Island Hopping in Estonia, Part 1

After the wonderful days on the Baltic Sea coast in the north, we reluctantly decided to continue our journey. Next stop was Haapsalu. We found a nice campsite on the outskirts of the city. After a few nights in the open, we urgently needed new supplies. It's also nice to notice how everyday things that are taken for granted can make you happy when you don't have them - we really enjoyed taking a shower!

Henry had a great time on the awesome playground and discovered a doll stroller that he didn't want to let go of. But he had to eventually. We wanted to visit the old castle complex in the city. Luckily, there was an even more unusual playground there.

Unfortunately, this meant that we missed out on having dinner at a restaurant because the little one was too tired.

The next morning, we took the ferry to Hiiumaa. The second largest island in Estonia.

Annika suggested that we be young and wild and not use mobile data. That means not using our phones for navigation or research. We have a travel guide for the Baltic countries. Unfortunately, that plan backfired a bit because we didn't really read the guide beforehand and just started exploring randomly.

Anyway, we easily managed the first stop. We visited an old wool factory where they worked with machines that were up to 120 years old. Henry and I were allowed to see everything. Meanwhile, Annika was in the shop buying socks. Winter is coming...

Afterwards, we went to the next RMK on the southern tip of the island where we spent the night. It even rained in the evening. A nice change, but one that can stay as an exception.

The next morning, we drove to the north coast of the island to do some shopping. We wanted to have a barbecue (thanks to Zissa for the grill). So we loaded the shopping cart with great stuff and were really excited. But at the checkout, we were disappointed. No EC payment possible. The internet was down in the whole area.

Since the beginning of the trip, we had spent less than €200 in cash. Luckily, we still had some. But we had to leave part of our groceries at the supermarket. It was quite a struggle at the checkout with the cashier who didn't speak English, trying to manage to pay with the money we had. On top of that, Annika had to deal with a screaming Henry. He was having a good 5 minutes and reached his peak. But we managed it all. It toughens you up :)

It's crazy to see what happens when the internet goes out. The banks stopped giving money and everyday life was turned upside down.

We had enough of these civilizational problems and headed to the next RMK.

The first one was in the forest and was infested with mosquitoes. But the next one was fantastic. Right on the beach, with an outhouse and benches to sit on. Everything we need. So we stayed longer and longer. Originally planned as a short stop, we spent 3 nights there.

We met a lot of nice people. Annika picked blueberries in the forest. And we had the perfect bathing conditions. For the first 20m into the sea, Henry was only knee-deep in the water. It was like the biggest puddle in the world. Paradise. He became braver every day and only had fun splashing around.

Unfortunately, we had to leave after a few days because we didn't have any water to drink or cook with. On the last day, we planned to cook potatoes for lunch and make fried potatoes in the evening. Just as we had used up the last 3 liters of water, a nice man appeared and gave us 10 liters that he didn't need anymore. Talk about lucky coincidence...

Ole