Entertaining Estonia!
We are now in Estonia, on the Tallin City Camping site.
Ten years ago Tallin's camping facilities were a definite low point on the trip and, regrettably not much has changed. The site we endured in 2007 is no longer in business, although I wasn't entirely sure that it was then! There now appear to be just two choices available for camping, within the city bus route area, and both are criticised on Trip Adviser for various shortcomings. We opted for TCC and can confirm that all of the criticisms are substantially true. This is a seasonal 'pop up' site like the one in Riga, but where the Riga guys have really got it together and created a pleasant environment which is fun to be part of, the Tallin people have failed miserably. However, it is only for a couple of nights so we will grin and bare it.
We left Riga on Friday after getting the tyre repaired at a very helpful garage. If you ever need a tyre repair in Riga, I can recommend Lanneks. One 4 cm!! nail removed, the tyre repaired and the wheel re-balanced all for €16 and completed within half an hour.
After a visit to the Rimi Hypermarket, there then followed about a 4 hour drive including some of the typical Baltic States roadworks (contraflow and temporary traffic lights on dodgy hardcore for about 10km at a time!) , We eventually arrived at Parnu in Estonia and revisited another campsite that we used 10 years ago and it seemed remarkably unchanged.
It is still quite a good privately run motel and campsite, which now seems to be adjacent to, or maybe home to, the HQ of a local vintage steam engine and automobile club.
This steam engine, on a stand to one side of the yard, looks in need of some serious restoration work!
Although the Fordson tractor and vintage cars were looking a bit healthier.
On Saturday morning we cycled into Parnu town along a riverside cycle track, which led us past a large car boot sale and we felt compelled to investigate. Fortunately we came away without buying anything, although I was very tempted by a Belarussian piano accordian, and I'm sure I could have negotiated the old Russian guy down in price if only my Russian language skills had been a bit better!
On eventually arriving in the town we found a Street Festival in full swing.
There were craft stalls, food stalls, musical entertainment at various locations, including singers and dancers from Belarus & Ukraine, as well as more local acts like the "Can-Can" dancers above, and body painting . . . like face painting only it was full upper body painting, provided you had the figure for it . . we decided that we definitely didn't!
(No Rotary stalls, but several from local Lions clubs.)
We bought our lunch from one of the stalls, some local equivalents of sausage rolls and an authentic Estonian desert, washed down with Kvas (a refreshing drink based on fermented bread.)
Eventually, we decided we'd better see the beach, which Parnu is famous for, so we cycled out to have a look. It certainly seemed to have an air of old world charm about it, like stepping back into the 1930s.
We had to head back to the campsite rather hurriedly as the sky had darkened and the forecast thunderstorm was beginning to rumble. We just made it back in time to batten down the hatches before the thunder and lightening and torrential rain engulfed us for the next hour or so. We felt rather sorry for the Street Festival which was scheduled to go on until 2.00am. However, it cleared up as quickly as it began, the sun re-appeared and the sound of music soon began to drift upriver again, from the town.
Yesterday we drove up to Tallin, only about a couple of hours drive, excluding the roadworks, but a rather featureless boring road made it seem longer. The weather was fine and sunny but not too hot for most of the day but again, we had several heavy thunder showers in the late afternoon. Fortunately we just made it back in time from a walk along the coast.
Today was sunshine all day but not so hot as it has been which made it ideal for looking round Tallin. We took the bus into the centre and began by revisited the Old Town, which was much busier than we remembered from 10 years ago, and the modern city outside it has certainly grown and developed. After tiring of souvenir and amber jewellery shops, we made use of one of the many coffee shops and then called at the Tourist Information office and found out about a traditional market just outside the town wall on the other side of the railway tracks. It turned out to have just re-opened this year after being extensively refurbished, modernised and unfortunately rather sanitised. It had some nice imaginative features but had clearly been done-up to appeal to the young professional class families, rather than the older locals who we had seen were the main users of the market in Riga.
After returning on the bus we made use of one good feature of the Tallin City Camping site, the handy Pizza take-away just next door.
