We left Tallinn very early, flew to Amsterdam, changed planes and flew to Bucharest, Romania.  We were met by a driver and taken to the hotel.  My first impression is of a beautiful city with huge old houses that are now foreign embassies or private homes.  And the city is full of beautiful and big gardens.  Our hotel is nice and we walk to a restaurant and have sour soup, chicken and mushroom blitzes and grilled chicken wings with cucumber sauce.  Back to the hotel to await the group we will tour with.  (With whom we will tour).  We meet for dinner in the hotel at 7:30…we have a mother, her two daughters (one in high school one in college) and a friend of the girls…from Switzerland.  A man and wife from Holland.  Two sisters from Holland…one speaks a few words in English.  A woman from Australia traveling without her husband, a woman from Australia traveling without her boyfriend, a college professor (French History) from Boston and two men from Brazil I am presuming to be partners…they speak Portuguese.  We have our guide, Peter who speaks English and Romanian and a second guide, Michael, who speaks Romanian, English, French, German, Spanish and Italian.  This language situation sounds a little like the Towel of Babel.  Wonder how confusing this will be?  Guess we will find out.

Today, we went on another tour near Tallinn, Estonia.  There were eight of us with the guide.  The guides we have had the last three days have been young, smart and really know their stuff.  All under 25 with at least three languages they are fluent in…English, Estonian, Russian…then Spanish or French or German.  Today we went to a beach.  Very Sandy with not too many people on a day that was a bit chilly.  Then we headed to another waterfall and Forest area.  The waterfall was more impressive that yesterday’s fall, but not as tall.  On the property was another Manor house that looked like a castle, and there was a small chapel next door.  We went to a wind farm, making electricity and it abuts a defunct nuclear power station.  It will be able to be dismantled in the 2040’s.  It does nothing now except store nuclear waste.  Then we went to lunch at a small pub.  We are outside under a cherry tree near a mint and rhubarb patch.  I had borscht, port roast studded with garlic cloves, and boiled potatoes with dill and sour cream.  Did I ever tell you that we cannot get dill nor sour cream in Italy?  Well, we can’t   We had fresh rhubarb cake right out of the oven.  Another wonderful meal.  Off we went to a monastery built in the 1200’s for Cistercian monks who helped bring Christianity to Estonia.  When lightening hit the monastery centuries ago and it burned, a manor house was built across the courtyard and today it is a  lovely hotel.  From the monastery, we went to a prison.  At one time it was so low security, they allowed prisoners to go home for two weeks at a time. It later became a maximum security prison and now it is empty and will be dismantled at some point.  Originally the prisoners worked at a limestone quarry next door.  After the prison was closed, the area around the quarry was flooded and today it is a huge lake with some big cement block houses in the middle.  Lots of people were there sunbathing today, and swimming and kids were climbing inside the house to the second story and jumping into the lake.  One of the guys on our tour had brought a suit, so he changed and went swimming..said it was very cold and very refreshing.  Past of the Baltic Sea freezes in the winter and people are allowed to drive on it.  Very strict rules…under 20 km per hour or over 70…less vibration for,each of these speeds to avoid ice break up.  You cannot wear a seat belt…the only time that is allowed…and the door to the car must be cracked open a bit.  Sounds a bit outside my comfort level…and can you even imagine how cold it must be for the sea to freeze solid enough to drive on?  The last stop of the day was to see a defunct Soviet aircraft.  Today, it houses a model airplane club inside.  We got to go inside and sit in the cockpit and even climb on the roof.  Even though they tried to scrape off the Red Star off the wings and tail, they can faintly be seen.  We were asking questions of the guide, when a darling 14 year old boy with flaming and curly red hair and freckles said, ‘I can answer the questions for you’.  Perfect English..considering he is from Greeley, Colorado with an American mother, Estonian father.  They are here as Naptist missionaries.  The young man, Theo Magi (pronounced Maggy) flies a model glider, wants to be a fixed wing pilot in 4 years Whe. He is old enough.  He was so smart and personable…and I told him Imwas going to keep an eye out for him!  Evidently he had placed 2nd in an important model airplane competition this year.  Tomorrow, bright and early, we head for Amsterdam and then Bucharest, Romania for an 8 day tour of Romania.  So that is all of Estonia.  It is a beautiful country I wouldn’t mind visiting again.  But NOT in the winter!  Good night.

