Petree-Kirkpatrick

                                Our vacation came to end after a few days in Pärnu, Estonia.  Pärnu is the summer capital of Estonia and was a perfect way to end almost a month of travel.  Our AirBnb was nestled between the downtown area and the beach on the Gulf of Pärnu. The kids were able to get in the water a couple of times and we took a few journeys through the town and along the breakwater area of the harbor.  One day of rain found us in a hotel waterpark and on the last day the kids worked over a ropes course for a few hours.  Rhonda presented at a conference during the last two days of our stay prior to returning to Narva.                                                  

After leaving beautiful Cesis we took the train back to Riga to spend a few days.  We happened to arrive in time for the 150th year celebration of the founding of the Latvian Society.  There were festivals and events happening city-wide.  It was great to be involved in the celebration and we learned a lot of history of Riga.  We strolled through the old city and among other great sights we found a great cafe called Black Magic!  We also explored the Riga Market - which happens to be the largest market area in Europe.  The market is housed in five old zeppelin hangers and has everything from fresh fish and other meats to vegetables, beer and all types of household goods and souvenirs.  One stop shopping! Military Museum detail The old castle - the current presidential residence Bremen Town Musicians Definitely read about the history of this monument - google: "1905 monument Riga" We also spent a day exploring Riga's historic

Seems the theme of our Latvian vacation is coming up churches and castles!  After a night in Riga we took a train two hours north to Cesis, Latvia.  Our time in this city has turned out to be the best couple of days we have spent thus far!  We explored a medieval castle and church and spent time enjoying the old town.  Our hotel was in the heart of the old city - our travel agent Rhonda did a great job pulling this trip together.  We traveled back to Riga on Thursday and we will spend a few days exploring Riga before traveling back to Estonia. 

After spending the last five days in Narva we are off again!  These past days were the perfect time to explore our new city, check out both the college and the school Lillian and Owen will attend, and find an apartment.  We found a great spot that we will move into September 1.  Our new home is located on the north side of the city within close walking distance of stores and the school.  Although a bit away from the city center, it is still only a 15 minute walk to the college.  One of the benefits of the location is the proximity to a recreation area that features hiking and ski trails. A highlight of this past week was learning more about the history of Narva.  We attended a reenactment of the Battle of Narva as well as an event at the Castle depicting the early 1700's. Today we leave for Riga, Latvia.  We will bus through Estonia and spend a total of 3 days in Riga and 2 days in Cesis, Latvia.  We will then travel north to Parnu, Estonia where we will spend a tota

After a long day of travel from Helsinki we arrived in Narva.  Our airBNB host met us at the Bus station and shuttled us to our apartment where we will spend a week exploring the city.  We will also visit the local school to register and discuss Lillian and Owen's upcoming school year.  Rhonda will meet with the university officials as well.  The past few days have found us moving about the city.  The pictures above show the Russian castle across the river in Ivangorod, Russia as well as the Narva castle (Rhonda and Kids are in front of the Narva castle :).  We have found the city to be easy to navigate and the old town area is beautiful - especially along the river.  In the next few days we hope to secure housing for the year and then we are off to Riga, Latvia before arriving in Parnu, Estonia where Rhonda will present at a conference.

Just a few shots from the trip across the Bay of Finland.  The two plus hour trip was hectic getting on and getting off with all of our gear but the cruise ship experience was pretty neat.  The parting shot of Helsinki is of the market square area.  In Estonia we were met by Embassy officials who helped us navigate through the capital, Tallinn, to the bus stop.  Next stop Narva!

Monday August 6th. It is now time that we wrap up our summer vacation in Helsinki, Finland.  It has been a great four days!  We have explored the city visiting a number of museums, historic churches, and shops.  A few highlights include swimming in a pool complex that has a Baltic sea pool and visiting the historic military sea fortress island of Suomenlinna. It has been a whirlwind since we left Hudson on the 31st.  Thanks to Brother Dan and Rhonda's mom Jeri we made it to the airport and caught our flight to Amsterdam where we laid-over for a few hours before arriving around 1AM in Helsinki - and after a few strange looks due to our 8 big suitcases we settled in! Today we will pack up those suitcases and board the ferry for the ride across Finland Bay to Estonia.  Our busy travel day will also include a 2 hour bus ride and a few taxi rides until we get to our destination of Narva.  Rhonda has found an AirBNB to rent for a week before we are off again as we travel