Spring Break 2025…Latvia, Estonia and Finland! Since having kids, we haven’t taken a trip overseas and I’ve been pushing to try it with the kids. Some people say young kids will not remember anything, or going on vacation with kids is just parenting in a different place. Both of those may be true, but we felt at 6 and 4 years old, the girls would be able to enjoy a new environment, and as a family, create unforgettable memories together. We decided on Europe as the flight times are reasonable-ish at 8-12 hours (not like 16 hours to Asia!), and not so overwhelmingly different from home that the girls would be uncomfortable. On the other hand, Latvia, Estonia and Finland would provide many new opportunities to interact with other kids in the park, experience new traditions, tastes and smells (our kids worst nightmare), or learn some new words in the local language. Though they may not fully appreciate it yet, this opens up their eyes to the different ways of life, which is so important!

As usual, the flights out of Chicago are considerably cheaper than flying out of Grand Rapids and with 4 tickets required, the drive to O’Hare was inevitable. To break up the drive and flight, we made a pit stop at Lincoln Park Zoo and had a stormy afternoon exploring the free zoo before heading to the airport. Our flight was overnight from Chicago to Warsaw, Poland with a short layover, and then Warsaw to our final destination of Riga, Latvia. The girls were pumped to watch movies and endlessly munch on chips, while Sarah and I were hoping they’d sleep the whole way there. Both sides got what they wanted  The girls devoured their Doritos over Moana 2 and passed out for the remaining 7 hours. They crushed it. Our fears of an extended flight time with antsy girls were extinguished .

We landed in Riga, Latvia in the evening after a short layover in Warsaw and took a $25 taxi to our hotel located on the outskirts of Old Town Riga. As we only had 3 days in Riga, we had no time to waste! After the girls took out their 5 minutes of pure joy jumping on the hotel beds, we threw on our outdoor gear and found a place to eat in the Old Town. After a delicious meal and a cold local brew, the travel day hit us like a rock. We all passed out early, only to be woke up by the girls at 2am as their body clocks hadn’t adjusted . Thankfully after 2 hours of coloring at 3am, we were able to get back to sleep.

A requirement for our family when traveling with the girls…a hotel pool. The Baltics, turns out, knows how to have a pool area. The hotel “spa” area included steam rooms, hot tub, a cold plunge pool, saunas with varying temperatures and of course, a swimming pool. We spent the morning enjoying and “pampering” ourselves with the pool facilities.

In the afternoon we hit the medieval-esque Old Town walking along the cobble streets, keeping our eyes out for souvenirs and treats. The loop took us through the Old Town to the House of Blackheads, to St. Peter’s Church and along the riverside where we found a playground and the Freedom Monument. The girls also got their first souvenirs, a highlighter and wooden phone .

That evening, Neeva randomly suggested we take a bus to a restaurant instead of walking, so we hopped on the bus and ate dinner at local burger joint and ended the night with a flight of craft beer from Nurme Brewing Company on the outskirts of downtown Riga. Successful day in Latvia.

The next morning after another night of coloring at 2am (time change can be tough), I woke up early to grab our rental car as we were going to be roadtripping from Riga, Latvia north to Tallinn, Estonia. Having your own car on travel days is the best. Being able to leave, stop, eat, pee, sing at the top your lungs, whenever you want, is priceless. Although, trying to grasp the flow of traffic and local traffic laws in an urban location is always interesting. What’s the worst that could happen? Just don’t slam into a tram!

From Google Maps, the drive time was approximately 4.50 hours if driving straight through. As our Latvia stop was mostly city, we wanted to also see the nature side of these countries. Our first stop was a pull off along the Baltic Sea and the girls ran around in the sand and practiced their cartwheels. Funnily, I could’ve swore we were in northern Michigan. The landscape, sand and water definitely had some northern Michigan vibes. Guess we could’ve driven 2 hours north vs. a 12-hour plane ride  As we crossed the border into Estonia, we stopped in the beach town of Parnu and navigated to the seaside park and boardwalk to burn off some energy.  

9 hours later, we finally made it to Tallinn, Estonia. Again, after the mandatory jump on the beds of the new hotel, dinner consisted of chicken with a side of a game of Go Fish.

Like Riga, our hotel included a great pool area full of saunas, hot tubs and a pool. After breakfast most days, we’d hit the pool for a couple hours. It was the girls’ favorite part of the trip and Sarah and I were able to take turns relaxing in the saunas. After we got our swimming fix in, we packed the day pack (and Noa’s purple backpack full of her treasures) and put our walking shoes on.

Within a five minute walk was our first stop, Tallinn Old Town. Similar medieval vibes as Riga Old Town, but much larger and livelier. Our first glimpse of the flower market at the castle-like entrance to Old Town was like something out of a storybook.

We spent the afternoon strolling through the alleys and climbed our way up Toompea Hill to get a panorama view of the city. The girls had a blast running through the castle grounds and towers.

That evening we grabbed a flight of beer and food from the largest and most popular brewery in Tallinn’s craft beer scene, Pohjala Brewery. The beer was tasty and the girls loved their ice cream smores.

Outside Pohjala brewery were electric mopeds, so Sarah convinced me to make an account and take a spin on the “vespas” to the seaside. If you ask the girls, the “vespa” rides were a highlight of the whole trip!

The next morning we grabbed coffee and pastries from Rost coffee shop and enjoyed the Estonian version of a cinnamon roll outside in the chilly weather. After wandering through Old Town the previous day, our day was wide open to meander through the other parts of Tallinn.