Today we met our tour group to go to the Lahemaa National Park in Estonia.  There were 6 of us.  Two ladies from Austria and a young woman from Tokyo.  And our guide, a darling 22 year old ‘wealth of knowledge’!  First, we went to the largest waterfall in Estonia.  It was lovely, but I’ve seen bigger waterfalls at private swimming pools.  The water is low this time of year and it would be more spectacular of the width were larger as it will be later…and in the winter when it freezes I imagine it is beautiful.  We then went to a Manor House.  A HUGE house in terrible state of disrepair.  It was built by the Teutonic (German) Knights during the 1500’s.  When Hitler called all Germans back to Germany, this family left and now a private family has bought the Manor and wants to restore it and make it a hotel.  Don’t think this will happen in my lifetime…but it will be spectacular when and if it is finished.  We then went to a Russian submarine de-magnetization station from the Cold War.  The submarines would get magnetized going thru the water…something to do with physics…so they would wrap wires around the submarine to de-magnetize it so it wouldn’t show up on radar.  I never could get a real grasp on how this was accomplished, as the place is pretty much in ruins…but it is in a beautiful cove off the Baltic Sea.  As a side note: Estonia has 1500 islands and some are for sale.  Finland has only two islands.  They are NOT for sale. On our drive today we saw a Moose Crossing sign.  Saw no moose!  I would have loved that.  The. We went to a little fishing village to a home and museum to have lunch.  The owner of the museum has collected boating antiques and memorabilia for years.  He and his brother hold the worlds record for underwater swimming!  Quite a character.  He is also an artist.  He smoked salmon steaks for our lunch in a big metal smoker and they were the best I’ve ever eaten.  We sat outside in a little covered patio area, looking at the sea.  Huge bowls of boiled potatoes with dill were passed and a cucumber/sour cream sauce.  Had black bread and butter, honey, coffee, tea, strawberry water and blueberry cheesecake for dessert.  A fabulous meal!  After lunch we went to another little fishing village that had old style typical houses with a reed roof.  Done properly and maintained they last 50-60 years.  In a park, there is a swing.  Estonians hold an Olympic record for swinging.  This is a big wooden thing with platforms and handrails.  Six people get on the swing facing each other – three on each side standing up. And they start swinging, and this thing can go 360 degrees over the top bar!  How they hang on is beyond me…must be another physics thing!  The girls tried it and I took pictures.  I may be a lot of things…crazy perhaps, but I’m not stupid!  One of these house we saw in this village had a bid moose head carved on the side of the house…protection from evil spirits.  Then we drove to another Manor House…this one completely restored.  The out building consist of a museum, a hotel and restaurant and several cottages, perhaps part of the hotel.  This is a popular place for weddings and a beautiful setting.  Once a year, there is a costume ball and people rent 18th century ball gowns for the event.  This place was built by another Teutonic Knight family…and left when Hitler called.  Our last stop was The Bogs.  During the Ice Age, this part of the Baltic Sea was a frozen mass.  As it warmed, water was trapped and became a bog.  The water is acidic and no bacteria can live in it, but they have found perfectly preserved bodies in the bog.  It is a beautiful area…first a forest with pine and spruce and lots of small blueberry bushes as undergrowth.  We picked and ate the tiny wild blueberries.  Going further in towards the bog, the terrain changes to stunted pines, lots of heather and some funny flowers at the end of a stark bare stalk.  These white flowers are poisonous and dangerous.  If there are too many in a bog area, just smelling them can make a person dizzy and disoriented.  They can be used in small, proper amounts for medicinal purposes and are part of the rhododendron family.  Walking thru the bog, there is a wooden bridge the entire way so you don’t get bogged down!  We came back to Tallinn and went to dinner.  I had cucumbers…tiny ones sliced with a sour cream and honey sauce and a fish soup.  Clear vegetable broth, dill, carrots, tiny onions and chives, potatoes and pieces of salmon and cod.  Delicious.  Home. Hot Shower. Bed.  A great day with our 9 hour tour!

