Estonia - the West and Saaremaa Island

Estonia Part 2 - the West - and the island of Saaremaa

Before we finally set off for the West Coast, we make our way to Europe’s fifth largest lake, Lake Peipsi. The lake is shared by Estonians and Russians. On the way there, there is much to see in the hinterland of Estonia. People live in the villages in a very original and simple way. There are great colorful Scandinavian-style wooden houses, interspersed with the more traditional Russian gray concrete buildings. In and between the villages, one frequently sees old Soviet buildings, ugly gray concrete bunkers that have been left to themselves and are slowly collapsing. Spying towers that are rotting and entire residential blocks that are empty. (Yes, the Russians liked to have everything in view).

We decide to treat our Knut to a hand car wash (he is covered in dirt and dust) and head to the car wash. Excitingly, everything is only in Estonian and Russian. Luckily, we fumble around with the machine and actually manage to get it to dispense shampoo and water. We had the same problem in Finland with the washing machines at the campsite. Everything was only in Finnish - no one spoke a word of English. There I was standing stupidly in front of the machine and looking a bit dumbfounded. I ended up washing by lucky chance and hoped that I wouldn’t accidentally hit the cooking program. Fortunately, it has always worked out so far.

Our odometer shows: we have completed the first 10,000 km!!

In Kauksi at Lake Peipsi, we quickly find a so-called Teklimisala - (yes, one might wonder - what is that?) - we did our research (before coming to Estonia) and know that these places are state-grilled, tent, and bathing areas, and are always either free or very cheap. Estonia is really ahead in this regard. In this Teklimisala there are hundreds of pitches scattered throughout a vast spruce forest, along with numerous covered benches with tables and even grilling stations with wood available. (Paradise). Additionally, there’s an amazing endless sandy beach. And all this for just 4 euros admission (yes - not per night - no, a one-time payment of 4 euros - regardless of how long!!). Now that pleases the money-saver's heart, and we snag a great spot in the spruce forest - without neighbors. Quickly set up the hammock and off we go over the dune to the dream beach. (It is 33 degrees). Upon arrival, we see thousands of fish lying scattered over kilometers along the shore (great). I dip my toe in the water... the lake is at least 25-27 degrees. Wow. Too hot for the fish!!?? The Estonians are unfazed, splashing about with children in tow. MMMhhhh?? we are also totally overheated and desperately want to get wet. The lake, due to the ongoing heatwave, has so little water that you have to walk about 1 km to have the water reach your hips. However, genuine bathing pleasure cannot be had when there are dead fish before your eyes all the time. We return to the spruce forest, quickly rinse off with the outdoor shower, and lounge the rest of the day in the hammock. The Estonians around us grill like world champions. There are at least a hundred fires burning. The little forest here is bone dry, and Kilian and I are already thinking of an escape plan in case a spark.... jumps... into the forest... then it goes fffupppp.... and the forest is on fire. But fortunately, nothing happens. In the evening, we meet a young couple from Tyrol with their Bernese mountain dog. Barbara and Franz. We start chatting, and they immediately give us their home address and invite us to visit them when we are in Austria. How nice of them!!

On our further journey to the West Coast, I have a major 'oops' moment. We have arrived in super-religious Mustvee. A strictly Orthodox Russian village with a stunning church. We want to quickly stop at the supermarket. Already in the parking lot, we are the extreme outsiders with our colorful flower bus. Whatever... we just have to get through this... into the supermarket and then it starts, everyone is staring at ME!! The men are openly staring at me. I feel somewhat uncomfortable in my skin and first think that it is because of my colorful Indian pants. Quickly out and back to the bus - Kilian looks at me, starts laughing, and points to my T-shirt. - I am wearing an off-the-shoulder T-shirt with BUDDAH on the front!!! And that among the extremely religious Orthodox Russians. They must have thought that Satan himself led me here. Quick, pack up and get out of here.

