Rasbro's Ramblings - No 9

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Early June saw us enjoying the sights of Northern Estonia with a few days in Tallin which is a delightful town when it is not overrun by tour groups from the many cruise ships that call in daily.We partook of an Estonian meal which consisted of duck with cream dill sauce, pickled veg, sauerkraut and fried potatoes along with roast Elk with tomato sauce and similar veg., all washed down with their good local dark beer. We certainly learnt a lot about Estonian history at the Museum of Occupations (Russian and German, that is) and the Estonian History Museum – who knew that Estonia has only been a republic since 1920??

Next we headed West from Tallinn, eventually finding a spot to park for the night near a birding tower at Saare. Next morning we did a hike along a boardwalk through the reedbeds spotting lots of singing warblers and a cuckoo. We pootled around the area of the Matsalu NP seeing what birds were about for the next couple of days. The whole area is sparsely populated so there wasn’t much else to distract us. Spent another quiet night near the Haeske bird tower then drove around to the southern side of the Matsalu bay where at Kloostri tower we spotted 2 mink (yes the type that were used to make expensive fur coats). Spent the night near the Suitsu tower in an idyllic spot near some old wooden boat sheds on the river (even got to see a beaver late in the evening), however, fishermen and birders arrived from about 4.45am onwards so no lie in for us.

Friday 8 June saw us heading for Saaremaa Island on the slick 30min ferry. We visited the lovely old preserved fishing village of Koguva (a bit of a living museum as people still reside in the old houses) then found a spot to camp on the sea shore at Triggi. This was an idyllic place right next to the shore and fortunately the music from the house party just around the point was at a tolerable level all night! Saturday morning we watched a family of goosander paddling around in the bay then explored the northern Saareema coastline. We visited the Muckli Farm Musuem which was a wonderful display of an old Estonian farmstead then finished the day with a visit to the Lomala Fishing Museum and spent the night on the Lomala Harbour feeling like the only people on earth. After a very quiet night we awoke to a breezy morning and followed the coastal road around the peninsula, some was dirt some was bitumen. Stopped occasionally to view old soviet military relics, check for birds around the inlets and enjoy the peaceful scenery. Arrived at Camping Piibehle in Kurrassaare in time for lunch then spent the sunny afternoon pottering around the van. Brian had to remove the electric door step to clean it of dirt and grit which was quite a big job as it had compacted nicely in the narrow space.

Monday 11 June we awoke to an overcast morning so walked around Kurrassaare and spent some time in the museum which was well laid out and very comprehensive. The town is pleasant and has some nice boutique type shops. It started to rain just as we were leaving after a coffee and cake so we drove back across the island to catch the ferry to the mainland. By 4pm we had driven to Soomaa NP after stopping to fill up the LPG tanks near Parnu. It was so wet that we could not go on some of the dirt roads so we ended up camping in the parking of the main NP centre. However, it was pretty quiet with only a small herd of long haired cows for company. By Tuesday morning the rain had stopped and we did a short forest walk which was beautiful except for the mozzies! After this we decided to head South for Riga. Unfortunately the “Riga Riverside Camping” did not exist so poor Tim Tam (our satnav) had to quickly be reprogrammed to find us the Riga City Camping which is very busy but close to the city.

Wednesday after being woken by machinery noise and seagull noise (yes they squawk really loudly in Riga), we hopped on the bikes and spent several hours enjoying the Art Nouveau sights of Riga as well as lunch with the locals in the central market and a bit of people watching from a road side bar. Back at camp we spent a relaxing evening sitting in the sunshine, mozzie free! Next day we cycled into the city again where we watched a remembrance day ceremony then visited the Metzendorff house which is a restored 16^th century merchants building. We lunched on sturgeon and catfish then I had a bit of me time wandering around the shops and sights whilst Brian headed back to camp to catch up on his sleep. Friday 15 June we headed South back into Lithuania and after vainly seeking a freecamp we ended up at Camping Senij near Trakai Castle. There was a party on which was supposed to finish at 11pm but of course it did not die down until 2am. Saturday we drove through pretty rural country to the Dzukija NP where we enjoyed a couple of nice walks, one around an old village and the other to the nature reserve near where we ended up free camping at a picnic site.Sunday and it was bye, bye Baltics as we crossed back into Poland. Whilst shopping in Augustow the evacuation alert went off but we could not understand the messages and there had been no recognisable alarm sound so we had some frantic staff trying to get us out of the store! By early afternoon we were at Bierbze NP and enjoying some walking and wildlife watching including elk, boar, a family of foxes and a couple of red squirrels. Our next destination was the Bialawiezsa NP and camping U Michaela which was very pleasant. We enjoyed 3 days here doing lots of forest walking and cycling along the backroads looking for a breeding pair of lesser spotted eagles which a local guide had given us a tip off about - and amazingly we found them!. Back at camp we did some socialising with Reiner and Sonia (from Bavaria) – he has been to Oz twice and loves it, and Dawn and Walter from NZ who are taking a break from the earthquake devastation of Christchurch.

Friday 23 June saw us heading for Warsaw. We had a long day on the roads, some of which were very busy and some were very rough!. Made it to Camping Wok in the suburbs by late afternoon. Very nice place with lovely facilities but very expensive at 110zl a night! Next day we rode our bikes into the city which was very lively with the Euro 2012 semi finals being played here and in Ukraine over this weekend. We enjoyed strolling the town, lunching on crepes and dumplings and generally soaking up the atmosphere (and the beer).

Sunday morning we headed to Torun where there was a summer festival on in the lovely old town centre. Monday morning we visited the archealogical site at Biskupin which was discovered in the mid 1930’s. It was a fortified village from 500BC to 800AD and much of it was well preserved so they have been able to restore and rebuild quite an interesting place. Our next stop was Camping Malta in Poznan where we rode our bikes along the lake into the very busy town (it is another Euro 2012 host city). However no matches were on here now so why they persisted with the fan zone every night was a bit daft especially when the music boomed out over the city until midnight!

Our last couple of nights in Poland were spent at a nice little camp site near Jelenia Gora. Brian finally got the kitchen tap fixed after a very helpful man in a caravan centre gave us the replacement wire and switch for free. We did quite a strenuous hike out of Karpacz in the Karkonosze NP. It was mostly Polish style cobblestones which make for a hard foot slog but we had good weather and great views. Next day we farewelled Poland, did a short drive through Czech Republic and finished the day in Zittau, Germany. This area includes the Zittau Gebirge which is a lovely forested, hilly region crisscrossed with walking tracks and pretty villages. We stayed here 4 nights and did some lovely hikes and bike rides. The Stellplatz was only 7 Euro a day and was convenient for most things including walking into the Aldstatte for a drink, meal or some shopping. We celebrated Brian’s birthday on Sunday 1 July with a hike up to Mt Lausche on the Czech/German border. At only 793m it is not the Alps but it was enough for our untrained mountain legs and the beers on the way back were most welcome.

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