Today, we had an almost 4 hour walking tour.  Our guide was a lovely young lady who was born here, but has lived in Scotland, so she has a wee bit of a brogue.  We started by seeing some of the buildings and churches in Old Town and then climbed about a jillion stairs up to the Old, Old Town way above the city.  There you can see the watch towers and parts of the original medieval walls.  And, there are some spots to overlook the town below and another spot to see the Baltic Sea and the ships.  And a hot air ballon!  We continued on to the Parliament building that was in session today as noted by all the cars in the parking lot.  Across the street is a beautiful Russian Orthodox Church with black onion domes.  We went inside and it is very beautiful with many altars, huge chandeliers and stunning icons.  All of the women wore head scarves.  At one time, the Soviets wanted to tear it down, but there wasn’t the money to do so, so they left it.  Most of the other churches in Talinn are Lutheran.  After the church, we walked thru a market place where all kinds of things are sold daily:  clothes, shoes, household items and beautiful fruits and vegetables.  Jars of pickles, berries, honeys, and there is a meat market inside a building.  The market is made up of small stalls.  We then Walked thru a beautiful park with children playing and lovely fountains.  A little dog was playing in one and in another two boys were racing their boats made from two plastic bottles tied together with an attached sail.  Looked like little Lego people were attached to help steer.  We found out the park had been a cemetery, dating back to the 1500’s, but during the Soviet occupation (after WWII) they decided to bulldoze the cemetery in the 1960’s.  The bodies were left in their graves.  Just no tombstones any longer.  Oh, that was another thing for sale in the market…different granite or marble tombstones…ready for engraving.     Then we walked to an area full of wooden houses that were built by the Russians after WWI.  They are apartment houses, with small apartments.  Many are covered with peeling paint and in need of scraping and painting, but some have been beautifully restored.  Many have the original gingerbread trim and all are colorfully painted.  The we walked along a path and could see the harbor of the Baltic Sea.  There are ferry boats leaving hourly for Finland, and if we had known about them, we would have gone instead of booking tours.  It takes two hours to reach Finland.  There was also a mega cruise ship docked…so we figured we would see all of the cruise ship folks back in town.  Finally, we ended up back in the Old Town Square where our tour ended…and yep…the cruise folks were there enmasse.  There was a big market going on today in the square.  All sorts of small kiosks selling souvenirs of all kinds.  Wooden toys and kitchen utensils, lots of linen cup towels, place mats and table runners, knitted sweaters, hats and socks, stuffed animals etc.  We had lunch in the square and then We split up to wander and shop.  There is a pharmacy in the square that has been in continuous operation since 1422…that made it 70 years old when America was discovered.  I met a lady there…off the cruise ship,from Noonan, Georgia…and Imtold her I had been there…it is famous for its beautiful AnteBellum houses.  My friend, Susie and I drove the streets looking at the houses on our famous road trip years ago.  (But that’s another story!). I went into lots of little shops, took some pictures, bought water and some merangues and finally hobbled home to lie down awhile before dinner.  The stairs going up and down from the Old Old Town and all the cobblestones had plCes hurting I had forgotten I had.  At dinner time it was raining and we were tired, so we ate in the hotel…it was quite good.  Now, after a HOT shower and some ibuprofen, we are in bed.  More tomorrow after our forest tour…by bus.  See you then.  