We ended up at Balti Jaama Turg, which is a three-level market hall with food, clothing, vendors and eateries. We grabbed some grub and an IPA form Humalakoda brewery which was in the market hall. As we debated grabbing a taxi back to the hotel to avoid the 45 minute walk, Sarah and the girls convinced me again to take the “vespas” for a ride. We ended up taking the vespas all the way back to the hotel…and received lots of stares from the locals on the way! Ended the evening with a trip to the pool where we met a lovely family from Norway. Great company and conversations.

Ferry boat day! To get from Tallinn to Helsinki, Finland, we booked a 2.5 hour ferry. When I first booked the ferry, I was imagining a boat similar to what you would take to get to Mackinac Island, but I was way off! The ferry turned out to be a cruise ship, with multiple restaurants, coffee shops and stores across multiple levels. There was even a large playground area for the girls to horse around in. What a fun way to travel.

A portion of the Euro trip was scheduled around a visit to Tampere, Finland. When I studied abroad in Taipei, Taiwan in 2011, one of my roommates, Tuukka Salo, was from Tampere, Finland. We kept in touch over the past 14 years, but we haven’t seen each other since the day we walked out of our dorm in Taipei. After talking about getting together for years, we were finally making it happen! Tuukka and his wife, Karoliina graciously invited us to stay with them in their home and we were so excited to meet the family and live the Finnish lifestyle with them for a few days.

From the ferry port in Helsinki, we boarded a 2 hour train from Helsinki to Tampere. Another wonderful surprise was the kids play section on the second level of the train car. The girls loved it!

We were welcomed to Tampere with Tuukka and a welcome sign their kids drew for us. It was kind of a surreal moment for me, finally reuniting with my close friend from 14 years ago. So, so good to see Tuukka! We loaded up the luggage into his car and made the quick 5-minute ride to their flat located in the city center. We were welcomed by Tuukka’s wife Karoliina and their 3 boys, Voitto, Toivo and Oiva and to an enormous feast of local Finnish food prepared by Karoliina. Over cow’s blood black sausage, we picked up right where we left off and enjoyed catching up and getting to know Tuukka’s family. Voitto, the oldest boy, has been learning the accordion so Karoliina and I joined him for a mini-Finnish jam session .

We had no plans and no requests for our time with Tuukka and his family. We only wanted to experience their day to day lives and what a typical weekend looks like for their family. The next day we walked to the local soccer stadium to watch Toivo play soccer and eat at Hesburger, the local fast food joint for lunch, a highly recommended restaurant by the boys. The afternoon was spent roaming Tampere, making stops at playgrounds and parks, and soaking in the family life.

The following day, Tuukka and Karoliina had to put in some hours at the office and the boys had school, so we had the morning to walk around Tampere on our own. Sarah finally mustered up the courage (unlike me) to jump into the lake with other Finnish ladies to do the cold plunge, which is a very normal and very regular outing for Finnish people.

We promised the girls we’d stop at Flying Tiger, which is a Miniso type store, selling knick knacks and crafts for cheap and of course, the candy store. After work and school, the family took us to their local public pool so we could experience the sauna and swimming pool. I probably shouldn’t type out verbatim what the girls said during their sauna experience, but let’s just say there was a lot of hairy, old naked people in the sauna  no shame! The evening was spent at home hanging out altogether playing games and building lego’s.

It was time to sadly say goodbye to Tuukka and his family. What a truly unforgettable experience for all of us. We’re so grateful to Tuukka and Karoliina for their incredible hospitality and for so generously opening their home to us. Having four adults and five kids under one roof for four days is no small feat, and they did it with such warmth and kindness. There may have been a language barrier with the younger kids, but the smiles, giggles, and shared moments putting together puzzles or playing Finnish folk music spoke volumes—it was a fun and eye-opening adventure for both our kids and Tuukka’s. Priceless. Until next time!

After a 2-hour train ride, we were at our last segment of the trip in Helsinki, Finland. After 10 busy days of moving around, everyone was excited to relax a bit and enjoy the hotel and we didn’t plan anything huge for Helsinki. On top of that, Helsinki was pretty cold. The girls were not too excited at the thought of walking around outside for 5 hours in the snow and wind. Our hotel was a 15-minute bus ride from the city center, which would typically not be ideal, but the hotel had the best spa facilities yet. There was an incredible rooftop with a swimming pool, hot tub, cold plunge and saunas, which the hotels in the city center did not have.

We did get to the city center for a day and climbed the stairs to Helsinki Cathedral in Helsinki Square and strolled through the winding neighborhoods surrounding the square. To get out the cold, we stopped for a flight at Helsinki Bryggeri Brewhouse and went back to the hotel for some more swimming.

Our last day, we were supposed to leave at 4pm for an evening/overnight flight direct to Chicago, but I checked my phone at the last minute to check and our flight was cancelled and re-scheduled to the following morning. The re-scheduled flight ended up leaving at 8am with a total travel time of 15 hours (including 4 hour layover), which is not ideal when flying with kids. To our surprise, the girls crushed the flight home! Getting a meal on an airplane, eating snacks and watching movies was one of the highlights of their trip .

Spring Break 2025 to Europe was a complete success! From roaming the old town squares to indulging in the local food, every day was an adventure. The kids had a blast, making memories and forging new friendships, while we soaked in the sights and way of life. There were plenty of laughs, along with a few chaotic and stressful moments (like trying to figure out which leotard Noa wanted to wear that day!), but in the end, the good moments definitely outweighed the tough ones. Whether it was visiting iconic landmarks, playing go fish, eating cow’s blood, or just sharing meals together, this trip was filled with memories we’ll always remember!