ESTONIA
Finally reached the Baltic Sea...
6th August - 9th August | 2022
This morning I went offroad to Narva-Jöessu to get to the most north-eastern point of my journey. It was on the beach, sticky 27C and I was in my biking gear! I should have brought my bikini to take a nip in the Baltic Sea. I didn’t think about it as the weather forecast was rain from lunchtime onwards ... Rain is definitely coming, judging by my head(ache)!
After that, I went to the most eastern point of Estonia and my journey, as close as possible, right on the border river. In the little town, there is even a border crossing into Russia, via a bridge. That, or Helsinki, was the initial plan to get to St. Petersburg, but it wasn’t meant to be this time due to the ongoing war in Ukraine.
I have noticed also, that the closer you got here to the Russian border, the towns got a bit of a Russian touch in their architecture. In a way feels so different from the Baltic States I have seen so far.
I had lunch right next to the entrance of the border crossing; the rain started then with a thunderstorm. I was lucky that I could park Schimmelchen sheltered from the rain, and like that me into my rain gear without getting wet.
Back at Jöhvi, I went to pressure wash Schimmelchen, especially all the gunge on the chain. It took me nearly 5mins (or €4) to clean it a bit, but that chain lubricate is really sticky! So now in Tallinn, hopefully getting the air filter changed (I slipped my mind when having it all done in Budapest, Hungary), I can buy a chain oil there!
The next morning it was again blue sky, and I tried to do some offroad until the most Northern point of Estonia, and this leg of the journey. First, it started not very successful as road blockage or overgrown forest tracks ..., but after some attempts, I was back on the fantastic gravel tracks. This time I had to race the upcoming rain clouds, speeding up as much as possible with the fully loaded bike (and my skills).
At Purekkari neem it was sunny, so perfect condition for pictures and lunch picnic. When I started to get my lunch out, there came the girl from one of the german registered campervans parked next to me. As she had a puppy we started talking. It was such a great conversation about travels (they lived for 2 years in China, wow!) that I forgot all about time ;-) and my lunch! In this case, it was then only street going back to Tallinn as I still wanted to arrive in daylight ;-)
On the first day in Tallinn, I went to the garage streetmoto.ee to meet "Karu" to get the air filter sorted. His mechanic is on holiday, but I could use the workshop. How great is that! And he would help me, clients permitting! So I changed the oil filter, tightened some loose bolts, and checked the oil and air coolant level. Karu (IG: bearmotoforest) tightened my chain, so I am ready for the next part of the journey! It was really nice, as we could talk a lot about bikes and travel as he has been travelling a lot around Europe on his trustful Yamaha Super Tenere 750!
From there I went to the other end of Tallinn to get my laundry done. Whilst washing was in process, I had some Indian for lunch. That was nice for a change!
The next day was sightseeing in Tallinn: the remaining Tallinna Linnahall, Alexander Nevsky Cathedral, Raekoja plats with all its lovely historic buildings and Viru Väravad. As I needed cash and my new card is on the way, I wanted to try if I can get cash with the virtual card. After I found an ATM that provides contactless, I found out I cannot withdraw money with my virtual Revolut card :-( However, the good news is, that the new card already arrived at the Biker Hotel in Pärnu! I just have to survive with my little cash until next week!
In the evening it was dinner time - with Randel, the linesman of TET Estonia, Karu and his lovely girlfriend Teve. We went to an Irish Pub just down the road, as Teve lives in the same neighbourhood as my guesthouse. I had a really nice evening, and I learned quite a lot about Estonia's wildlife. They caught me in total surprise that in Estonia are about 600 wild brown bears!
I really enjoyed their company and the conversation we had - thank you, guys! Hope to meet you one day again!
Tomorrow I am going in the direction of the two islands: Hiiumaa and Saaremaa. Grab a beer and stay tuned for the next blog about the island tour.
Places | Cities:
Narva, Rakvere, Purekkari neem, Tallinn.
Driven km | Trip:
Total | Steffi: 21445 km
Maintenance | Breakdown:
Air filter changed at streetmoto.ee in Tallinn, Estonia.
Health issues:
./.
Special thanks to:
Karu helping me and for the great talks we had during my visit to the garage!