We stop a few kilometers further at a bathing lake. It is unimaginably hot, and we would love to swim. Once again it happens; we drive into the parking lot next to the bathing area, and all... really all eyes are on us. Great!! What is happening today?? There are only locals here, and I believe they have never seen a flower bus - let alone German tourists at their lake. Discreetly, we turn the bus around... time to get out of here.... In the evening we find a great bathing spot (again only locals - of course, there’s really no tourism in the interior). We park discreetly with some distance, but here no one pays us any attention. We sit by the bus, and then suddenly an Estonian couple with a child approaches us. Immediately, the dad starts to talk to us in (super bad) English. He is totally excited about our bus and is apparently also in the Bremen Mercedes fan club (aha!). Friendly, we have a little chat, and he tells us about his dog Oliver and his father-in-law Hans. - We only understand half of it, but we nod very friendly. We are just happy not to be complete outsiders anymore. After that, we feel comfortable in our skin and in Estonia again. (which is actually really nice)

Our route takes us further through the interior of the country. We drive through Estonia’s granary. For hours, we pass by rye and wheat fields. But there are more weeds growing than grain. Also, the lake where we stayed last night had hardly any water, and everywhere there were dead fish. Estonia is suffering under the heatwave. We hear that there’s a fire in Latvia (great: our next destination). In Greece and everywhere across Europe, the land is burning. The hot summer is taking its toll. We pass many small poor villages. The houses are old and dilapidated. The people have large gardens, and everyone grows their own fruits and vegetables. People sell fish and vegetables at the roadside. It’s rare to see a new modern house standing in the middle of nowhere. Those with money live on the coast or in the city. Again and again, we drive past abandoned former communist collapsing buildings and yards. We see many spying towers standing in the landscape.

In the evening, we find, in a small village near Haapsalu (in Rummu: the Moonlight Festival was supposed to take place here - but was unfortunately canceled last minute due to lack of funds), a great lake in a former quarry. The water is crystal clear and refreshing. Many Estonians are swimming here. The first lake that hasn’t been polluted. We jump right into the cool water (here you can jump from the rocks), and decide to stay here for a night or two before we go out to explore the west coast tomorrow. In the evening, we then find ourselves for the first time since we have been on the road in an uncomfortable situation. We are already lying in bed looking at the great lake. Suddenly, a car pulls up right next to us. Out come totally drunk young Russians with an extremely loud portable sound system. They are shouting and dancing around the sound system. They are yelling and stumbling around, looking over at our bus from time to time. We feel uneasy. Who knows what drunk young men might think of? We wait it out and observe for a while, but we are definitely not comfortable in our skin. We are the only foreigners at the lake. And also the only ones with a camper. But then kindness pays off again. I gave a group of young Estonians with a dog our dog treats during lunch. Our furry friend is too spoiled for Estonian cheap treats and spat them out in front of us. So I thought I would do a good deed and give them away. They were very happy about it (especially their dog) and we had a brief chat, telling them that we are on vacation here. And exactly those young Estonians eventually went over to the drunk Russians and got them to leave us alone. Now, that definitely makes you feel good and shows that good deeds always pay off eventually!!

The next day we continue. Our destination: The largest island in Estonia, Saaremaa. The ferry there spits us out after 40 minutes of driving in Muhu, a small outlying island. After quickly crossing over a dam, we are on the beautiful island of Saaremaa. During the Soviet era, the island was a restricted area, and one could only access it with special permission. Moreover, it was a hotly contested target in all the recent wars.

We spend our first night at Oriasaaer Sadam, parking nicely at a cafe by the sea. There is something like a village festival going on, and some artists have really let loose here. You can find amazing artistic objects everywhere. We go for a swim in the sea. It is lukewarm and a relief after the hot day. The next day it is cloudy (hooray) and we have 'only' 27 degrees. Perfect to explore the island.

We visit the Maasi Fortress. You climb a small hill that is covered. We think it's pretty unremarkable. But when we go down into the basement, we are quite amazed. The lower level is completely intact. Great stone walls with beautiful arches. You can enter various rooms. It is pleasantly cool down here, and many swallows are nesting. You can catch a bit of the spirit from the past.

