And so we've come to the end of the road

Today was the last day in the hostel, we woke up and went downstairs for breakfast for the last time. Some of us packed our bags the night before and some did it in the morning before we went out into town. We all filled up our water bottles, then we then gathered outside the hostel  and we walked into the lovely old town of Tallinn.

We all got into groups of about 4-5 and then Helen gave us money to buy lunch. Most of us found a McDonald's but some groups didn't and enjoyed a much healthier option! We got some souvenirs, pins and lots of other things to remember the amazing holiday we had! We can't wait for new opportunities to come just like this for the future.

Chloe took us to a park called Schnelli park where we reflected on our favourite moments on this incredible experience. We all came together by the stunning lake and we said what we loved about our trip and our sisterhood. We were presented with badges to show where guiding has taken us, not just to places we've been  but to find ourselves.

As we all were so thankful for the unbelievable experience, we wanted to thank the amazing leaders for making this possible so we all chipped in to buy them some postcards filled with our thankfulness and we also bought some beautiful pens. Tears were shed out of pure happiness ! As we gathered our tears we shed some more with laughter at/with Natalie who discovered that the pen was also a stylus which she was very happy about 😂

We thought it was time to say our last goodbyes to the hostel and gather our luggage. Maddy guided us to the tram which eventually led to the airport. Once we were through security, we had the pleasure of listening to Amaya, Olivia and others playing the piano while we waited for our dinner.

Unfortunately, our plane was delayed by 40 minutes , but that didn't stop us from having fun. We had a slightly traumatic time with Keira (myself) who decided it would be great to have a nose bleed 2 minutes before we had to board the plane!  As we we got onto the aeroplane we said "Goodbye Estonia!" and that is our little adventure complete !

 Thank you for keeping up with the blog and enjoying what we have done. We want to let you know that we have had such an amazing time and we thank you for letting us go and explore the world!

By Katherine and Keira x

Tour Day

Finally, the day had come! We were going on a trip to do different activities and see some wonderful things. So, once we were all ready we met and followed our guide Victor to the coach.  It was a long journey i was reading my book like usual while some people were singing songs for most of the journey.  We knew we were seeing a waterfall but we never thought it would be as great as this.  It was spectacular.  Victor explained that over the years some of the rocks had collapsed which created the waterfall we see today. Even though the water was brown in colour it was still clean water and when you got near you could feel the water splashing on your face face - which was very relaxing after a long time on the coach! We climbed down some stairs to get to the bottom of the waterfall where there were lots of rocks so it was good we had all worn comfortable clothes and shoes.  As well as that we saw two cute frogs next to the water.  One was light red hopping in the water and the other was as green as the trees, camouflaged in the river.  Getting too excited, we climbed  back up to the top and admired tttthe view.  It really was an amazing start to the day and after taking a million pictures, we headed back to the coach wondering what was next.

Written by Millie

We'd spent the previous day walking, walking, walking so as you can imagine we were SO excited to do some more WALKING. In all seriousness we were actually buzzing to have a go on the legendary Estonian swing. We woke up and wiped the sleep out of our eyes and soldiered on to the coach, confused as to which country we were in. We went to a waterfall too but that's been explained already. If you have spent any time with Guides together in a coach you will know that coach + Guides = singing. But soon the coach came to a halt and so did the singing. We did not expect to be WALKING for the next hour (at least). We had a lovely tour guide called Victor who guided us through a bog which we were all terrified of drowning in, balancing warily on the wooden plank which seemed to go on FOREVER.  On the way through the bog we stopped at various points and Victor explained how different landscapes had been made and how important the peat in the bogs is to Estonia.  We also stopped at a lookout which gave us incredible views over the bog. Soon we reached the Estonian swing and cue Ella's bit.

-Tessa.

As we were travelling in the minibus, we stopped off at a restaurant and had lunch.  It was Estonian food; some people liked the food more than others but we all gave it a go.  After that, we looked around a little area that has a nicknack shop and some of us bought gifts.  Next, we went on the Estonian Swing which was just outside the restaurant and everyone had 2 turns.  We all had great fun.  The leaders had a turn too and it was really funny.  Helen had a second turn and she was terrified: her voice sounded like a seagull!  We had a really fun time on it and our group, Ella, Olivia, Tessa and Me, went the highest.

