42. ESTONIA (+Helsinki)

The last third of that bicycle adventure and also my favorite section was Estonia. It took us 8 days to cycle from the Latvian Border until Tallinn, from where we took a ferry to our final destination Helsinki in Finland. Estonia is really really beautiful, traces of the Soviet era are much smaller compared to other former USSR countries and the entire atmosphere was rather Nordic. A fair amount (50-60%) of Estonians view their country as a Nordic country.

The first cycling section was an old coastal highway that was really a beautiful stretch along some great beaches with amazing quality of roads. It was super easy to just camp basically everywhere and Estonia even has some public camp spots managed by RMK (the country's forest management) where you find awesome spots with rain shelters and BBQs. But we also camped in public spaces like schools and it has never been a problem for anyone.

There is an abundance of forests with a lot of wildlife and it is a great country to connect with nature. Sometimes too close: One night we had a gigantic moose next to our tent and we were very sure it was a bear. Also, the villages and cities are beautiful with colorful houses, wooden churches, medieval old towns and modern amenities.

Even though the majority of people seem very unsocial and closed I have found people really friendly and warm. Especially Jaanus and his family who hosted us for a night in his beautiful house & smoked delicious food and Sirje in Rapla, a 60-year-old very friendly lady with her blind dog and a cat who let us sleep in her guest room, were amazing with outstanding hospitality. Saunas and wooden hot tubs are also very common in the country and you even see people traveling with them on a trailer many times.

The weather was sooo much better than in Latvia before and basically every day had perfect conditions to cycle which I enjoyed every minute off!

In the end, we made it to Tallinn, one of the prettiest European capitals with a picturesque medieval Old Town and super modern Ferry Terminals and harbor. The 2-hour ferry to Helsinki was super pleasant and the capital of Finland was the final point of that cycling trip. Finally, we managed nearly 1,000 km and headed back to Poland with a Flixbus.

Cycling really is a super rewarding way of traveling and in my opinion the best pace of seeing places. You are fast enough to manage a fair length of distance and slow enough to explore many things on the way. It's possible to see all the small highlights between the big tourist highlights, mingle easily with local people and enjoy nature at beautiful camp spots. It definitely hasn't been my last cycling trip but the next section of my trip will be something completely different on a continent I have not been to yet.

3 Highlights:

- The beautiful deep forests basically everywhere and spending nights in a tent there

- Pretty Tallinn and taking a ferry to Helsinki

- Cycling on an old highway along the coastline