Estonia, Tallinn and Latvia

Hello everyone

We’ve had a busy last week! The lovely Suomenlinna fortress is spread over 5 interconnected islands 20 minutes by boat from Helsinki, and although it was windy the sun shone. Some of the old fortress walls are still standing, and the islands are now home to 900 residents. The marina was hosting a classic boat event.

Our sailing that night to Tallinn was uneventful, arriving at midnight local time. We stayed for a couple of days at the city camp – a tarmacked serviced area about 3 miles out of town and an easy cycle ride in. The walled old town is beautiful with a relaxed atmosphere, a castle, many churches and great food - we ate out for 2 days and sampled the local beers and cider (tasted and smelt like pear drops - delicious!). We then headed south moving from sun and a cool wind through snow (?!) to persistent rain arriving at the university town of Tartu (Estonia’s 2^nd city).

South from there we entered Latvia and met drivers who take no notice of road markings and love to overtake regardless of whether they can see what’s ahead. We visited Sigulda – a small town in the Gauja National Park with 2 castles and the ruins of a third. Visits to the new castle where the civic offices are housed cost £1.84 each (parking free), so we’ve started to offset the expense of Norway. We are now in the city of Riga on their city camp for the next couple of days, but haven’t ventured far today due to the persistent rain. However, the forecast is better for our trip round the old town tomorrow. From there, we travel south into Lithuania.

 

Will post again next week - love to all