I got up at 3 this morning…2.5 hours before the alarm.  You would think after all these years I would be over being excited about an airplane ride to a new place.  We went to the airport and caught our flight to Paris, then changed airlines and flew to Tallinn, Estonia.  It isn’t too far from St.Petersburg, Russia and is across the Baltic Sea from Finland.  We were met by our driver and were taken to a very nice hotel that is about a 10 minute walk to Old Town.  We went there for dinner at a place recommended by our Hotel.  I had Pork Shank, with turnips and loganberries.  Very good.  Andy and I shared a split pea soup that was delicious.  It had a big dollop of sour cream or perhaps cream cheese mixed with rye.  We ate some black bread that is a rye bread…it almost tasted like date bread…not at sweet, but very good.   This was a typical Estonian meal.  Also had some cooked shredded cabbage and roasted potatoes.  A heavy, but very good hearty meal.  Got back to the hotel and ready for bed.  We are hoping for smoked salmon and pickled herring for breakfast tomorrow.  We go on a walking tour tomorrow of Old Town, so will report on that tomorrow.  Good night!   

in case you are wondering where I am and why I’m not writing, it’s because I have become a slug!  It is too hot to go out and do anything.  Even a walk to the mini mart two minutes away leaves you ‘glowing’ (since ladies don’t sweat!). Air conditioning here is all in their mind….even a restaurant that says it is air conditioned really it isn’t!  If it is 100 outside, it’s 95 inside…and we are just spoiled for,great air conditioning.

So, we are just staying in and not doing anything of interest.  We do leave on Tuesday for Estonia and Romania…so will have something fun to share with you then.  Stay cool…if possible.

Last week we finally got to do a tour of the Domus Aurea.  This was built by the Emperor Nero after he cleared all the houses that were damaged by the fire in 64AD.   Gold leaf was applied to this palace of entertainment with 300 rooms.  There is no evidence of kitchens or latrines in the Domus Aurea.  Nero committed suicide in 68 AD and within 10 years the palace had been stripped of the marble, ivory, jewels and statues and within 40 years, it was covered over to build the Baths of Trajen on top.  It wasn’t until the end of the 15th century that a boy fell thru a hole and ended up in a beautifully decorated grotto covered with colorful frescoes.  The famous painters of the day such as Rafael and Michelangelo were lowered down into the grotto to study the frescoes and their influence can be seen today in the Vatican paintings.  There are some beautiful black and white marble floors done in quilt patterns.   There are also mosaics on the ceilings.  This was a big departure from the common mosaics on floors…but this style continues in churches.  There had been a lot of damage over the centuries by water and the elements.  Tree roots from hundreds of years old trees are growing into the structure causing more damage.  We had to wear hard hats on the tour.  As recently as 2010 a large part of a ceiling collapsed.  Mold is growing on the walls and damaging the frescoes that remain.  Excavation and research by archeologists continue today.  This was a wonderful tour…and it is across the street from the Colosseum…which perhaps got its name from a huge statue of Nero that was moved from the Domus Aurea by Hadrian, an architect and 24 elephants!  We have been staying in a lot due to the heat and humidity in Rome, but this tour was very comfortable and cool as we went from room to room.   There is a large octagon shaped dining room with a large circular opening in the ceiling, much like the oculus in the Pantheon.  One can only imagine how beautiful and elegant these rooms were when built.

Each camp was used to learn how to exterminate the Jews and Poles more efficiently and quickly.  In the beginning, the Jews were shot in the head and shoved into huge pits, covered with lye and then bulldozed over.  It was soon discovered that this was a slow and expensive process.  The Jews from Warsaw were brought to Treblinka on trains…only about an hour from Warsaw.  When they arrived, they were told to remove their clothes and they were herded to a gas chamber.  In the beginning, the Nazis used carbon dioxide to kill the victims, but this took as long as 20 minutes.  Later, Zyklon B gas was developed which killed the victims in a matter of minutes.  After the victims were dead, the bodies were removed and cremated or dumped into mass graves.  The Nazis destroyed Treblika fairly early after an uprising and destroyed all evidence of a death camp.  They replanted the forest.

Today, there are large concrete blocks symbolizing the rail tracks and they stop where the people disembarked.  There are 216 granite blocks with the names of the locations from which the murdered Jews came…among 17 thousand smaller granite blocks to symbolize tombstones.  Where the gas chamber once stood is a giant monument symbolizing the Wailing Wall in Jerusalem with a giant slit up the middle.  The only stone with a person’s name on it is that of Janusz Korczak, the man who brought the children from the Warsaw orphanage to the camp and died with them.  

