Estonia - the West and Saaremaa Island

Estonia Part 2 - the West - and Saaremaa Island

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 the Estonians and the Russians. On the way there, there is much to see in the Estonian hinterland. The people still live very originally and simply in the villages. There are great colorful Scandinavian-style wooden houses, interspersed with the more Russian gray concrete buildings. In and between the villages, one often sees old Soviet buildings, ugly gray concrete bunkers that have been abandoned and are slowly falling apart. Observation towers are rotting away and entire residential blocks are vacant. (Yes, the Russians liked to keep everything in view).

We decide to treat our Knut to a hand car wash (he's dirty with grime 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 its shampoo and water out. We had the same problem in Finland with the washing machines at the campsite. Everything was in Finnish - no one spoke a word of English. There I was, standing dumbfounded in front of the machine, looking a bit silly. I then washed by luck, hoping I wouldn’t accidentally choose the cooking program. Fortunately, everything has worked out so far.

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

In Kauksi at Lake Peipsi, we immediately find what is known as Teklimisala - (yes, you might wonder what that is?) - we did some research (before Estonia) and know that these places are public BBQ, camping, and bathing spots, and always either free or very inexpensive. Estonia is really leading the way with this. In this Teklimisala, there are hundreds of pitches scattered within a huge spruce forest, and at many places, covered benches with tables and even grilling spots with wood. (the paradise) Additionally, there is a wonderful endless sandy beach. And all this for a measly 4 euros entry (yes, not per night - no, just once 4 euros - no matter how long!!). That makes a saver’s heart rejoice, and we snag a great spot in the spruce forest - without neighbors. We quickly set up the hammock and head over the dune to the dream beach. (It’s 33 degrees). Upon arrival, we see thousands of fish lying strewn across the shore for kilometers (great). I dip my toe into the water... the lake has at least 25-27 degrees. Wow. Too hot for the fish!!?? The Estonians aren’t bothered and are splashing around with kids and families. MMMhhhh?? We are also completely overheated and desperately want to get into the water. The lake, due to the ongoing heatwave, has so little water that you have to walk about 1 km out to get the water up to your hips. But true swimming pleasure doesn’t arise when there are constantly animal corpses in front of you. We return to the spruce forest, quickly rinse off with the outdoor shower, and spend the rest of the day lounging in the hammock. The Estonians around us are grilling like world champions. There are probably a hundred fires burning. The forest here is bone dry, and Kilian and I are already thinking up an escape plan just in case a spark jumps from the grill... into the forest... then it goes fffupppp.... and the forest is on fire. But thankfully, 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. That’s really nice!!

On the way to the West Coast, I experience a major 'vopa'. We have arrived in the super-religious Mustvee. A strictly religious Russian Orthodox village with a beautiful church. We want to quickly go into the supermarket. Already in the parking lot, we are complete exotica with our little bus. Doesn’t matter... we have to push through this... into the supermarket and then the big staring begins at ME!! The men are gaping openly at me. I am feeling somewhat uncomfortable in my skin and initially think it’s because of my colorful Indian pants. Quickly out and back in the bus - Kilian looks at me, starts laughing and points at my T-shirt. - I’m wearing an off-the-shoulder!! T-shirt with BUDDAH printed on it!!! And that among the super-strictly religious Russian Orthodox. They probably thought that Satan himself led me. Quickly pack up and get out of here. We stop a few kilometers later at a swimming lake. It’s unbelievably hot and we would love to swim. Again it happens, we drive to the parking lot next to the beach and all.... really all eyes are on us. Great!! What’s going on today?? There are only locals here, and I think they’ve never seen a bus like ours - let alone German tourists at their lake. Discreetly, we turn the bus around.... let’s get out of here.... In the evening, we find a great swimming spot (again only locals - of course, there is really no tourism in the inland). We park discreetly with some distance, but no one pays us any attention here. We are sitting by the bus when suddenly an Estonian couple with a child comes towards us. The dad immediately starts talking to us in (super lousy) English. He is super excited about our bus and seems to be a fan of Mercedes from Bremen (aha!). We have a friendly chat, and he tells us about his dog Oliver and his father-in-law Hans. We understand only half, but we nod amiably. We are happy that we are finally not the total exotics anymore. After that, we feel comfortable again in our skin and in Estonia. (which is really great)

