But within hours, I was in love with the city. Tallinn has officially been entered on my list of favorite places that I’ve visited. Here’s why:

It’s not too big. I hadn’t realized how much the hugeness of Kyiv has been bothering me until I got to someplace smaller. You can get around easily and the traffic’s not insane. In fact, Shawn and I almost had heart attacks on the spot when cars stopped for us to cross the street. Common courtesy and a respect for traffic laws - you have to love it.

It’s beautiful. We visited a couple different parts of the city and it was all lovely. Old Town is amazing and has one of the best preserved medieval walls in Europe. It was fun just to wander the streets, get completely lost, and then find that we knew where we were all along. The second day we headed a little further from the city center, saw some great parks and beaches, and wandered through the ruins of a 15th century convent. Very cool and not quite like anything I’ve seen before.

It feels like a hidden treasure. With the exception of the cruise ship crowd that took over Old Town on Monday, there were very few tourists. We went in two different museums and found that we were the only people there. When we got to the above mentioned convent ruins, there was only one other couple exploring it. Burma is the only other place where I have felt like I was seeing something really interesting and wasn’t completely annoyed by all the other tourists there with me.

It’s in the EU. So a lot of the people speak English (although we did switch to Russian once or twice) and there are modern amenities. Our hotel was great - it had a nature theme, which I loved. And we got to see two movies - in English!

Yeah. It’s love.

But how? One theory is that there is a day in every devushka’s life when she wakes up and is suddenly, tragically, a babushka. Her stiletto thigh-high boots have been replaced with ankle-high nylons and plastic house slippers; her breasts have shifted much too close to her waist; her Louis Vuitton handbag is now a plastic shopping bag filled with miscellaneous garbage; and, of course, her overly-dyed bleach-blonde hair is now back to its natural brown, streaked with grey, and tucked in a trademark babushka scarf.

I bring this up because I was a little worried that today would be that day for me — I am now (*gulp*) 30-years-old. Granted, I would not call myself a devushka — in Ukrainian terms, I tend to dress more like a middle-aged mother of three (that is to say, sensibly) — so I didn’t expect my downfall to be quite as extreme, but I have been feeling as of late that this birthday is more than just a number. I know, I know, I’ve always said that I wouldn’t be one of those people who gets all freaked out about turning 30, but now it’s here and it’s a little worrisome. Not that I feel any older, really, it’s just that I thought I would have things a little more figured out by now. That I would “have my shit together” as they say. And let me tell you, mine is all over the place.

This last year has been a pretty rough one for me. It goes well beyond culture shock and into the realm of having to do some serious work re-defining myself. Not an easy thing. But I’m getting there — I’m feeling better about who I am, the decisions I make, and where (literally and figuratively) that takes me. I feel like I still have a long way to go, but since I didn’t get things together for this milestone, now I have nothing but time until the next one. I’m sure I’ll have it all figured out by then…right?

These make me so happy. And they smell absolutely wonderful - I get a whiff of fragrance every time I walk by them. This arrangement is pretty much exactly what I wanted for my wedding bouquet, but was told that lilies-of-the-valley were too expensive in Indiana in June. I got these for the equivalent of about $4. I guess we should have gotten married in Ukraine in May. But who knows how things might have turned out then…

As you can see, I was not disappointed. All kinds of knitting goodies, sewing goodies, candles, and assorted odds and ends! And books full of projects to add to my always growing I-must-make-that! list.

Then, earlier this week, Shawn surprised me with an early present as well. (Although he swears it’s a gift from Peema…) So far this is turning out to be a pretty good birthday!

And just for your amusement, here’s today’s feat of flexibility as performed by Laika. Yes, she was actually sleeping this way until rudely awakened by a camera flash. And, yes, she’s all legs.

So last Sunday, we ventured out to the new Auchan hypermarket in the northern part of town. We assumed that since it was Easter, it would be quieter than normal at the store, and we were right. It was still busy, but I didn’t feel suicidal after the first aisle like I usually do at the grocery stores here. We didn’t really look much at the non-food departments, but they had an amazing meat and fish selection. And 90 check-out counters, most of which were open when we were there. With the aforementioned lack of customers, it seemed a little like overkill.

The first thing we noticed when we walked in was that the first two aisles of the grocery part of the store were filled with paska, a bread that is traditionally eaten on Easter. So I thought it was kind of weird that there were hundreds of loaves still in the store on Easter. Shouldn’t good Ukrainians have stocked up on their paska already? I mean, you’re supposed to get it blessed before you eat it anyway, so anyone that didn’t have theirs yet was seriously running out of time. But it was amazing to see the people buying loaves and loaves. I finally figured out that the big sign at the front of the store said they were Buy 2, Get 1 Free, and at a little over a dollar each, they were a pretty good bargain, but I still couldn’t believe how people were filling their carts with the stuff. And the staff kept bringing more boxes out!

Finally, as we were getting ready to leave, I looked at Shawn and said, “I know were not going to like it, but it’s our last Easter here.” (Yes, I am going to spend the next year referring to our “last” everything.) So we bought a loaf of paska. And when we decided it was time to eat it, we also decided that it would taste better with a shot of vodka (for all we know, that’s the traditional way to eat it anyway). However, not even the vodka could help this stuff. It was like eating dense, stale Hawaiian bread. So it pretty much lived up to our expectations.

However, our paska experience was not entirely bad as our housekeeper brought us some that she had made herself. Much, much better tasting than the cardboard purchased loaf. Of course, she told me that it took her 12 hours to make it, and I really have to question the worth of anything that requires that much of one’s time. I guess this is why they only have it once a year.