More than 800 thousand men, women and children were murdered at this site.  Jews, Poles, political prisoners and  Roma Gypsies were the main victims of Treblinka.  

Today we started by going to the Jewish Synagogue.  The oldest is now a museum and the next oldest is an active synagogue being renovated.  We stood in the women’s gallery and looked into the area closest to the Torah where the men worship.  Behind the Synagogue is the ancient cemetery.  The Nazis destroyed the cemetery by naming the Jews dismantle the headstones to be used for building materials or to pave roads.  There are even bullet holes in some of the headstones because the Nazis used them for target practice.  Today, the broken headstones that were recovered make up the mosaic of the cemetery walls.  Many ancient Rabbis are buried here.

Next, we moved to the Ghetto.  The Ghetto square has many empty chairs in metal as a memorial to,the Jews who were taken from the Ghetto to the death camps.  Right on the corner is the famous Pharmacy depicted in the Movie, Schindler’s List.  From the Ghetto, we went to Schindler’s factory  that is now a museum.  After an excellent tour of the factory, we went to the main Market Square of Kraków.  Had lunch of a typical Polish sour soup with sausages and potatoes served in a large bread bowl.  It was excellent.  We then had a tour of the Cathedral which is very beautiful.  The square is attached to a second square with lots of activity: shops, restaurants, artists, kiosks selling souvenirs, children playing.  There is a bronze statue of a man standing on a bronze suitcase with a horn in his hands.  I was admiring the statue she the thing moved!  I about fainted.  It was a real person!  The children loved him.  After they got over the fright!  Then we moved on thru a lovely park area to the castle.  At that point I had to leave with a couple on our tour who were as hot and tired as I was.  We walked along the beautiful River back to the hotel.  I took a cool shower and slept for about three hours.  It was really hot today, but expected to be cooler tomorrow.  

This evening, we went to a typical Jewish restaurant.  It had at one time been a bath house for the women called a Mikva.  The food was wonderful…a,pickled purple cabbage as a salad, then roast goose and a potato and onion kugel.  I had never had goose, but it was very tender and good.  We had Apple crisp for dessert like the dessert at almost every meal we have had.  The reason is….Poland is Europe’s largest Apple producer and used to sell 70% to the Russians.  When the Russians quit buying, the Poles had to find another market…which they did, but they still eat a lot of apples locally.  We had a klezmer band that played during dinner and they were good.  As we left for the hotel it was pouring rain…hope it cools the temperature way down!  I’m in bed now and keep hearing booming thunder.  Good night all.

We didn’t have wifi at our hotel last night, so I am behind on the blog.  But I have decided to wait a bit to tell you about the Concentration Camps we have visited after more personal reflection and thoughts about them.  We have seen several, all very different and we will see Auswitz- Berkenau on Monday.  This has been an amazing tour and experience and it is something I think  deserves the time I need to tell you all that I can about these places.  But, Imwill tell you about today…we left Lublin early after a delicious breakfast and drove most of the day to Kraków.  We had a good lunch at a rest stop…I had kielbasa with grilled onions.  Just delicious.  The we went to visit the Salt Mines near Kraków that have been mined for 1000 years.  We rode down to the mines in elevators and went to four different levels.  All along the mine, we saw dioramas carved out of salt that gave a visual picture of the history of the salt mining.  Finally, after hundreds of stairs down to the bottom, we arrived at a huge chapel carved out of the salt.  Scenes from the Bible are carved into the walls, as well as statues, crucifixes, and a statue of JohnPaul II.  The crystals for the huge and magnificent chandeliers in the church are made of salt. It was really hot on the surface, but as far below as we were it was very cool..  This mine is no longer being mined for the salt, but itmismthe 2nd biggest tourist attraction in Poland, after Auschwitz.  After our tour, we came to our hotel, had dinner and are now ready for bed.