every situation and it's not always been pretty. The following list gives my main ways of keeping everything under control and running smoothly.

10. Take Less Stuff: I've said it before and I'll say it again. TAKE LESS STUFF!!! You seriously don't need a whole house full of stuff to keep your kids happy. Look at a travel packing list made by parenting websites and magazines and then cut everything in half. Those lists are great if your going to Grandma's for a week and dumping everything but NOT if you are going to be on the move.

9. Schedule Time to Take a Break or Have a Lazy Day: When traveling with kids this is a really crucial element. They need to have time to be lazy, watch TV, take a 3 hour nap, act stupid, etc. They need time to be themselves and if their entire day is jammed full of sightseeing followed by a sit down dinner, a night walk and then bed time you're only going to have very unhappy kids for a week. I can't count the number of times we've said "That's it, we're calling it a day" at like 1 pm. One time I actually left Josh to walk around with our friends in Spain so I could go back and take a 2 1/2 hour nap with Maya because we were so exhausted. I needed it and so did she. Learn to recognize that and don't be afraid to say you or the kids need to stop.

8. Keep Snacks With You At All Times: For kids, and people like me who are really sensitive to their sugar levels, this is important. Hunger can make you and your kids tired and cranky faster than a tour through a tin can factory so keep a variety of snacks with you. Make sure you have some kind of protein; be it bars, meat sticks, peanut butter crackers, etc.; because while crackers and pretzels are easy to take, they get metabolized the fastest and will just send you crashing.

7. Make Your Expectations Clear: Believe it or not, kids do better when there are set rules, especially on travel when following rules are a must. When you are traveling with kids, especially little ones, they NEED to know exactly what you expect of them. I do this with Maya. When we go somewhere where she needs to stay close or be quiet I let her know in simple terms and I repeat it and have her parrot it back to me frequently. 9 time out of 10 she's loved it because she feels like a big girl when she's done well. We won't talk about the 10th time.

6. Have a Reward System: Let your child know that they WILL get something out of going to all those boring museums, churches, and tours that you want to do. This is an important part of traveling for us. It teaches Maya compromise and allows us to do the things we want to do. We keep our eyes out for things we know she likes such as playgrounds or an ice cream stand. When we see them we note where they are and strike a deal when we're about to do a grown up thing. "If you're good in here we'll take you to that playground." Yes, it's bribery, but when your traveling with your kid it's a no holds barred situation.

5. Agree With Your Partner In Sharing of Care: If your traveling as a couple or traveling with friends, agree BEFORE you go as to the sharing of care. When we travel, I am the primary care giver for Maya. Now, people look at that and say "Doesn't it bother you that Josh doesn't help more?" The fact is, no it doesn't because we have agreed to that system and it works for us. Josh takes pictures, I watch after Maya. Josh knows, though, that if I have trouble with my asthma or if I start feeling tired he's got to take over. Your system may be different but the important thing is that you discuss it beforehand so no one ends up feeling like they got the short end of the stick.

4. Always Have a Plan B: Stuff happens, it's a fact of life, but you can't let it get you down. That's why I always say, have a plan B. That way when stuff doesn't go as you planned you can quickly say "OK, we'll just do this," without it ruining the rest of your day or the rest of your trip. This goes for everything but ESPECIALLY money. Always have a backup plan for money. That way if something really happens (like your wallet gets stolen) your not at a total loss.

3. Don't Let Your Itinerary Rule Your Life: I see so many people do this. You casually ask, "So what are you doing on your trip?" It's then that they take out their 12 page itinerary. Josh and I have found it's much better to set small goals for each day of the trip. Figure out what you definitely want to try to see before you leave on your trip, but don't necessarily schedule a time to see them. Each day pick a couple things on your list to do. This way you see the things you want to see but leave yourself time to discover things you didn't know about.