We continue to Kuresaare. The only town on the island. To get there, we have to drive through the interior of the land.  Our Knut makes weird noises. It crackles very loudly in the lower front area of the car on the turns. We have driven countless gravel roads in the last few months. Hopefully, he hasn’t gotten any damage. We will keep an eye on that. The brakes are also acting up (we had them newly done before the trip)!! The ABS triggers at low speeds during braking. Maybe too much dust has gotten in? We don’t know, and will monitor that as well. (gulp!) We drive across the interior of the island. A feeling of island life spreads. We pass by cultivated fields, sheep, and cows, and in between, we repeatedly see nice little houses with enviably large gardens. It’s lightly raining (the first time in weeks - thanks, weather god!!). Countless brown sightseeing signs line the road. There’s a lot to see here on the island. Unfortunately, in Kuresaare, the town center around the town hall square is under renovation. There are barriers everywhere. What a shame. Here, there are beautiful old buildings to see. We walk across towards the Bishop’s Castle. There has been a huge spectacle with operas and concerts happening directly at the castle in the last few weeks. Half of the castle has been converted into a stage, catering tents, etc. We still take a stroll along the castle walls and admire the great castle from above. The bishops didn’t live badly at all.

We continue heading south on the island. In Ohesaare, we stop at the stony beach. Here, people have built stone sculptures in recent years. There are now well over a thousand. We are also eager and build two stone figures. One big and a smaller one on top. To our marriage!! Today, we are celebrating our 7th wedding anniversary. Unfortunately, the stone figure collapses shortly after I photograph it (is that a bad omen for our future marriage?!) - We laugh about it and drive on. We look for a place for the night, and at a sweet cafe by a windmill, which doubles as a hostel, we find success and ask the owner for permission. This is all her land, and we do not want to just rudely set up camp somewhere. But the owner is very nice and wishes us a lot of fun. We park well on the cliff with a sea view. In the evening, dark clouds roll in. A storm is brewing. It looks extremely threatening as the clouds head our way. However, it doesn’t turn out to be that bad, and an hour later, we do manage to witness a spectacular sunset from our bed.

The next morning, we visit the owner at the cafe, thank her once more, and enjoy a delicious cafe latte with her. Then we move on. The thermometer reads 35 degrees!! We actually just want to find a little shaded spot with sea access. It shouldn't be that hard to find one- after all, we are on an island. But it turns out to be a really exhausting hellish day in the bus. We rattle over countless gravel roads (yes, not all roads are paved yet) in our Knut. It’s incredibly dusty and extremely hot. But we can't find the right spot. Either there’s no shade (which is impossible at 35 degrees), or the water is overrun with seaweed (you can also tell in the sea that it has been too hot and dry for too long), or both together. Easily accessible bathing spots are rare on this rather wild island. In the afternoon around five, we find a great place with a grilling spot (a Teklimisala) - but there’s currently a ban on grilling all over the island due to the risk of forest fires - (perhaps it's for the best). We stand in the cool spruce forest right by the sea and think, great!! But here too: an algae disaster. One would have to wade through a 100m wide carpet of algae and then walk about a kilometer out to be able to swim. Moreover, there is a problem with wasps and flies. After two hours of wasp madness around our heads, we’ve had enough. We head for a place 20km away that we already know from our first day on the island. We park great by the sea. The sea is strangely super clean and feels 25 degrees warm. Last week there was a music festival here that we unfortunately missed (to our dismay). A large round tent is standing on the site. Inside: a room of sound wonders. It echoes incredibly when one speaks. Here was the dance floor. I can only imagine what kind of sound experience it was. Everywhere, there are artistic objects. We go to the cafe of the camp's manager and eat delicious fish for 9 euros. Yes, we probably missed something. Things were quite lively last weekend. What a shame... we arrived just a bit too late. Nonetheless, we thoroughly enjoyed Saaremaa Island.

Conclusion: Saaremaa: Great island feel, unbelievably stunning nature, unfortunately few very good swimming spots, pure deceleration (we were already not the fastest :)), super nice islanders, - an island to relax and enjoy, few people, almost no tourists. - That’s how we love it!!!

Tomorrow we will drive the last stretch of the Estonian coast and then, at the latest, the day after tomorrow, we will hit Latvia. Estonia: It was a joy to us. A wonderful (now) modern country (on the coasts and on the island). In the interior, you can still feel a bit of the memory of communism among the older people. They are cautious and reserved - but not used to tourists. There are still some old buildings that are slowly deteriorating. The capital Tallinn is amazing. A beautiful medieval town with an incredible atmosphere. Estonia is definitely worth a trip. We have really enjoyed being here. Thank you, Estonia - Hello Latvia