Finland and Estonia

I just returned from an exciting weekend with my friend Anna in Helsinki, Finland. First, the weather was actually good. It only rained one day, and of course it was the day we were in Estonia. Otherwise, as Anna told me, the weather was unusually hot. Global warming at its best. My first impression of Helsinki is that is has an eccentric population. Anna and I sat in the city park for a few hours just people watching. It is amazing how creative people can get with their clothes, hairstyles, baby carriages, etc. We would play guess where this person is from games. Apparently, Finland has a Swedish population as well. I was surprised to see a Russian influence on the city. Overall, Finland is a mix of modern times and still displays proof that they were once occupied by Russia. Everyone that we met were friendly and helpful. And, luckily for me spoke some English.

I loved Estonia! It definitely appealed to the romantic side of my nature. The streets were windy narrow cobble stoned paths leading always uphill. I know that is impossible but it did seem like we were always going up. The city boast a still standing castle and the longest surviving city wall. It was a medieval paradise and included a cheesy tourist restaurant with the men servers wearing green shorts and red overalls in the "medieval" style playing awful beer wenching music. Estonia also has a love for handicrafts. I bought a nice handmade wooden mug for Charles and a small wooden rectangular bowl for myself. They also have lots of things made of wool and linen. Some of the stores sold only yarn. It was very colorful. And cheap. I would go back to Estonia if given the chance and bring a camera next time. opps.

Visitors

For the past few weeks, Charles and I have had visitors from San Diego. It was such a breath of fresh air to have familiar faces in Brussels with us. Having company also allotted me the opportunity to learn more about the city where we are currently living. It also gave me the chance to be independent from Charles. He went to visit Prague and Ibiza while I had my friend Adrienne here. As he can attest, I was scared to entertain by myself. My only European experience thus far has been shared with Charles. My biggest fear was getting terribly lost. Charles is our navigator. We have come up with a great system of my planning what we are doing and Charles planning the "how to get there's." Now all of a sudden, I had to play tour guide AND get us there. I did great. I was even able to practice a bit of French in Paris.

Normally Charles speaks French when we find it is necessary. Every now and then I will whisper the words to him, but for the most part I keep my mouth shut. I know this is a terrible thing to do and I will never learn the language this way. I am slowly getting more comfortable practicing. It's just difficult because my brain thinks like an educated woman, but the French words I know are at the level of a first grader at best. I even find myself watching silly French cartoons.

Having company helped me realize that I am finally settled here. We have met amazing people and hope to meet many more. We have started traveling which was the main reason for moving here. And, I can navigate the city without getting lost! We even have a few places we can recommend for food and beer. Both Charles and I have our favorites beers here. His are a bit more adventurous than mine though. I am a girl and like the fruity ones.

So far, our adventure in Brussels has been fun. Neither of us regret the decision to move here. Our only wish (complaint) is that Charles' job isn't that great. However, he is thinking of trying for a different position so hopefully that will get better too. However, even if he doesn't get a different spot in NATO, we are here for the duration and plan to make the best of it!