By Ella and Evie

Our last stop of the day was a small village East of Talinn.  The village was called Kämsu in Lake Laheema national park - it sits on one of the bays which forms the park.  We clambered down to the shore where we saw an array of large boulders that had been moved from Norway during the  Ice Age.  There was a ladder on the largest boulder which we climbed up and took some aesthetic photos of the bay from. Then we decided to explore the smaller, still large, boulders scattered amongst the bay.  There was a seagull's nest on one, so we didn't stay long.  From the best we caught sight of an intriguing painted white wooden building on top of the hill.  This turned out to be a   lighthouse which surprised us all because it was dry small and hidden amongst lots of trees.  Victor explained that this was because of the shape of the bay and the light shone out to the areas it was needed.

Lottie,  Amaya and Eva

Finally, today we met a couple of  Estonian guides, who were called Katlyn and Katerin.  We were very interested in the different ways of guiding. For example they showed us their way of saying good night and what they do on a regular basis when they gather . We all connected as sisters while eating delicious pizzas. We performed a couple of our guiding songs and after they'd listend, they joined in. We all had a smile on our faces! We got into a horse shoe in preparation for Amy to make her senior section promise! She was lucky enough to have the international commissioner of Estonia and two members of the guides to watch how girls make their promise in the UK. After a night of laughing and learning, some of us got together to take pictures with our new sisters to remember the time we all had together. We've  had such a lovely day and we hope we can experience more opportunities like this in the future.

To Salli (Madre)
Happy 38th  birthday mum! I hope you had a lovely day and got spoilt rotten. You should know you are so special to me and you deserve everything the world could give. You mean the world to me ! I wish I could be there with you but but at least we are both having fun. I've been thinking of you non stop but I've still enjoyed myself! Can't wait to give you hugs and kisses. I love you to the moon and back, bagsy no returns!
Lots of love your favourite child
Keira
Xxx
P.s i love you lots my !little Unicorn Lexi xx

#HelloHelsinki

Omg! Thomas Cook needs to up their game because we just planned and carried out  the best day tour of Helsinki! #bestdayever #tourguides.

We started the day with an early breakfast in the youth hostel after having a nice sleep. Then we left to go to the ferry. Before boarding the ferry, we had free time to explore the port where we got hot chicken wing and ketchup crisps! #quirky. We then boarded the ferry where we all gathered and set up base.

A lot of us went to explore the ferry, looking in the shops and going out on deck. We then all began to gather back at base where a band on board were playing traditional Estonian music. We saw this as a great opportunity to show off our dance moves to the rest of the ferry! #doingthehokeykokey #movesonpoint. After all this excitement on board the two hour journey, we finally arrived in Finland.

This was where we took over the trip and started our exhilarating tour of Helsinki! #youngleaders #takeover. We map read our way to our first destination,which was an old market town in the centre of Helsinki. This was a lovely open area, where we were able to find a variety of food and drinks as well as looking around at the local stalls where we were able to pick up a few souvenirs. This marketplace over looked the harbour and the weather was perfect for the occasion. After we had lunch, we took a short walk up to the Helsinki Cathedral where we sat inside and listen to a beautiful quartet and two amazing opera singers as well as soaking in our surroundings of the stunning architecture. #momentstoremember!

We then took a walk down to the museum whilst passing a defence forces festival where they were singing English songs on a large stage and showcasing all the tanks and artillery they use #englishmusic #singsong. We then arrived at the Helsinki museum where we had a chance to explore. They had a really cool interactive virtual reality time machine and a children's town as well as the usual exhibit. You can probably guess where the majority of us all went! #we'restillkids. Some of us found a dressing up area and puppet show where we made the most of the Old fashioned clothes and toys! And then we went upstairs and found an old fashioned school where we used the old white board to mark where we had been by signing our names from the 1st Chislehurst guides and senior section. #wewerethere

