Enter (Stage Left,) Estonia…!!

View from my hotel room in Helsinki... Wet-weather gear gear was the order of the day...!!

With my ticket held tightly between my lips, I make my way onto the ferry...

I left the hotel in Helsinki in pouring rain… It had drizzled for much of the night, and by morning the rain came down in earnest…!! I made my way down to the dock area and was processed through the ticket clearing gate in a matter of minutes…

No need for passport formalities in this part of the world, despite the fact that I was leaving for a country as yet not fully recognized by the European Union…

The ferry coming in from Tallinn in Estonia had not arrived by the time the Big Fella and I stood ready in our lane, waiting to be loaded… In the car behind me were a bunch of young Estonian guys, who worked in Finland as building contractors. They were going home on leave and invited me into their SUV so that I didn’t have to stand out in the rain… We chatted for the next half hour, while we watched the ferry dock, and then hundreds of cars and trucks drive off it…

Then it was our turn to be loaded, and I had to drive up onto the second level parking area on the ferry, where most of the smaller cars and bikes are parked during the crossing… The long metal ramp had my back tyre spinning in places as it was wet from rain that had been blown in through the back loading doors… But I made it safely up onto the upper parking deck and then watched as all the other vehicles were loaded… This was a massive ferry, over ten storey’s tall…!!

It sailed to Estonia and back twice a day and was almost always fully loaded with passengers and vehicles… A live band played music on the 8th deck while many couples danced to the tunes they belted out… Slot machines lined the walls of all the bars I strolled through, and on every deck, restaurants served meals to long lines of waiting passengers…

The Svenningson's had always been known as an unsociable lot...

Standing on the top deck of the Viking Line's ferry to Estonia...

Only a few people braved it out on the upper deck, high off the waterline, where the wind and rain made things very uncomfortable… Once we were out at sea, the sun came out and the strong winds chased the clouds away… The further out into the Baltic we got, the harder the wind blew…

At one point, many of the metal deck chairs were sent skittering down the 200 metres passageways on either side of the superstructure… Luckily the few of us standing out on deck saw them coming, and managed to get behind a bulkhead in time to avoid being injured… If you weren’t holding onto a railing, or one of the benches that were bolted down, I think a swim would have been inevitable…!!

The two and a half hours it took to reach the port city of Tallinn, capital of Estonia, went by quickly, and I rode down the slippery ramp and out under the gray skies above… It was drizzling as I lined up behind a long queue of cars, which I presumed were going through the Customs and Immigration checkpoint…

While the bike is moving, rain only seems to affect the front of you, but when you are standing still, at traffic lights or some other hold-up, the water starts getting in everywhere, specifically down your neck, if like me, you haven’t bothered to put your hood over your head before putting your helmet on…!! As I stood cursing the weather, a guy in bright green overalls who was directing the traffic into two separate lines, waved at me and showed me to ride past the cars to the front of the queue…

I roared up to the front of the line, nodding my thanks as I passed him, and when I got to the front, I was waved through the gate and onto the busy streets of Tallinn…!! No passport control or customs officers waved me down, so I just kept going…! I am not sure if I am legally in the country or not, actually…!! I guess I’ll find out at the Latvian border tomorrow…!! They obviously had no idea what nationality I was traveling under, and I assume they have to check these things…!! With my visor down in the pouring rain, I can’t believe they have any idea who rode through their gates and into their country…!!

Most hotels are clearly marked in the areas in which they are situated...

I still do not have a single stamp in my EU Passport, and I am a little nervous about this out here in Eastern Europe, where some of the countries have set up travel agreements with the EU, while others have not…!! I have a nasty feeling that at some stage in the near future, I am going to have a bit of explaining to do…!! The large South African flag on my windshield might also complicate matters a little further…!! I guess I better start getting my “story” together for when I am called into a small windowless room at the back of an immigration office, in some out of the way border post…

With my luck, Dudes, it’s only a matter of time…!! And speaking of my luck…

Clearly it had been some time since Gi-Gi had visited Tallinn, as a number of streets she advised me to turn down when looking for the hotel I had chosen, turned out to be one way streets, and on two occasions, I found myself nose to bonnet with cars intent on trying to go over me, rather than around me… In exasperation I finally pulled over onto a pavement, hopped off the bike, and turned to ask for directions from a middle-aged guy walking towards me…

He listened to my question with a massive frown of concentration creasing his forehead, staring intently at my mouth… Then he began gesturing and making the noises that only another deaf and dumb person would understand…!! I mean seriously, what are the chances of stopping to ask one of the 500 000 inhabitants of Tallinn for directions, and finding that the first one you ask is deaf and dumb…??

