Estonia
A friend of mine recommended me Estonia for its hiking trails. I thought it would be nice to spend my 33rd birthday in a tent pitched in the forest.
People are proud of their country. They fought hard to remove signs and symbols of the communist occupancy.
Even the snow is proud of Estonia.
Playgrounds are everywhere.
Small isles of shops are also everywhere.
Chimneys are the new skyscrapers.
A cemetery in a forest. Accompanied with snow blasts and burts of sunlight.
First day out of town. I had to read an information panel to learn I am walking on sand dunes. The cold temperature make them hard as stone.
A few minutes after the snow stops falling, a sunny spell highlights this small hamlet.
The hail shower quickly moves away to reveal this former soviet submarine base.
The day I observed swans bathing in ponds formed by frozen sea water.
I still have 5 kilometres to go to catch a bus before dusk takes over.
I missed the bus because I misread the timetable. I have to wait 40 minutes more before the next one.
These blokes drank beer this entire time, thirsty as if they were coming back from a desert of some sort.
The bus driver will drop me in the forest by night. I forgot my gloves on the bus and still have to pitch my tent in the dark.
It is so cold it took me 30 minutes to fold my tent.
People don’t camp by these temperatures, nor their hike on long distances either.
Everything is white and cold. My brain stops thinking at some point.
Or it keeps banging around the same ideas over and over.
It is nearly noon and I have already walked 19 kilometres in the snow.
The city looks empty, and I can only hear echoes of cars gliding on the tarmac.
Temperatures are gowing to dive below -8°C tonight so I decide to stop the outdoor adventure and go to Tartu instead.
The next train is in 30 minutes, then in 4 hours. Sadly for me, I was waiting on the wrong platform: 30 seconds to board is not enough! I will have to go back to Tallinn to then be able to go to Tartu.
PS: I love the logo of their railway company!
I love the wooden architecture of Estonian houses. Or maybe it is about the combination of decay and soft colours.
Outdoor playgrounds are fun only with vivid and bright colours!
Today I do not want to walk but I can’t stop enjoying the various gems of architecture, and colours, and the light…
As if a picture was worth a thousand words.
The only covered market I found during my trip. Supermarkets largely took over.
Three kilometres to go before arriving to my shelter: a small house by the lake with a fireplace. I will treat myself with noodles.
I do not know if they purposely chose the same paint colour as the sky.
The only source of sound are the crows, nesting nearby.
Well, almost: the thick layer of ice covering the 270km2 lake profoundly squeaks as it plows under its own weight.
Like a whale in deep sea.
Happy 33rd birthday Tom!
Thank you my lovely 😊
This moment made me think of the Clifton suspension bridge in Bristol.
I wish you were there.
Walls are a democratic way of expression if you think about it.
Colours, again and again.
The last ray of lights of my last day in Estonia.
And Benoit just sent me an email.
I notice three things as I arrive in Tallinn: