Tag Archives: Estonia

Back to the Mainland – and off for a dip into the Baltic Sea

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We were leaving the island today; first making the one hour drive back to the port at Kuivastu, followed by a short ferry trip to the mainland. It now way back onto the bus and on for another 45 minutes to Pärnu, a resort city, known for its 19th-century timber villas and a dream-perfect sand beach.

We first had a quick tour around the city, followed by a transfer to the foggy beach and the option for a quick dip into the cool waters or a walk along the beach or promenade. I – of course – had a refreshing – not so short – walk into the shallow water; by the time the water reached my bellybutton, I was barely able to still see the beach (due to fog) – so had a quick dip and made my way back. After changing back to somewhat thicker clothing and a short walk along the beach, we made it back to town – time for further sightseeing, shopping, late lunch and a good coffee.

We left Pärnu in the afternoon and made it straight to the border with Latvia. After a quick rest stop in the former border station and a stop in an alcohol wholesale store (I still don’t understand that one) we had left Estonia behind and were on Latvian roads, heading for our next destination and adventure – on to Cēsis and a zombie(-story)-infested evening in the local craft beer brewery.

The oddities of Saaremaa

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We were back to Saaremaa at about 14:30, now continuing with a tour of the highlights of the island (some of which felt rather odd and random to me – hence the title).

After about an hour we arrived at Panga Cliff on the Northern coast of the island. The coastal cliff is the highest on the island – with a height of about 20m and a length around 2.5km. It might not be super-impressive, but with the forest on top and the walking trails next to it, it actually made a worthwhile stop.

Our next stop – at Angla Windmill Hill – was really for re-fueling … so essentially a coffee stop at the coffee shop at a tourist attraction (open air museum with windmill theme) and a slightly over-strained coffee machine (which is, why I went right for the ginger beer 🙂 ).

Nearby Karja Church was our next stop – a medieval church with rich stone decorations – and (un)fortunately closed. Final on the list of oddities was Kaali Crater. The crater (or rather craters, as there are nine in total) go back to a meteorite back around 1450 BC.

From here it was back to our base in Kuressaare, where we arrived around 18:00. After a bit of a break and a quick walk through the ground of Kuressaare Castle, it was dinner time. We went to the same place as the day before … enjoying a craft beer tasting (all from the local brewery) in a wine restaurant (somewhat odd), a fish with (odd) green bones (garfish) and rowan berry sorbet with champagne (the real stuff – oddly delicious 😉 ). So – nicely closing off a great day.

… and on to the Islands of Muhu and Saaremaa

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Another drive of about an hour got us from Haapsalu to Virtsu. We made it straight to the ferry terminal, to get ready for the ferry over to the island of Muhu. Some did use the opportunity for a quick lunch in the cafeteria in the ferry terminal – others made use of the excellent canteen on the ferry (that had even had a delicious juniper beer by the Muhu craft beer brewery in stock).

After arrival on Muhu we continued straight for the Muhu Museum, an open air museum consisting of multiple farm buildings, including the one, that Juhan Smuul – a famous Estonian writer from the Soviet days – had grown up in.

From the museum it was across the Väinatamm on to Kuressaare on the neighboring island of Saaremaa – just in time for dinner (and a good portion of gull poo making a landing right on myself on the way to the restaurant).