2. Give In to the Moment: This is one of the hardest things for adults to do. Stop looking at your watch, stop checking your email, stop planning every little detail. Give in. Waiter taking forever? Give in! Some of the best meals I've ever had were three hours long. Stuck in a rain storm? Give in and play in the rain with your kids. They will remember that more than some museum. Let go of your adult life and think like a kid for a few moments a day. You'll thank yourself later

1. BE PREPARED!!!!!: This is absolutely THE MOST IMPORTANT THING. I'm not talking about making sure you have enough socks. I'm talking knowing about where you are going. Average temperature, seasonal weather patterns, transportation options, greetings and customs, appropriate attire, even the political climate and current events. All of it is important. You don't want to plan a trip somewhere only to find out when you get there that it's monsoon season. Get a map of the area and study it. If it's a city, get information on all the transportation options and plan your routes to areas you will want to go to. Which is easier, figuring out the London Underground in your living room or when you're actually at a station? Pre-buy tickets if you can. Get multi-day museum or park passes. Often times, it will also save you money in the long run. Also, as dumb as it sounds, look at the geographical information if it's an area of the world your not familiar with. You may get the shock of your life to go someplace close to the Mediterranean only to find out its at 9,000 feet above sea level. A bit nippy?! Also check out information pamphlets for areas at various state and government sites. When traveling internationally I always check the U.S. State Department Consular Sheets, the WHO and/or CDC, and also the tourist board web site for the area I'm going to. They all help immensely.

There's always much more, but if you generally follow these tips you can rest easy that you'll have a well planned and, hopefully, stress free trip no matter where you are going.

We Have A Launch!

SQUEEEEEEE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! So, Josh has convinced me to go down to Florida in November to do Disney...again. I'm not sure why, but I just haven't been looking forward to the trip. Maybe it's because we just went to Disneyland not that long ago but, for Maya's sake, I'm willing to suck it up and go. Anyway, Josh was looking around at other places to go while we are there and said "You know, I've always wanted to go to Kennedy Space Center. I wonder how far away it is." Whu...what? Did you just say Kennedy Space Center? As in THE Kennedy Space Center? As in the place I've wanted to go to since I was like 6 and saw the movie Space Camp? My nerd heart skipped several beats! I love, love, love space stuff. Anything to do with space. NASA, space shuttles, the International Space Station, deep space satellites, space telescopes, any show with the word "star" in it. You get the drift.

As it turns out, Kennedy is only about an hour from Orlando. Awesome. Oh and for $60 you can have dinner with an actual astronaut. Even more awesome! Oh and Discovery is set to launch while we're there. SOMEONE GET THE SMELLING SALTS CUZ I'M GONNA PASS OUT!!!!!!!! Now given NASA's track record on launches it will probably be delayed but still, even if I could see it on the launch pad...I just don't even have words. If we get to be there to see the launch I think I will actually squeal with delight. That would be even more awesome than the World Cup and that's sayin something!

I'm not so sure Maya will like it. I think I'm going to have to work on her a bit. When I told her about it she thought we were going to get in the space ship and go see aliens. I tried to explain that we would just be watching astronauts go up and that they wouldn't be seeing any aliens but she still didn't like the idea. I don't know what I would do if she were too scared to watch it. With the shuttle program being phased out in just 2 years I don't think we'd ever have another chance to see one launch. Quick, someone tell me how to make her think aliens are cool!

What Would Mary Poppins Do

Well Maya has definitely taken clothing choices to a new level. Now she doesn't want to just wear something that matches. Oh no, she has to dress up as someone else. I've actually taken to asking her who she is in the morning so I know what to offer. This morning, first she was Wendy from Peter Pan and then she decided that she was actually Mary Poppins. Thankfully Wendy and Mary both wear the same dress it's just that Mary wears an Easter hat and carries a Tinkerbell umbrella around with her. Oh yeah, and she speaks in a high pitched English accent too. Who knew!

After getting Ms. Poppins ready for daycare this morning I was thinking "What am I going to do on trips now?!" Is she going to be like Cybil and need outfits for every personality or will she accept her fate of wearing what I tell her she has to wear. Usually, Maya's pretty good at being practical when she needs to be but lately, as evidenced by my blog about her behavior, she's swinging towards the "independent" side. Maybe the time has come to actually have her pick out her own clothes to take. Then if she's missing an outfit when she feels a Captain Jack Sparrow day coming on, she'll know that she's got no one to blame but herself...oh and her first mate, me.

Maybe I'll just sing her "A Spoonful of Sugar" and find some dancing cartoon penguins. That way I can get her dressed in something normal while she's occupied with the show. Think Dick Van Dyke is available?