While beeing on a bike trip you often have to relinquish to so many things, but this week we felt like we were simply overwhelmed with luxury! Estonia is so beautiful, rich in nature and the people so warm!
Saturday 22.07.
Once again it was very early warm in the tent and the sun shone through the ventilation slots. After the changeable weather, it was nice to see the sun again! Accordingly, we dawdled a bit and said goodbye to grandpa, who held the fort at home.
In a small town we headed for a library to upload pictures and download videos. Unfortunately, it was closed - due to vacations, there were changed opening hours. At least there was some wifi in front of it and so we were content to sit in front of the entrance and enjoy the sun. Too bad, because the Bibiliothek looked really very modern and cozy!
As we continued, we soon met Eurovelo 13, which led us to the natural attraction that Liane had recommended to us a few days earlier. Veczemju klintis is a special rock formation on the Latvian coast. The road there was more than crappy and we were well shaken! We then found an overcrowded and overpriced campsite and unfortunately destroyed nature. Everywhere people where so convinced of themselfes to carve their initials into these millennia old stones and thus destroy them for posterity. Some forms of tourism we can not really understand!
A bit sad we left the place again, but were cheered up again by an empty, almost car-free road/path directly along the coast. The cherry on top when we met another cargo cyclist who just came back from his tour from the north. A Dutchman, Stan, with an Omnium bike. If the rumble of the big black cloud in the background had not interrupted us, we would probably have chatted on forever!
For him it went in the direction of camping and for us in the direction of Estonia. After we were finally away from the big road, it became quieter and the closer we came to the border, the more the houses changed. We fell in love with Estonia even before the bordercrossing!
The last kilometers to a free campsite on the coast flew just so and we managed to set up our tent in time before the rain!
Sunday 23.07.
When we went out of the tent in the morning to visit the composting toilet, we found that we had pitched our tent last night directly in an anthill. Very large ants, who obviously enjoy peeing on us.... So time to move the tent.
Since our one powerbank was slowly empty, Tilman went to our German camping neighbors and asked if we could charge once. It turned out that Julia, Gabrielle and little Levi are simply the best camping neighbors ever and so we sat there for quite a while, chatted and gladly accepted the invitation for an evening barbecue. We had decided to stay at this beautiful place simply because it was time to have a day of rest.
We enjoyed it and strolled along the beach and built a small sand castle. Life can be so beautiful! Especially when we could snuggle into the dry tent when the announced rain began.
Afterwards Tilman took care of the children's enterntainment with Levi and together we grilled skewers and potatoes with our neighbors at the fire. Simply a really nice evening!
Monday 24.07.
The sound of the sea and the screaming of seagulls in the morning - somehow we are living a very decadent life this week!
We comfortably dismantled our tent and drove the bikes to our very dearest camping neighbors. They were already up and about, probably thanks to Levi. We ate a little breakfast and I even got a coffee off - such a luxury :-)
Around noon we set off. Nice and relaxed following the Eurovelos 10 and 13 (yes we can hardly believe it - very good Eurovelos!), we made super fast kilometers. On the road we met a couple of cyclists, who cycle in several stages every year to have circumnavigated the Baltic Sea in a few years.
Earlier than expected we arrived in Pärnu. What do we want to do there? To visit a planetarium of course! The planetarium was embedded in a whole science house. Mostly nature exhibits were on display and in conversation with the public relations woman who showed me around, I also learned that they show less astronomy content but rather educational films about nature and the body. The overall layout of the planetarium was also more like that of a movie theater. The seats were arranged in straight rows and aligned to a wall. The woman herself said that it was more like a 180° cinema than a planetarium. The exhibition around it is nevertheless worthwhile - if you want to get taste of Estonia!
After the planetarium we went to the Lidl. Our supplies have lasted a long time and we even have a few cans left! Nevertheless, we wanted to eat something fresher again and squeezed in front of Lidl a few of the small delicacies from the freezer. Suddenly a lady came up to us and pressed 10€ into my hand. We wanted to try to give the money back in a friendly way and explain to her that we had saved enough, but she didn't want to hear anything about that and just said in a friendly way: buy something to drink with it!
We thanked her exuberantly and when she went back to her car, she left us simply speechless...
Freshly refueled and still in disbelief at what had just happened, we continued on our way towards Tallinn. Just a few kilometers left and even more days. So we took it easy and headed for one of the RMK sites. Before that, however, it was again on dirt roads through forests. The gravel roads were easy to drive on and suddenly we were already at the hut, where a hiker had already found shelter. Since we had our own tent, this was of course no problem. Very slowly it became dark around us, but we sat outside for a long time and watched the fire blazing.
Tuesday 25.07.
Since we were somehow again too fast and had a lot of time for the last kilometers, we just stayed in the tent for quite a while. We were only really woken up when a car stopped in front of our tent. Employees of RMK who filled up the wood and swept out the toilet once - very nice!
Since it was supposed to rain all afternoon today, we got up at some point and drove a gravel road (much better than in Latvia!) back to the real road. As announced in the weather report, it started drizzling at some point and then raining harder and harder and we sought shelter in a bus stop. The bench could have been a board wider, but you do not complain when you can stay dry. The time until the end of the rain (which should take a few hours), we passed with sleep, chat and watch Minecraft epsiodes.