Our journey takes us further through the inland. We drive through Estonia's granary. We pass by fields of rye and wheat for hours. But more weeds are growing than grain. The lake where we stood last night had hardly any water, and there were dead fish everywhere. Estonia suffers under the heatwave. We hear that it is now burning in Latvia (great: our next destination). In Greece and elsewhere in Europe, the land is ablaze. The hot summer is showing its effects. We pass many small poor villages. The houses are old and dilapidated. The people have big gardens, and everyone grows their own fruit and vegetables. People sell fish and vegetables on the roadside. Rarely do we see a new modern house standing in the middle of nowhere. The people who have money live on the coast or in the city. We keep passing abandoned, formerly communist, crumbling buildings and farms. We see many observation 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 - unfortunately canceled at short notice due to lack of funds), a wonderful lake in an old quarry. The water is crystal clear and refreshing. Many Estonians are swimming here. The first lake that isn’t green. We jump straight into the cool water (it’s great for jumping off cliffs), and decide to stay here for a couple of nights before we explore the West Coast tomorrow. In the evening, for the first time since we’ve been on the road, we find ourselves in an uncomfortable situation. We are already in bed looking out at the wonderful lake. Suddenly a car pulls up right next to us. Totally drunk young Russians get out with a loud portable sound system. They crank the volume and dance around the equipment. They are shouting and stumbling about, looking over at our bus repeatedly. We feel uneasy. Who knows what drunken young men might think of? We sit it out at first and wait, but we’re definitely not comfortable in our skin. We are the only foreigners here at the lake. And also the only ones with a camping bus. But then kindness pays off again. I had given a group of young Estonians with a dog our dog treats earlier that day. Our fur baby is too spoiled for Estonian cheap treats and had spit them out at our feet. So I thought I’d do a good deed and pass them on. They were very happy about it (especially their dog), and we had a brief chat and shared that we are here on vacation. And it was exactly these young Estonians who eventually walked over to the drunken Russians and got them to leave us alone. That sure makes you happy and shows that good deeds always pay off eventually!!

