We had been driving around north-eastern Europe in our motorhome Vanni, and after an amazing time in St Petersburg, Russia, we crossed over the border into Estonia. Our first stop there was in Narva to visit the 13th century Hermann Fortress as we’d read that it’s one of the best-preserved castle fortresses in Estonia.
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| Marg with the Hermann Fortress in Narva, Estonia |
The Hermann Fortress was used in the first war between King Charles XII of Sweden and Tsar Peter I of Russia. It is an imposing structure, that sits on the Narva River opposite Russia’s Ivangorod Fortress. The river acts as the northern border between the two countries with the fortresses facing each other.
Later, we wandered around Narva, Estonia’s easternmost city and 3rd largest, and discovered a campsite that looked good. It was part of a hotel, and had a lovely parking spot on thick grass overlooking a lake. We stayed there for a few nights and managed to get some solid sleep, and caught up on the washing and blog.
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| Sillamäe beach, Estonia |
Moving on a few days later, we stopped to stretch our legs at the attractive Sillamäe Beach on the Gulf of Finland. We would have also stayed a while in Narva-Jõesuu which is the town before Sillamäe, but when we parked by the beach there, a parking warden moved us on for not displaying a parking-time ticket (!!).
Sillamäe is a former uranium town, and we learned that a uranium mine that fed Russia’s nuclear energy is leaking radioactive material into the sea of the Gulf. Interestingly, it didn't stop the locals from swimming!
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| Typical architecture in Sillamäe, Estonia |
In the Soviet era, to ensure access to the uranium, the Russians rebuilt Sillamäe as a closed and secret town for scientist. Built in Stalinist neo-classical architectural style, with plastered houses, white staircases, tree-lined streets, and lovely parks, it was unique in Estonia.
When we were there, the architecture was a combination of neo-classical architecture, alongside lots of soviet style big-block apartments.
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| Leigh outside the thatched net sheds, Altja fishing village, Estonia |
Further along the coast of the Gulf of Finland, we stopped in the small fishing village of Altja where we found a group of fishermen’s cottages and net sheds, on a small strip of sandy beach. These quaint structures were lined up like sentinels, proudly guarding their historic past.
Altja is in the Lahemaa National Park and we were planning to spend the night there. However, we couldn’t find a camping ground so continued on around the coast. A bit later, we spotted a camping sign and found Camping Lepispea and settled in there.
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| Us on an “erratic boulder” near Käsmu, Estonia |
That evening, during a walk to the nearby village of Käsmu, we discovered some huge rocks on the seashore and climbed them to sit and watch the water. They were “erratic boulders”, which are large boulders in very random places that had been pushed across from Finland during the last ice age. Apparently, they are common in the Lahemaa Park.
Meanwhile, Camping Lepispea turned out to be a very lovely campsite, being just off the water’s edge with good facilities. We stayed a while, enjoying the sunny weather and chatting about travel to the Austrian couple parked next door.
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| Beach, boats and rocks at Käsmu, Estonia |
We walked along the coast several times to restaurants in nearby Käsmu and Võsu villages, and saw lots of beaches, boats and rocks. The weather was lovely with long sunny days, and short cool nights. This far north, the sun doesn’t set until around 11 pm and rises around 3 am – it’s called the “white nights” period.
By the time we reached this area, our motorhome Vanni, had covered 40,000 kilometres and was due for a service. Ivica, the campground owner, helpfully organised a service for us at a garage in Rakvere (about 35 km away). “Much cheaper than in Tallinn”, she said!
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| House in Rakvere, Estonia |
So we drove to Rakvere, left Vanni at the garage, and cycled toward the centre of Rakvere town to explore. The Town dates back to 1302 and has a small historic centre with very old and traditional wooden houses (which people still live in!). Many houses were decorated in a similar way to those we had seen in other Baltic states and parts of Russia.
We visited the town square, saw interesting churches including the Lutheran and Orthodox, and visited a couple of museums. Rakvere is an interesting wee town.
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| Leigh at Rakvere Castle, Estonia |
Nearby, we discovered the wonderful medieval Rakvere Castle. The Castle staff were all dressed in period costume adding to the medieval aura.
