The anticipation of an early morning alarm always makes for a restless night, aided by the hum of the airconditioning recirculating warm air. Not to worry, the gentle beat of the rain in the morning soon cooled things down.
I always get nervous cycling over wet cobbles and tramway lines. Concentration got us the 0.5km to the starting photo near Tallinn Town Gates. A bright array of colourful waterproof jackets. And then off….
8km or so of typical city scenery along the quiet Sunday main road. Then country side: no hills today to divert the gentle headwind. Just lots of wild flowers seeking attention, and the steadily increasing heat. Good cycletracks too.
A lot of vintage American cars (1950s style) passed in the opposite direction. They have left where we are heading to – they are returning to Finland. There used to be a festival for them which has stopped. The cars keep coming though, along with the drivers. They like old fashioned petrol fumes.
A number of Soviet style semi ruined farm buildings (i.e. large, utiliterian, concrete) left me wondering how long it takes a country or place to emerge fully from the shadows of previous regimes and economies? By all accounts Estonia is doing well.
Cycling settles into it’s lovely rhythm – though today only the one coffee stop. Only the few seemed to recognise the benefit. Others seemed in a rush to get to tonight’s gulag. Whilst I do exaggerate – it does feel like it was set up for a previous era – the main thing is everything works. The noise of airconditioning will not be an issue – just the breeze through the door. Whilst some are pleasantly surprised you can even drink the tap water, I’m more impressed it means you save 2Euro buying the bottled water. I’ve not emerged from my Scottish roots….
A good day and way to start all round.
Travelling reflections 