After all the fun we had in the museum, we headed off to find some dinner. We started walking around trying to find a restaurant to accommodate all 21 of us , which is harder than you could imagine. #struggles But of course, being a friendly, cheerful and loud group of young teens, we made the most of this time by singing to our hearts content. #guidesongs #highschoolmusical #thegreatestshowman! We then headed back to the port via tram 6 where we found somewhere to eat. #burgersandchips #ice-cream! #hyper

After our very exciting day we had to head home, so of to the ferry we went, where we looked around the ferry and slept; well kind of slept #teachinghelenthepineapple #notreallytired! This was a perfect way to bring out day to an end while sailing along the water watching the sun being to set and stargazing! We really enjoyed being able to lead the guides to explore a country which was even new to us and gain valuable skills of leadership! #wedidn'tgetlost #professionals! Can't wait to see what the rest of the trip has in store for us!

#written #by #Maddy #and #Amy

#blizzardseniorsection #seniorsection #estonia2k18 #momentstoremember

To Talinn - Day 1

When we got off the plane planes we were really surprised by just how hot and sunny it was, so the sunglasses had to come out !  After we had checked out and gathered our luggage, we boarded a team to take us to the hostel - for some people it was their first time on a tram.

After a 20 minute journey through Talinn we arrived in the old town and the maze of small streets meant we didn't quite know which way to go so Helen and Edda went to get our bearings whilst we admired ancient houses and apartments.

When we arrived at the youth hostel, we were told who we were sharing a room with and then went to settle in and make new friends, as Helen always says, "Make new friends but keep the old, one is silver and the other gold."

Half an hour later we set of to the Estonian Beach Pirita, we crossed roads and woods and when we eventually arrived we all enjoyed relaxing in the sun.   After a long day of travelling, we were exhausted and peckish, luckily, Helen gave us all some really nice chips to eat.  It was so nice at the beach most of us even went in the sea which was crystal clear and sandy, we even used the  sand as an exfoliator!   After we had been for a swim we got an ice cream it was really tasty and refreshing since it was so hot.

After our brilliant trip to the beach we started to  head back to the hostel and once we were there, we all had showers and got ready to go out to dinner.  We went to a restaurant in the town square; Hannah and I really enjoyed  our meals: Hannah had a Chicken Ceasar Salad and I had an Estonian Burger.

Now we are really excited to go on our day trip tomorrow to Helsinki.  We had a really great day today and we have been on a coach, aeroplane, tram, bus and used our feet, tomorrow we can add ferry to the list.

Written by Hannah and Evie

BlogStonia?

I know what you're thinking - is that really the best you could come up with for the name of the blog? Let's be honest - previous blog titles have been more linguistically pleasing - there was the original LuxemBlog from 2013, the IceBlog from 2014, then, ok, the latest one wasn't that snappy actually - Slovenia2017.  But work with me - BlogStonia was an option, but that sounds as though we're off to live in some sort of intriguing commune, therefore friends, I give you... Estonia 2018.  

International opportunities with Girlguiding change lives.  I didn't say a lot before I represented Chislehurst Division at the World Scout Jamboree in Chile in 1998; since then, as those around me will testify, I have hardly stopped talking.  International opportunities with Girlguiding enable girls to explore the world in a safe, secure environment with their Guiding sisters and an experienced leadership team.  There is a whole world out there, so why stay local? Plus there are Girl Guides and Girl Scouts in 147 countries across the world, so let's go and meet them! 

But why Estonia? Well, why not?

We've worked hard to fundraise for this trip - everyone attending has paid £275, when the true cost is nearer £500 per head.  We are hugely grateful for the various grants we have received from the Leslie Sell Charitable Trust, The Pat Tiley Memorial Fund, The Region Chief Commissioner's Fund and the Freemasons.  We have also spent the last few months running events, selling things online, collecting stamps and encouraging everyone we know to use easyfundraising (we know - with the latter one seems to generate about a tenth of a penny every time, but it does mount up eventually, believe me!)

You'll be gently relieved to hear that the forthcoming authors of this blog will be the girls themselves, not me.  Enjoy.