Countries: 7 (Estonia)
Distance so far: About 2900km
We’ve started to look forward to Scandinavian roads, even if they have the rumoured punitive speed limits in some parts. If we are honest the roads through the Baltic states have been rather boring, even by the sea the Baltic itself is rarely glimpsed through the endless trees. In fact I read today that Estonia has more trees per person than any other nation on earth (at least that’s what I think it read). I can certainly believe it. The roads are fine, but there are mostly straight, over populated with 18 wheeler articulated trucks and lined on both sides by endless pine forests - except where farm land intrudes and then you tend to get a blast of wind from the nearby Baltic Sea. So probably not our best days riding from Riga to Tallinn. We did see the sea once, managed a stop and found the somewhat bizarre sculpture on the beach,
…and a cardboard (probably not cardboard, thinking about it) cut out of a bloke with a moustache which of course begged selfie!
And as with any of these trips - its all about the bikes! (Yes, it’s facing the wrong way - the Baltic is on our left!)
But the destination I am delighted to say is another beautiful old medieval city beautifully proeserved despite the occupying forces that also shaped Latvia and Lithuania.
If I have any complaint it is that the centre of Tallinn does feel a bit like a theme park, populated as it is by endless huge groups being led by the nose from the huge cruise ship in the port. Perhaps Riga has these too, but we were lucky enough to hit it on an “off” day.
But mustn’t be churlish, the old town is beautiful and especially so on a wam sunny day. You just have to ignore the crowds. And we go there reasonably early so at least missed some of them.
An so we whiled away a day wandering around the streets, into churches, the odd quirky museum and trying to outdo each other for the “best” photo of anything that might be, as we are now saying far too regularly “blogtastic”. Rob and Eric have turned into Smashy and Nicey.
And the resulting photo. Worth it? No, not really. It’s all about the alliums.
We have a 17 hour ferry ride to Stockholm tonight, but with cabins booked, a meal to be enjoyed and doubtless endless rounds of shithead, it will go a in a flash. And while we are on the subject, It is now approximately 30 rounds of Shithead since Rob has won. We are beginning to think he has actually forgotten how to play and it is not simply a matter of luck. Eric, with the assistance of the other idiot’s incompetence won the Latvia round and briefly claimed champione status, but he has lost his title in Estonia, as not even Rob could help him against the relentless number of 10s and 3s I turned up to close out the games. So I am champione of Estonia!
The current roll call therefore stands at (as if anyone cares)
Shithead
Poland: Eric
Latvia: Eric
Estonia: Yours truly
Pool
Poland: Yours truly again
Rob is now determined that we are playing nomination whist on the ferry as he thinks he has a some chance of winning that, it being a game of significantly more skill. So he says.
Not much to add today (and many might say what I have written was hardly worth it), so I will log out and get on that ferry. I will pick up this story in Sweden and/or Norway. A few random pictures of Tallinn to finish with.
No, we didn’t go in.
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