Very slim, I think, but that is the kind of luck I have…!!

Matching your hair colour with your skirt certainly makes a strong fashion statement...

I have no idea if he could lip read my English, but we had a good long chat for about ten minutes, and I allowed him to poke a bony finger at the screen of my GPS from time to time, while we tried to figure out where I was… For all I know, he was just as lost as I was…!!

I realized that I wasn’t getting anywhere with this friendly guy, and I eventually patted him on the shoulder, gave him my biggest smile and a thumbs up to show him I had it all under control now, and thanked him for his considerable efforts in trying to help me… His face lit up with a huge smile of his own, and he shook my hand and walked off, seemingly quite happy with himself…!!

I had more luck with the next guy I stopped, who spoke fluent English, and before long I had pulled up in front of the Lillekula Hotel… The rates were a third of what I had been paying in Scandinavia, and the rooms were clean and comfortable…

I decided that in view of the fact that it was already too late to explore the city, at these prices, I could afford to spend another day in Tallinn, and planned to do the touristy thing the next day… Marina, the lady on duty at the front desk, was very helpful in getting my internet connection sorted out, and helped me move my stuff from the first room she gave me, where the wireless connection did not reach, to another room closer to the reception, where it was a little better…

Tallinn was a pleasant surprise…!!

Estonia is the smallest of the three former Soviet Baltic Republics, the other being Latvia and Lithuania… It achieved independence in 1991, and next year will become a fully fledged member of the European Union. A rapid transformation from the old Soviet influenced era to that of today has taken place… I expected to find a city that has been neglected and run down, but the exact opposite was the case… After exiting the harbour area, I rode through the streets of a thoroughly modern city, with high rise buildings of steel and glass, just like any other I had ridden through in Western Europe…

The streets are wide and generally in good condition, although metal tram lines in the wet conditions made things a bit of a test…!! Estonian drivers are also not as law abiding as those in Scandinavia, and I quickly discovered that an amber traffic light means “floor the accelerator” here in Tallinn…!! It took just one near miss from a woman in a yellow Lexus for me to get into the swing of things…!! It’s all about the “Quick and the Dead”, and when you have that concept dialed into your brain, you can handle the worst drivers in the worst traffic, anywhere in the world… I think…!!

The trendiest old town I have visited... A wonderful atmosphere of old and new combines to keep your interest piqued all the time...!!

Walking around the old walled city on its cobblestoned streets was an amazing experience… This medieval town is now surrounded by the modern city of Tallinn, but within its massive stone walls, you are taken back centuries…

Tourists continue to flock into Tallinn's old town, despite it being the end of the holiday season in Europe...

Restaurants line the cobbled streets of Tallinn's old town...

Despite the colder weather beginning to set in, tourists are still flocking here in their thousands… Guides led groups of Italian, German and French visitors past all the old churches and buildings that make up what is known as the city centre, but in fact is an old walled village that lies within the fortifications of the original walls…

Within these walls are a maze of narrow streets, where not only will you find the most up-market boutiques, foreign embassies and art galleries, but also hundreds of restaurants and pubs, and many hotels, all catering to the visitors from abroad.

Parking is a problem though, and I ended up riding the Big Fella down cobbled alleyways and through bustling pedestrian walkways, nosing our way between people, tables, and the many little stalls, selling roasted almond and other “medieval” snacks, all the while trying to find a safe place to park…

Eventually I rode up onto the sidewalk outside the Information office, and parked under a tree, telling the Big Fella to lie low and not to speak to any strangers, especially ones in uniform… He seems to have the knack of attracting attention to himself at the most inopportune of times…!!

The Central Square where hundreds of tourists meet before setting off to explore the surrounding streets...

A "metal and mason" design on the front of this building attracted much attention...

This is a place that would take you days to explore properly, and if ever you are in Central Europe and have a weekend to spare, get onto a flight to Tallinn…!! Meals are inexpensive by European standards, and I paid about R160.00 for a starter and a main course, to go with the two drinks I had while watching locals and tourists alike, pass me by…

Hotels are well represented in this tiny enclave of historical buildings...