Normally we don't wait so long for the rain, but since we were going too fast anyway and it was supposed to be dry in the evening, we didn't see any point in getting wet now. Obviously an other car driver saw it differently when we hit the road again. Although the road was as clear as it could be, he came quite close, drove with maximum speed through the biggest puddle on the road and unloaded a torrent of water over us. We hope it was an accident, otherwise we would be awarded for the jerkiest move of the year.... In Rapla we headed for a Coop, hoping for a shelter, since it started to rain again. At the second supermarket we then found what we were looking for. Outside we ate some snacks and watched the rain as a man came up to us and started a conversation. We understood each other very well. When he saw our snacks, he came to the conclusion that we apparently feed only on "junk food" and gave us immediately another pack of chocolates for the way - very nice these Estonians :)
From Rapla we took well signposted bike paths to the next RMK site, which we had today for ourselves. We first started the fire, which was not so easy with half wet wood, but in the end the fire was burning and we even had a warm meal again - letter noodles with tomato sauce :)
Wednesday 26.07.
Somehow we learn to love Estonia and would recommend everyone to visit this country once! So many forests and mostly relaxed cycling - a dream!
Today we had only about 50 km to our Bewelcome Host Peter in Tallinn, so we chilled again, ate leisurely breakfast, packed the tent and continued. The last kilometers into Tallinn went along a relatively busy road - and guess what: there was a perfectly paved bike path right next to it! Germany should really learn from the Estonians... Our first destination was a store Tilman had picked out that sells solar cells. We have been playing for some time with the idea of getting a solar cell for the north to charge the powerbanks. We expect that there will not be so many hosts and also less places to charge. Just a little more independence. And as it is when you are a student, you look for the cheapest solution. Because there are many relatively expensive "travel solar panels" or you just buy a "normal" one and do the wiring by hand. Since we have the space on the cargo bike anyway, we decided on the latter option.
So now we have a solar cell :)
After the purchase, we still had more than enough time left until Peter came home from work. What do you do with so much time? Exactly: follow the motto of the week and sit decandent on the beach, sip an alk. free Mojito from Lidl, eat Créme Burleé and watch the kitesurfers surfing.
Afterwards we met Peter and his wife Mo in their garden and went along with each other very well! Mo conjured up a really tasty dinner and after it got a little fresher outside, we sat down inside and chatted into the night. With Peter and Tilman I had the feeling that the two had really found each other! Two IT people and tinkerers who could no longer get out of the idea forging - a very amusing evening!
Thursday 27.07.
Peter woke us up with tea in the tent entrance. Of course, that made us go out and join him for breakfast. So then it was Peter, Mo, Tilman me and the cat.
After doing such adult things as washing and hanging laundry we went to downtown Tallinn. First we had to go, very imposingly through a castle gate. Pretty much straight towards the big church. Very Orthodox, as we can judge after our time in Romania. The old town stretched from the mountain almost to the harbor. We crossed it to get to the planetarium in the energy center. Unfortunately, the receptionists were not too friendly. One could even say they were a bit rude and so we left this place a bit sad. Maybe we have to visit again after the vacation season?
Slowly my stomach started to report too, but the sheer number of restaurants, cafes and people just felt too overwhelming at that moment and we just asked Peter what he would recommend. So, following Peter's recommendation, we went to an Irish pub and ordered the dish of the day. Normally we don't go out to eat, but if there's a good time, it's probably now, before we enter Scandinavia.
With full stomachs we rolled through the city and tried on the way back to get new blades for the drone and Magic cards. Unfortunately both without success. Instead, we cooked delicious Chiles en Nogada in the evening and Tilman worked out with Peter how best to attach the solar cell to the cargo bike. Once again a very exciting evening, which ended much too early.
Friday 28.07.
- The day we cross the Baltic Sea. The day when the north begins. -
First of all, we had a leisurely breakfast together with Peter and the cat. unbelievable how idyllic the garden can be so close to the city center! Before we went to the ferry terminal, we collected some sand for our collection and reached the port on time, as planned. The lady at the counter was pretty confused about the cargo bike and had to make some phone calls before she gave us the tickets. In the queue for the bikes, of course, we talked with the others and immediately got a few tips for Finland :-)
When the ferry finally departed, we had secured a nice spot on the sun deck. Melancholy and anticipation mixed as we left the port of Tallinn. At some point the wind became too strong and we went inside. There we met some crazy people! We watched e.g. an older, drunken couple, where the woman already lost her sense of balance and could hardly push her 5 boxes of alcohol on the handcart.
The entrance to Helsinki could not have been more spectacular either! We drove through the many small islands and even had the best view of the main tourist island. So now our "northern tour" begins. Crazy feeling!
When we disembarked in Helsinki, we followed the harbor line and somehow ended up right by the planetarium - a coincidence?
It was a merger of the astronomical museum of the university and the Finnish Astronomy Society.
The people at the reception were super sweet and really happy about my visit. I talked to Paula and she enthusiastically showed me their system. In a vault, a small dome was built that was made into a planetarium by the American Starlab system. This was the first time I had seen such a sydtem. Obviously it is full of technical problems, but at least it is an affordable system and I think it always depends on the people doing the show. Paula, for example, expressed such enthusiasm that it was impossible not to be excited at her show!
After the planetarium we got the typical Helsinki weather: rain. So we took a short look at the city and rode on really good bike paths to Allu, our warmshowerer, in the shared flat. Helsinki is pretty cool, because there are still big natural boulders lying around everywhere. This gives the whole somehow a certain charm.
Allu turned out to be a really cool host! Super relaxed and the best organized and bike crazy shared flat I've ever seen!
For dinner we had homemade pizza and when we fell asleep we couldn't believe that we had now reached the north.