Pärnu - Summer City in Estonia

After our ferry ride from the island of Saaremaa, we continued driving along the coast towards the south and spent the night at a campsite just before Pärnu. This campsite stood out to us because its advertised activities had a very unique character. In addition to basketball and disc golf, there were swing bars, a trampoline, a small bouldering wall, and a slackline. There was also a zipline that was simply wrapped around a tree, started on a homemade wooden platform, and led into dense, overgrown greenery. The rolling seats could be brought back to the shaky starting platform using a crank made from car rims... We couldn't help but think of the diligent German TÜV who would have surely been horrified by the conditions here, so we decided to stick to playing basketball.

The former spa town Pärnu would be our last stop in Estonia on the way to Latvia. Known for its charming city center, numerous wooden houses in a almost Victorian style, and its long white and well-frequented sandy beach, the city greeted us with the best weather. So we took the opportunity to relax here and coincidentally became spectators of a sport that was unknown to us: tree climbing. The Baltic Championships for this sport were taking place in the largest park in town during these days, attracting a lot of attention. In various disciplines, the athletes showed how quickly they could climb different parts of the trees using predefined or freely chosen climbing techniques, or how they would rescue a simulated accident involving a tree worker, following a textbook rescue scenario - all under time pressure. After a short sunbath on the beach, it was time to say goodbye to Estonia.