Entry to the Brotherhood of the Black Heads...not an Acne Clinic as some might suppose...!!

The back of the Town Hall, with it tall tower...

The names of some of the historic buildings in old town had me shaking my head with laughter: House of the Brotherhood of Black Heads, (is not a spa specializing in the treatment of acne…)

Fat Margaret’s Tower and the Coastal Gate are situated at the northern tip of the old stone walls (I could not find anyone who could shed some light on Margaret, but she must have been a big girl to have had her name immortalized in this way…)

Tall Hermann’s Tower once guarded entrance to the city from the west, and the “Kiek in de Kok” Cannon Tower had me wincing with imaginary pain…

There are twelve museums and as many functioning churches of differing denominations situated within the walls of the old town. It is very difficult to get any decent photos of any of these churches, as the old streets are so narrow that getting the entire building into a single photograph, is in most cases impossible…

Everywhere you walk, you will see people scrunching up against a wall or squeezing into an alcove to try and get a photograph of one of the beautiful buildings or historical monuments in the area…

Tiny restaurant behind the Town Hall... Waiters stand outside all the eating establishments, encouraging passers by to enter...

These two were touting a medieval restaurant...

Some eateries do it better than others...

The Klaasikoda Gallery was filled with stone statues that I was not allowed to photograph...

There are many alleyways that lead to quaint little restaurants...

This one was built into the original walls of the old city... These thick walls were built to withstand any siege...

I walked along the outer walls, discovering a maze of passageways...

Parma Ham and Melon as a starter... Followed by a great plate of Pasta in Mushroom Sauce... Just for those of you who think I am surviving on junk food alone...!!

The sunny day was quickly changing, a blustery cold wind began blowing and rain clouds moved in over the city, causing me to cut short my tour and head back to the hotel…

The Big Fella under the walls of the old city...

There I saw a big black Audi Q7 parked in the driveway, and met the Russian guy who owned it… I asked him about Russia, and he confirmed all the negative things I had heard in the last few days…

“The place is not good to travel alone in…!! Especially on a bike… I Live in St. Petersburg, but to get here, I drive all the way to Helsinki and then take the ferry… The road from Narva to St. Petersburg is impossible, even with this car…!” he said pointing at the four-wheel driven Audi…

“It is faster to drive the 400 km to Helsinki, and then sit on the ferry for a few hours more, than it is to drive the 350 km directly from St. Petersburg to Tallinn,” he added… “And then of course there are the police and mafia to think about as well…!!”

The number plate on his Audi showed that he had a sense of humour, but I did not for a minute think he was joking when he described how difficult it was traveling in his home country…!! This was the final nail in the coffin of my plan to ride in Russia…

Many people advised me that Africa was a very dangerous place to ride through on your own, and that I should expect theft and misfortune to dog me every step of the way, but I found it to be the exact opposite…

The only place I thought I would have a problem was when I stood at the Rwandan side of the Congo border post of Goma, and saw far too many machine-gun toting “pseudo soldiers” for my liking… But even then, I only turned back because of the huge “fees” the soldiers wanted me to pay for the pleasure of riding on their potholed roads…

So why have all the stories about Russia got me so concerned…?? I think is if because of the sheer volume of bad press that I have received over the past few days, from people who live on its borders and have traveled there at one time or another…

Simone, who I met in Nordkapp, had ridden there just a few days prior to meeting me, and told me he would never try that again, under any circumstances…!! He told me that it was the only place he had ever been, where he felt in constant danger…!!

Many of the stories I heard about Africa were hearsay, and came from people who couldn’t find Burundi or Uganda on a map unless they Googled it…!! Also, the fact that I have lived, and traveled in Africa for long, made me disregard many of the warnings I had received…

I understand the “mentality” of Africa and Africans in general, but I cannot say the same for Russia and its inhabitants, and I have therefore decided to err on the side of caution, and forget about trying to wangle a visa for this country… Not in the short time frame I have available, and not without a careful and detailed plan, which would include riding in a group of some kind… And have a satellite transponder inserted in my left armpit…!!

My Russian friend's numberplate seems to thumb its nose at authority...!! Bond could not have done better...!!

Russia, Belarus and Ukraine will have to wait…and then wait some more…!!

GBWT 2010