We took the boat from Helsinki to Tallinn and after arriving quickly found our hostel, at which time we got addicted to the Tour de France. Lance Armstrong was behind today, but had this miraculous comeback to catch the pack. It was exciting and Lance finished in front of all of his close competitors, although he didn't win the stage.

After the tour we saw the city, it's really nice, and extremely picturesque. It feels as if the city was very well thought out, analyzed, measured, then each brick placed individually to perfection. However, life here seems to move at that same, slow and meticulous pace.

After dinner, the hostel crowd began arriving and they were without a doubt a group of drinkers. One person wanted to know how to say "I was a difficult childbirth" in Estonian to try to pick up girls; a strategy I'm sure will work real well. Another guy seemed to have no confidence and simply walked around without socializing, and finally Michael was, well he was Michael. Michael was born in California, but has been living in Berlin for a few years now. He enjoyed his illegal drugs and if there ever was a person to show the negative side effect of drug usage, Michael was that person. He talked about drinking and drugs the entire time as he made up stories that weren't realistic or entertaining. At one point during the night he walked into the room and said in a mono-tone voice, "who brought the snoring machine?" A couple times I woke up in the night and every time Michael sat staring at a wall. In the morning he got up early and stared at the wall some more, then he put mud on this face and stared at the wall a little longer.

I suppose travelers come in all forms; I hope Michael's life begins to take an upward swing; he needs it.

Continue the above trip to: Poland