Estonia

Tallinn

We are woken in our dark windowless cabin by the sound of an Estonian voice over the p.a. Feeling a little worse for wear after drinking mixed drinks of Swedish cider and Finnish vodka and that our cabin was directly above the disco-tech that went till 4am.
When we ride out of the boat with our passports on the ready we are surprised to find no custom or passport inspection. We are on the lookout for Marcus' second cousin Katrin and we see her waving and introduce each other. 
Katrin takes us for a ride through the cobblestoned lanes of Old Town on the way back to her place, a lovely wooden apartment block very close to the centre of Tallinn.
We unload our bikes and head upstairs to meet the rest of the family. Katrin's husband Üllar, kids Aron and little Nora. Katrin prepares us a lunch of soup using Estonian cantarella mushrooms from the local market and a hearty homemade dark rye bread.
We chat and eat in the backyard under the shade of beautiful maple and apple trees.
After lunch we all set off to explore Tallinn on bikes and head to an open air museum that is set up like old Estonian farms. One of the farms that belonged to my great great grandparents and has been transplanted to the museum. Katrin was excited to show me. Unfortunately the farm house was shut when we arrived but after a couple of phone calls an older Estonian woman appeared she seemed a bit annoyed but still unlocked the doors. When she found out we were relatives of the family that lived in the house she became very cheerful telling us about a relative that was a famous Estonian sculptor. There was even a family tree with Marcus' dad and grandparents listed.