The next day we continue. Our destination: the largest island of Estonia, Saaremaa. The ferry there spits us out after 40 minutes of travel in Muhu, a small outlying island. After crossing, we quickly drive over a dam and we are on the beautiful island of Saaremaa. During the Soviet era, the island was a restricted area and could only be entered with special permission. Moreover, it has been a hotly contested target in all the wars of recent years. In Oriasaaer Sadam, we stay for the first night and park wonderfully at a café by the sea. Here, there’s something like a village festival going on, and some artists have really let loose here. You can discover great artistic objects everywhere. We go swimming in the sea. It’s lukewarm and a relief after the hot day. The next day is cloudy (yay) and we have 'only' 27 degrees. Perfect to explore the island. We visit the fortress Maasi. You walk up a small hill that is covered. We think it’s quite unspectacular. But when we then descend into the cellar, we are taken aback. The lower level is completely preserved. Great stone walls with lovely arches. Various rooms can be entered. It’s pleasantly cool down here, and many swallows are nesting. You can sense the spirit of the past here. We continue to Kuresaare, the only town on the island. To get there, we must drive crosswise through the inland. Our Knut is making strange noises. There are loud cracking sounds in the front lower part of the vehicle on the turns. We have driven countless gravel roads over the past months. Hopefully, he hasn't sustained any damage. We will keep an eye on it. The brakes are also acting up (we replaced them before the trip)!! The ABS activates at slow speeds while braking. Maybe too much dust has gotten in? We don’t know, and will also monitor that. (gulp!) We drive across the inland. A feeling of island life immerses us. We pass by cultivated fields, sheep, cows, and amidst them, we keep seeing lovely 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 is much to see here on the island. Unfortunately, the town center in Kuresaare is being renovated. There are barriers everywhere. What a pity. There are great old buildings to see here. We walk straight through towards the Bishop’s castle. There has been a huge spectacle with operas and concerts held here directly at the castle over the past weeks. Half of the castle is built out with stages, catering tents, etc. Nevertheless, we take a round on the castle wall and admire the wonderful castle from above. The bishops have lived well. We continue south on the island. In Ohesaare, we stop at the stone beach. Here, people have built stone men in recent years. There are now well over a thousand. We also can’t resist and build ourselves two stone men. A big one and a little one on top. For our marriage!! We celebrate our 7th wedding anniversary today. Unfortunately, the stone man collapses shortly after I’ve taken a picture of it (is this a bad omen for our marriage?). We laugh about it and continue. We search for a place for the night, and at a sweet café in a windmill that’s also a hostel, we find ourselves and ask the owner for permission. All this land is hers, and we don’t want to just plop down uninvited. But the owner is very nice and wishes us lots of fun. We stand beautifully on the steep coast overlooking the sea. In the evening, dark clouds gather. A storm is on the way. It looks extremely threatening as all the cloud towers approach us. But it doesn’t turn out to be too bad, and an hour later, we are rewarded with a spectacular sunset from our bed. The next morning, we visit the owner at the café, thank her again, and enjoy a delicious café latte with her. Then we continue. The thermometer reads 35 degrees!! We are actually just looking for a little shady spot with beach access. How can that be so hard, one thinks - after all, we are on an island. But it turns out to be a really exhausting hell day in the bus. Over countless gravel roads (yes, there aren’t paved roads everywhere yet) our Knut bumps along. It’s incredibly dusty and scorching hot. But we can’t find the right spot. Either there’s no shade (not possible at 35 degrees), or the sea is overrun with algae (you can also tell that it has been far too hot and dry for far too long), or both combined. Easily accessible bathing spots are rare on this rather wild island. In the afternoon around five, we find a great spot with a grill place (a Teklimisala) - but by now, there is a ban on grilling all over the island due to the risk of forest fires - (maybe it’s for the best). We find ourselves in the cool spruce forest right by the sea and think it's great!! But also here: an algae disaster. You would have to wade through a about 100m wide mat of algae and then walk at least another kilometer out to be able to swim. And there’s also a wasp and fly problem here. After two hours of wasp buzzing around our heads, we’ve had enough. We aim for the 20km distant spot that we already know from the first day on the island. Here, you stand beautifully by the sea. The sea here is strangely super clean and feels about 25 degrees warm. Last week, there was a music festival here that we unfortunately missed (darn, darn, darn). A huge round tent is placed on the site. Inside: a sound wonder. It echoes incredibly when you speak. This was the dance floor. I can only imagine how amazing the sound experience must have been. Art objects are placed everywhere. We head to the café of the site manager and enjoy delicious fish for 9 euros. Yes, we probably missed out on something. There was a lot happening here last weekend. Too bad... we were just a bit too late. Still, we thoroughly enjoyed the island of Saaremaa. Conclusion: Saaremaa: Great island feeling, incredibly beautiful nature, unfortunately very few excellent swimming spots, pure relaxation (we were never the speedsters anyway :)), super nice islanders - an island to unwind and enjoy, few people, almost no tourists. - This is 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 arrive in Latvia. Estonia: It was a joy. A great (now) modern country (along the coasts and on the island). In the inland, one can still feel the memory of communism with the older people. They are cautious and reserved - but also not used to tourists. Also, there are still some old buildings slowly decaying in the country. The capital Tallinn is phenomenal. A beautiful medieval town with an incredible flair. Estonia is definitely worth a visit. We have thoroughly enjoyed being here. Thank you, Estonia - Hello Latvia