THA BALTICS BABY!!!!

We went on a "Baltics Cruise" for our vacation and what made me laugh was how right when we stepped off the ship into the 3 different countries, my first thought was, "What is this??? People... SMILING???!" and then when I re-entered Russia - FROWNS, hahaha. You gotta love it!

To get to the train, we had to use a micro-van to the metro. We got picked up by a maniac! Us 6 were the only ones in the van and he kept blabbing off in Russian to us. As he drove, he was swerving like a drunk man...I was scared for my life for a second!!! But then right when he picked up another Russian, he stopped talking and drove straight.

We didn't get to spend much time in Finland - just a couple of hours, but I liked the feeling that Finland gave. It was really relaxed and felt fresh. My favorite thing we did was as we were passing the Helsinki cathedral, we explored the inside cause it was FREE (yesssss!!!) and just our perfect timing! We got to sit through one of their prayer services and it was really beautiful. Finland and Sweden are both MOOSE COUNTRIES!!! Seriously obsessed... they had moose magnets, pencils, aprons, mittens, hats, shirts, notebooks, name it and there was a moose somewhere on it. I felt appreciated, haha. I liked each country for its own reasons. Like I said, Finland was relaxed and I loveddd Estonia's city of Tallin! It was SO cool and one of the most beautiful places I've been. It was like stepping into the medieval time period!!! There were castles, fortresses, and towers all over the city.

This is one of the MANY
candy shops in Sweden.

Sweden was probably my favorite stop (social wise). It was the most full of LIFE! Everyone was smiling, singing and dancing down the streets of Stockholm (I naturally joined in of course!). My dad (THOMAS WALDO..BEST PADRE EVER!) is actually jealous of me...YESSSS!!! (we're Swedish). Let me tell you about my favorite moment: me and Brea took a break from walking. We had been trying to find the Swedish Royal Palace for a little bit and just our luck, the 1 o'clock guard ceremony was taking place across the street. The crowd parted like the Red Sea and traffic was stopped because you weren't allowed to drive past the soldiers.  I thought to myself, "ohhhh my goodness! I SHOULD MARCH WITH THEM!!!" and I pushed my way through the crowd and marched right alongside the Swedish soldiers. I waved to the Swedish people and they were smiling and waving back. Where we were going? I had no idea :) We were marching up streets, turning corners, going through alley ways...I followed them for a pretty good 15 minutes and we arrived at the Royal Palace!!! Sweet, my destination! That's when I decided to dash off into the crowd...I couldn't really follow them beyond this point (well, maybe I could have; possibly resulting arrest, hahaha). My father would be so proud of me :')

Best way to end the last night on a cruise ship? Go dancing at one in the morning. Dance like crazy, completely sober of course, with a good bunch of hammered Russians. The old man that is dancing the night away with a big fat smile across his face is the best. He likes to push you into the middle of the dance floor for you to do a solo dance, hahahaha!!!

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I really am so blessed for the amazing opportunities that I get to have in my life.. the things I get to see, the people I get to meet, the things I am able to do and experience. God is so good. If you ever doubt, don't. Just look outside and there is your evidence right there... the sun alone shining. The clouds going by. Snowflakes falling... everyone, enjoy the moments that matter the most. Something unfortunate that happened on my trip was losing my wallet, but I couldn't even dwell on that while I was looking at the sun setting in Finland, dancing with the people of Sweden, or looking at the tall towers in Estonia... count your many blessings (www.mormon.org)