First full day in Estonia: Still having trouble figuring it out

September 16, 2013

I continued along the main road for a while, which rather makes a mockery of the term because it wasn't that main at all. But then I stumbled upon the Eurovelo 10 bicycle route and started to follow that, which was absolutely brilliant! It took me on very small little roads with no traffic and was well signed and easy to follow. Even Finland couldn't do this!

The cycle route took me to a very nice park which used to be the grounds of a palace. The palace was built in 1899 by an influential Russian merchant who abandoned it and fled when Estonia gained independence in 1918. Sadly it was destroyed during the Second World War (I think this is going to be a reoccuring theme). In 1941 the retreating Red Army set it on fire and, as if that wasn't enough, a couple of years later the now-retreating Germans decided to blow it to pieces. Such is life. Still, at least the park remains (presumably being too big and spacious to be destroyed.) The park was a delight with nice gardens and large wooded areas of many species, all overlooking the sea.

The bicycle route was generally following the coastline of the Baltic

Here a high waterfall dropping from the cliffs towards the sea. It was completely dry, but you can see the notch at the top where the water would be, and of course the layers of the rock were fascinating

At this stage I was still having trouble figuring Estonia out. On the one hand there was the great cycle route, and nice modern libraries, and men in suits. But on the other there were streets half dug up and buildings falling down and bins on fire and ever so many dreary tower blocks.

Today's ride: 92 km (57 miles)
Total: 5,771 km (3,584 miles)

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