Estonia in Winter

On December 31, 2021 we will take the ferry from Helsinki, Finland to Tallin, Estonia, leaving Scandinavia.

Until January 12, 2022 we wander through Estonia, unknown to us and surprising in all its winter beauty.

We visit the capital Tallinn and drive criss-cross through the country, from Narva on the Russian border in the northeast to the island of Saaremaa in the Baltic Sea in the west.

Tallinn

The capital of Estonia is Tallinn.

We have booked a hotel here to experience the New Year’s Eve. The hotel l’Ermitage offers us a luxurious room with breakfast buffet and a parking space for our car on the edge of the old center of the city.

We walk through the city, it is cold and a lot of snow has fallen.

In the evening we find a cozy restaurant, Rataskaevu 16, in the center where we can dine until almost midnight. At the end of the meal, our waiter Mattias gives us this beautiful message.

Just before midnight we walk outside and count down to the New Year together with quite a few Estonians.

In our room we have a glass of bubbly and we listen to the last hour of the Top 2000 on Radio 2.

The next day the weather is beautiful so that we can explore the city more extensively.

Narva

In Helsinki we received some tips from Gunnar for our visit to Estonia. He especially recommended the city of Narva, with its location on the border with Russia.

On our way to the northeast we drive through beautiful winter landscapes.

The city of Narva is located on the border river Narva with Russia. Two old fortresses, one on the Russian side and one on Estonian territory, mark both sides of the border crossing.

The city was rebuilt by the Russians after the Second World War. Estonia was then annexed to the Soviet Union. The reconstruction mainly consisted of building many residential blocks on the rubble of the war for the new Russian residents of the city.

Furthermore, especially in this cold winter season, there isn’t much to do in the city, so we leave soon. We drive past the Orthodox church that we saw from afar, again wedged between the residential blocks.

Kuramae Monastery

We drive further south where we encounter the Narva River several times.

We are partly guided by Jan Bokken’s book, Baltic Souls. The orthodox monastery of Kuramaë does not describe Jan Bokken, yet it is a nice resting point during the long drive through the winter landscape.

Lake Peipus in the Narva River is frozen, miles away people are fishing.

The island of Saaremaa

We cross the country, over snowy roads and through wintry landscapes.

We arrive at the ferry as it is just about to leave, we are the last car to board. The crossing is an experience in itself, the ferry has to make its way through ice floes and that is accompanied by the necessary violence.

Saaremaa is beautiful, even in this winter season. The forests are wintery and beautifully varied, the landscapes are wide and the sea gently lapping against the winter beaches.

Along the way we even spot game, various (shy) foxes and swans in the Baltic Sea.

After a few nights camping in the wild, we spend the night in the B&B Adu-Jaani Kodumajutus in Mätja, near the famous windmills.

At Kaali we find the ancient meteorite crater.

Also beautiful from the air.