Day 11: Continuing towards the Russian border - very close to Lake Peipus

After our neighbors left at nine this morning, making a bit of noise as they packed up their camper, we also got up early today and were ready to hit the road to Viljandi by 10:15 a.m.

The drive from Soomaa National Park to the former Hanseatic city took about 30 minutes.

The highlight of our city tour was definitely the old castle ruins, which are only a few minutes' walk from the Old Town.

The ruins now house an open-air stage with a special charm, as it is surrounded by old walls and a lake behind it. A little boy, about 4 years old, spontaneously gave us a taste of his singing skills on the stage :) In addition, many concerts usually take place here in the summer, as Viljandi is now THE capital of Estonian folk music.

Part of the city wall is still standing and can be visited. We left the ruins again via the suspension bridge (over the deep moat) and continued our way through Viljandi. The city is very green and has several beautiful parks, as well as very pretty wooden and brick houses.

We wanted to have lunch on the terrace of a restaurant, but had to move inside before the food arrived because the usual rain did not spare us today either.

Afterwards, we continued inland to Lake Võrtsjärv. On our way there, we discovered another attraction on a sign and spontaneously turned off. According to the sign, it should have been a glassblowing factory, which it probably was, but it was already several years ago and the building has since decayed. So we went back to the original route.

On the northeast side of the lake, we found a very nice small campsite, Kiviranna Holiday Home. Here, there are a few camper pitches right by the lake and two holiday homes. The owners are super nice and we feel very comfortable here, so we have decided to stay for at least 2 nights, despite the not-so-nice weather.

We spent the evening relaxing in our van because a rather strong thunderstorm hit the lake.