no regrets.

We had our first vacation.

And it was well worth the wait.

We left Vilnius for Tallinn, Estonia at 10:30 PM on Thursday night, which meant we had to sleep on the bus. Luckily, we all had two seats to ourselves and the long row of seats in the back was open, so Shelbi and I shared those so we could lay down. The 8 1/2 hour bus ride went pretty quickly so that was good. 

Tallinn was absolutely amazing. People always talk about going to Italy, France, Germany, and England, but they don't realize how beautiful the smaller cities are in countries that are not talked about. We were able to drop off our stuff at our hostel early in the morning and then we headed out to explore the city. Actually, we explored the city every day. We just walked all over Old Town, and every time we did we would see something that we hadn't seen before. It's pretty safe to say that we now know the streets of Old Town Tallinn very, very well. 

I absolutely loved seeing all of the old buildings, walking on cobblestone, and eating at little cafes. It' all a big part of the European experience. Along with going inside all of the cathedrals! Seeing all the intricate details and the artwork. It just blows your mind.

 

Along with walking around Old Town, we also rode on a ferris wheel (the operators were just a little sketch, but it made for a good laugh), walked to the Baltic Sea, and walked around a mall.

Oh and I almost forgot! When we walked inside a little antique shop we heard someone else speaking English. I don't remember who asked who, but turns out the guy was from Georgia! I don't remember where exactly, but his name is Justin Gray. So if anyone knows him, let me know. 

Along with seeing the beauty of Tallinn, we also had a fabulous time at our hostel. The Monk's Bunk is by far the funnest hostel I have stayed at. First of all, we were in a shared 10-bed dorm. So in our room along with us we had a German guy, a Slovenian guy, a Japanese guy, and a Ukrainian guy. The Japanese guy didn't speak much English and the Ukrainian didn't either, so we didn't talk to them much. But we became good friends with the German, Felix, and the Slovenian, Nejc. We talked to them for awhile in the common room the first night, along with a Grecian, Giorgos. It was so neat getting to talk to all of them! 

Then after that conversation ended, I somehow ended up playing cards with 4 Australians, 1 Spaniard, 1 Russian, and 2 other Americans, one of them being another girl in my group. It was so much fun! I had no idea how to play the game so one of the Johnny's helped me (there were three playing). After playing that a few times, the rest of my girls joined while others left. We stayed up until 2:30 am playing cards and talking. It was so much fun! 

Saturday night Shelbi and I played pool with some of the Australians. We had been playing earlier so we had warmed up a little bit. Hobsy and I were a team, while Shelbi and someone else were a team...I can't remember who. But Hobsy and I won! So that's all that matters. Then I ended up playing again, but I don't remember who or what happened. But I do know, that I ended up having to get on the table to try to get the 8 ball in. That was quite the site. I spent most of the rest of the night hanging out with them. Then towards the end of the night I ended up hanging out with some Grecians with the rest of the girls. And come to find out, some of the people in our hostel also live in Vilnius studying at the university here! So now we have friends in Vilnius!

It was just so neat meeting people from all over the world and being able to walk around the hostel and saying hey to random people you met the night before but they are just as excited as you are to see them and talk to them. It was such a great experience. 

Sunday morning we left Tallinn to go to Riga, Latvia. That was a tough goodbye. We checked into our hostel and then hit the streets of Old Town. It seemed a lot smaller than Tallinn but it was still beautiful! I honestly never get tired of seeing Old Towns and their buildings. I could do it forever. 

 

That night at the hostel I met a guy from Bangladesh, who lives in Canada, and another guy from Singapore. It was so cool getting to talk to them and hear all about their travels and what they do with their lives. 

Monday I got a message from Felix saying he was coming to Riga and he asked if we wanted to meet up for lunch. How awesome is that?! The German we met in Estonia wanted to me for lunch in Latvia. I still can't get over it. International friends for life. We walked around for awhile and then met up with him for lunch. Then it was finally time to head home. 

It was hard heading back to reality, but it felt so nice walking into my little apartment and into my room. 

Overall, it was an amazing vacation. I have no regrets. 

Andrew and I obviously can't take pictures. Unless they're selfies.

Johnny and Hobs! 

Giorgis from Greece.