We have now booked on the ferry over to Helsinki, Finland, at lunchtime tomorrow, so the next report will be from there.
Ten years ago Tallin's camping facilities were a definite low point on the trip and, regrettably not much has changed. The site we endured in 2007 is no longer in business, although I wasn't entirely sure that it was then! There now appear to be just two choices available for camping, within the city bus route area, and both are criticised on Trip Adviser for various shortcomings. We opted for TCC and can confirm that all of the criticisms are substantially true. This is a seasonal 'pop up' site like the one in Riga, but where the Riga guys have really got it together and created a pleasant environment which is fun to be part of, the Tallin people have failed miserably. However, it is only for a couple of nights so we will grin and bare it.
We left Riga on Friday after getting the tyre repaired at a very helpful garage. If you ever need a tyre repair in Riga, I can recommend Lanneks. One 4 cm!! nail removed, the tyre repaired and the wheel re-balanced all for €16 and completed within half an hour.
After a visit to the Rimi Hypermarket, there then followed about a 4 hour drive including some of the typical Baltic States roadworks (contraflow and temporary traffic lights on dodgy hardcore for about 10km at a time!) , We eventually arrived at Parnu in Estonia and revisited another campsite that we used 10 years ago and it seemed remarkably unchanged.
This steam engine, on a stand to one side of the yard, looks in need of some serious restoration work!
Although the Fordson tractor and vintage cars were looking a bit healthier.
On Saturday morning we cycled into Parnu town along a riverside cycle track, which led us past a large car boot sale and we felt compelled to investigate. Fortunately we came away without buying anything, although I was very tempted by a Belarussian piano accordian, and I'm sure I could have negotiated the old Russian guy down in price if only my Russian language skills had been a bit better!
On eventually arriving in the town we found a Street Festival in full swing.
There were craft stalls, food stalls, musical entertainment at various locations, including singers and dancers from Belarus & Ukraine, as well as more local acts like the "Can-Can" dancers above, and body painting . . . like face painting only it was full upper body painting, provided you had the figure for it . . we decided that we definitely didn't!
(No Rotary stalls, but several from local Lions clubs.)
We bought our lunch from one of the stalls, some local equivalents of sausage rolls and an authentic Estonian desert, washed down with Kvas (a refreshing drink based on fermented bread.)
Eventually, we decided we'd better see the beach, which Parnu is famous for, so we cycled out to have a look. It certainly seemed to have an air of old world charm about it, like stepping back into the 1930s.
We had to head back to the campsite rather hurriedly as the sky had darkened and the forecast thunderstorm was beginning to rumble. We just made it back in time to batten down the hatches before the thunder and lightening and torrential rain engulfed us for the next hour or so. We felt rather sorry for the Street Festival which was scheduled to go on until 2.00am. However, it cleared up as quickly as it began, the sun re-appeared and the sound of music soon began to drift upriver again, from the town.
Yesterday we drove up to Tallin, only about a couple of hours drive, excluding the roadworks, but a rather featureless boring road made it seem longer. The weather was fine and sunny but not too hot for most of the day but again, we had several heavy thunder showers in the late afternoon. Fortunately we just made it back in time from a walk along the coast.
Today was sunshine all day but not so hot as it has been which made it ideal for looking round Tallin. We took the bus into the centre and began by revisited the Old Town, which was much busier than we remembered from 10 years ago, and the modern city outside it has certainly grown and developed. After tiring of souvenir and amber jewellery shops, we made use of one of the many coffee shops and then called at the Tourist Information office and found out about a traditional market just outside the town wall on the other side of the railway tracks. It turned out to have just re-opened this year after being extensively refurbished, modernised and unfortunately rather sanitised. It had some nice imaginative features but had clearly been done-up to appeal to the young professional class families, rather than the older locals who we had seen were the main users of the market in Riga.
After returning on the bus we made use of one good feature of the Tallin City Camping site, the handy Pizza take-away just next door.
We have now booked on the ferry over to Helsinki, Finland, at lunchtime tomorrow, so the next report will be from there.
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