After looking around the Castle grounds, we toured the torture chamber. It was run by a very enthusiastic young woman who made it scary and fun, really getting into her medieval role. Next, we had a traditional meal in the Castle tavern, then tried out the swords in the armoury exhibition. We had a great time.
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| Marg with the Auroch statue in Rakvere, Estonia |
While there, we found a huge sculpture of an “Auroch” or wild ox, that has horns spanning around 3 metres. This impressive creature has been extinct since 1627 and the statue is to remind people of its life. It stands on a hill in Rakvere, looking quite imposing, and is considered to be the largest animal statue in the Baltic countries. It is also the town symbol, and we saw children lining up to pat it.
Having cycled around and done some sightseeing in Rakvere, we collected Vanni after her service, and she drove purringly well. We headed inland the next day to explore more of central Estonia.
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| Santa’s post office, Jõgeva, Street in Paide, Marg at Paide Castle, Estonia |
Our first stop there was at Jõgeva - the headquarters of the Estonian Santa Claus Jõuluvana, and Jõuluvana’s post office. Sadly, it was closed! We got the photo but that was all!
Our next stop was in Paide, a 13th century town which is one of the oldest in Estonia. This attractive town is considered the centre of Estonia, and is known for its interesting wooden buildings, the wonderful medieval Paide Castle ruin, and the local limestone for which the city is named.
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| Tallinn, Estonia |
Leaving Paide, we drove back to the coast where our next stop was Tallinn, Estonia’s capital. We found a campsite at the local boat harbour and parked where we had a great view of the boats and the water.
The next day, we rode along the seaside cycle route into Tallinn’s historic town centre. Once there, we found a place to park the bikes then we walked around to explore. Most of the old town is pedestrianized, and the jumble of little streets, cobblestone alleys, and medieval churches all contribute to its character. It’s a beautiful town.
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| Marg in the main square, the Raekoja plats, Tallinn, Estonia |
We soon found the Raekoja plats, the main square of Tallinn’s old town. It is home to historic merchants’ houses, cafés and restaurants, and the Tallinn Town Hall, which is the oldest in the Baltic countries.
After admiring the Gothic architecture of the square, we walked around the alleyways visiting the Church of the Holy Spirit, the Kanuti, St Olav’s and Mustpeade maja guild houses, and museums. Nearby were more guild houses, now used as museums, cafes and hotels with a favourite being the three leaning against each other called the 3-Sisters.
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| Leigh at St. Catherine's Passage |
We had a wonderful time wandering around the winding old streets, and loved some of the tiny passage-ways such as St Catherine’s Passage, a hidden small walkway near the ancient and fascinating Dominican Monastery.
By now, it was lunchtime, but we unknowingly picked the worst restaurant in town! We both ordered our meal, but it was 45 mins before Leigh’s was served. Another 20 minutes later Marg’s wasn’t and Leigh’s was cold. So Leigh arranged to get our money back and we found another restaurant with good food and service.
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| Part of the original wall of ancient Tallinn, Estonia |
Setting off to explore again, we visited the medieval city walls and gates. Tallinn is known as the best protected and intact medieval city in Northern Europe, and is a UNESCO World Heritage Site - we could see why!
The next day, we rode back into the historic centre and discovered a whole different area. Above the old town was Toompea Castle, wrapped in ancient stone walls and towers.
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| Leigh at Toompea Castle towers, Tallinn, Estonia |
Toompea was the historic hilltop stronghold of the German knights and bishops who controlled the city during the Middle Ages. It is now the seat of Parliament of the Republic of Estonia.
There are several parts to it and we saw as much as we could, particularly enjoying the medieval stone tower called Tall Herman, and the stunning Alexander Nevsky Cathedral with its onion-domed roofline. Leaving there, we walked to Freedom Square, where we had lunch.
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| The rooflines of Tallinn, Estonia |
Later, we walked along part of the city wall which gave us a great view of the red roofs, spires, and gables of this interesting and vibrant city.
The next morning, we headed off to catch a ferry to Helsinki, the capital of Finland, but we’ll write about that in a separate blog on Finland.
This blog describes part of our 6-month motorhome trip around northern and eastern Europe, which began in Prague.