5000 miles without a scratch.

Hi everybody! I have arrived in Estonia, safe and sound. I left Friday evening, flew to Chicago, waited a couple hours, flew across the Atlantic Ocean overnight and landed in Frankfurt, Germany at about 7:30 am our time, 1:30 pm their time. My old friend Robert and his mom met me at the airport b/c they live in Frankfurt now (Robert grew up there). We spent my 4-hour layover walking around downtown Frankfurt and catching a few glimpses of local life. I rode the train and got a bratwurst on baked bread from a street vendor.

Bratwurst with Robert.


Then it was off to Tallinn, Estonia, where I arrived at 9 pm their time, 2 pm NC time. Janet and Frank picked me up at the airport, and we went straight to their house. I got settled in, spent a few hours catching up with my old friend Janet, and then I showered and went to bed, where I slept soundly for 10 hours. That's the most I've slept in months!

The train station in Frankfurt.

Today I visited my first Estonian grocery store, (a chain here called Rimi) and then Frank, Janet and I walked all around "Old Town", or the old historic part of Tallinn where I checked out some major landmarks (like the Nevsky Cathedral and the former KGB headquarters) and got my bearings, along with some local currency. It was chilly and drizzling off and on all day, so I'm glad I packed warm clothes and Janet has an umbrella I can borrow. But Old Town is beautiful: winding cobblestone alleys, towers, spires, big block-shaped soviet style buildings, heavy wooden doors with ornate carvings. This is where the tourists love to go, but it is not really tourist season right now. From walking, using the trolly, and looking out over

the city, I learned that it is quite manageable of a size to navigate. This evening I had dinner at Janet and Frank's house, learned a few basic Estonian words, emailed with my local contacts, and used borrowed maps to figure out how to get to each of those church & nonprofit locations tomorrow. The picture above and to the right is of me coming down the stairs of a museum in Old Town here in Tallnn. Below is a picture of Frank walking with Gunner (the miniature schnauser) down an alley characteristic of the area. It is 11:55 PM Estionian time so goodnight!