LEFTBANKED.

12.15.2021

843. Strasbourg

Time for another belated blog post! I've organized most of my photos from the past months now and I'm so overwhelmed with all the posts I still have to make lol. I still have many from Thailand and Croatia which were during the summer months. Then a lot from the quick trips in between - Bosnia, Luxembourg, Paris..and most recently these past weekends' trips to Riga, Vilnius and Helsinki. I realize now how many different cities we visited during this big trip. I'm now at Country #39 (my visited countries throughout my life)! I will get through all the blog posts *eventually* though as I always enjoy reading back on my life many years later. I do wish I kept up with the posts throughout the travels (so that I'm not months behind and can provide my thoughts for each day) but it was kind of impossible..

We're currently still in Tallinn (I finally got approved for the Digital Nomad Visa so I am allowed to stay!) which we will have as our base for the upcoming months/possibly the final months abroad.

Here are the photos from our trip to Strasbourg in October. I mentioned in a previous post that the main reason for coming to France was for me to get my COVID vaccine. Before Strasbourg we were in Munich (that I already posted about) and after this we went to Luxembourg. It was a very quick trip of only 2 nights, so we didn't get to see much but I really enjoyed it. I love their style of buildings. A mix of French and German influence.

I found these rooftop windows so cute and interesting. I learned later that (at least in Paris), those rooms are called "chambre de bonne" which were maids' rooms/servants quarters. They are tiny, like under 200 square feet and washrooms are communal. These days they can be rented or purchased for a low cost.

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842. Tallinn Part 2 | Back in Estonia

In between my previous blog post and this one, we have spent several days in Paris. Blog posts from that trip will come eventually. It was kind of a "last minute decision" to return to Estonia after that. Well, I didn't have many options anyways since it's the only Schengen country I'm allowed to be in at the moment. At the time of this post I'm unfortunately still waiting on the result from my Digital Nomad Visa application..the deadline is in a few days so that will determine what happens after Estonia (if I am forced to leave Schengen).

Now it has gotten a lot colder here in Tallinn and we even got snow a couple days ago, though it has all melted since then. The Christmas Market here is set to open tomorrow which I'm very excited for! I really love Christmas Markets in Europe, and I heard this one in Tallinn is rated one of the best. It's very sad that the markets of Germany are closed this year since they received an influx of COVID cases these past weeks. I've always wanted to go to the ones there. We were lucky to have visited (Munich) last month when it was still relatively normal.

Maiasmokk is one of my favourite cafes in the city. I really love cafes (or restaurants) in this style. It's the oldest cafe in the city, dating back to 1864, and known for their marzipan. Apparently they are the "birthplace of marzipan".

Pelmeni are Russian dumplings. I really love them.

I think this is the best rated restaurant in the city. It's called Rataskaevu 16 which is also just their address. I got the elk roast which was delicious.

This was Siga La Vaca, an Argentinian steakhouse. Of course I rarely order steak at steakhouses. I got the octopus which I was a bit sceptical about at first (I don't think Estonia is known for octopus) but it ended up being really good.

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841. Tallinn Part 1 | Around the Old Town

Now we are already at the end of our time in Tallinn, Estonia. We've been here for a month already and I'm only doing the first post from here now. I mentioned previously that I've applied for an extension to stay here longer (since my "visa-free" time in Schengen is ending) but they didn't get back to me yet. So I'm still unsure how the outcome of that will be. This weekend we will be going to Paris for a quick trip which will be the rest of my allowed days in Schengen..I'm sad we can only go for a few days (since it is my favourite city) but I guess I should be grateful to even go lol. Should have planned this out better.

I'm also sad to be leaving Tallinn. Even if my visa gets approved and we do end up coming back, I will miss the place we are staying because it's literally the perfect location and we have a lot of favourite daily spots that we go to. Tallinn is a very nice city to live but if you're coming just for the sake of tourism and sightseeing, there isn't much. A day would be enough if you're just coming for a visit. It's a fairly inexpensive place with prices between western and eastern European costs, the food is really good and there's cozy cafes which is important if you work online (like us). It feels like a mix between Scandinavian countries and Russia. There's also a nice mix of old and new architecture. So overall it is a pretty comfortable place. The only thing I don't like is that it gets dark at 4pm and it's pretty cold already.

During the month we were here I also wanted to do short trips to Riga (Latvia) and also Helsinki (Finland) since they are only a few hours away but due to rising COVID cases (and a lockdown in Latvia), we were not able to go. I would've reeeeally loved to visit St. Petersburg (Russia) again but I think the country is also closed now and I would've had to apply for a visa. The time here flew by really fast though. I have a few posts lined up for Tallinn. Here are some random photos from around the old town and our frequently visited spots.

Our belated 4-year anniversary dinner was at Tchaikovsky Restaurant. It was really good and I loved the restaurant decor. We had a tasting menu.

One of our favourite cafes that we now go to everyday (for a few hours to work/read) is Boheem. It's set in a large house with about 7 different rooms. It's really cozy here and I love this style. I wonder why there are not more "house style" cafes/restaurants in Toronto. I would definitely go lol.