Estonia! We say this every time but … we loved it!
We arrived with high expectations and we were not deceived; it lived up to what people had been telling us and, once again, we were sad to leave.
What can we say? If we had to rate our experience there it would be very close to a 10. Why? Let’s take it one step at the time …
It’s green … in every sense of the word! Of course we are referring to the fact that, being very scarcely populated (only 28 inhabitants per square kilometre) it has a lot of beautifully maintained countrywide, which, accidentally, it’s also the second meaning of the title of this point; it’s clean! Not everyone knows that the Estonian language belongs to the same small (and rather weird if you don’t mind me saying) linguistical family as Finnish so, maybe, Estonians also share the love of nature with their neighbours from across the gulf …
This love and thirst for nature can be especially seen in their recreational sites; scattered all over their land one can very easily stumble upon one of innumerable camp sites which are just amazing! Most of them boast clean toilets and all have freely available fire wood, BBQs, etc. and are impeccably well maintained, often strategically placed in easy accessible areas (but far from noisy main roads) and, best of all … wait for it … FREE!!
We will never forget the experience of arriving to our first one on a warm Sunday evening to find groups of families and friends quietly finishing their day’s outing and leaving the place exactly as they would have liked to have found it (and probably did); immaculate. The next morning, a Monday, a worker arrived at around 9 to clean and check that everything was up to standards after a busy weekend only to find that all he could do was to give the toilets a good going-over and leaving just a few minutes later. It’s so much easier when everyone does their part …
Before we move on just one more thing about Estonia; we traveled mostly along the shore where it’s quite flat but we still found lots of really interesting waterfalls! Refreshing …
Secondly; it’s a great bike touring destination. Not just for cyclists mind you, for sure motorbike tourists would love it just the same … why? Flat, well tarmacked roads which will gently swoop you from one cute little village to the next, carefully indicating this historic site or that important nature reserve in the process. Drivers are patient and seem to understand the importance (and existence) of safety distances and, generally, it’s just easy to get from A to B without any hassle! Furthermore, the use of the bicycle is well spread so towns and cities are well furbished with bicycle shops. Just to mention a really cool one we bumped into in Tallinn; Jooks.
But it’s not all picnics and bird watching right? Estonia is also full of amazing architectural heritage and cultural sites for all tastes. Personally, I (Marco) loved learning about the wars (yes, plural) of independence of this little country and what it must be like to share a border with an imprevisible country. I had never actually asked myself how one might sleep at night knowing that the “mother” soviet nation might one day decide to … pull you back into it’s gasp (I’m trying to be politically correct ok?!) as we have seen happen in other territories not long ago, and wow, it’s not a sensation I’d like to have when I’m tooked in at night! Although no one has openly told us so we have the feeling that since 1991 things have been going for the better here and we can definitely feel economical growth and general wellness in the air.
If we really had to say something not positive about Estonia it would have to be about the shyness of its people. Sorry Estonians but we are really outgoing and love asking questions and we found it kind of hard to get you to open up. We did manage to share a few precious moments (or in one case, an entire evening) with some locals, mind you, and we enjoyed and cherish every second!
Estonia, you will always be in our hearts! Thanks again for two amazing weeks! 😊
We also have an amazing YouTube channel with lots of different videos (in lots of different styles) from the road; 421adventure on YouTube
And please don’t forget that part of our adventure consists of fundraising and raising awareness for two incredible NGOs so please help us to spread the word and, of course, if you’re feeling generous, donate here; DONATE
421adventure 
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