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On arrival at Tallinn the capital of Estonia we pitched up for the night on a camp site in the grounds of a hotel, from where we could see the main road coming into the city. We did this because we were expecting our friends in two more motor homes to join up with us for our stay in Tallinn before going our separate ways again; they arrived just a few hours later. I did not take part in the evening get together, as I had not been well for the previous four or five days with a tummy upset but as I did not want to hold up my friends I did not make much of it and kept pushing on. Well! Early the next morning I could hardly stand and felt really bad, so I went into the hotel reception and asked for a doctor, the receptionist interpreted to the doctor how I felt over the phone. Within five minutes an ambulance arrived with a doctor, after a quick check I was on my way to hospital with the siren going. My friend Jill who came out to see what was going on had quickly got some toiletries and night dress out of my van for me, all I could tell her was that I was not feeling well “understatement”!! before I was whisked away. On arrival at the hospital they put me on a drip and injected antibiotics, I think they pumped about two litres of saline into me. I found the hospital very clean and they seemed efficient, I had a room to myself but was checked on very regularly. On day two they gave me food, I think it was gruel, I have never had it before and I don’t really think that I want it again, Yuk!! By the afternoon I was feeling much better and asked if I could have the antibiotics in tablet form and go back to my motorhome, as I did not want to hold up my friends any longer than I had to. The doctor was not too happy about this but they agreed to let me go as long as I signed a self discharge form. In the meantime my friends had been trying to find which hospital I had been taken to, but to no avail and were going to ask at the British Embassy if they could help locate me. Jill said she thought I had been kidnapped. On my return our other friends moved on, but we stayed there for a few more days until I felt well enough to travel.
The above Cathedral was built between 1894 and 1900; many in Tallinn would like to have it demolished because of its Russian appearance. The town itself was rather interesting with its walls and buildings from the middle ages and the narrow streets from that era, all of which I found fascinating. But my lasting memory of Tallinn was the bay, smelly bay as we called it, where raw sewage went into the sea, the surface had a shine to it and the birds were feeding on the flotsam; the smell was revolting making one feel positively sick. The promenade was really nice and clean, but the locals walking up and down must have really got used to the smell as they appeared not to notice! Bearing in mind that the Baltic is not tidal, it was not too far from here when we came across a Blue Flag beach, I decided not to go for a swim “I wonder why?” Our next stop was further up the coast to an area near the Russian border called Kohtle-Jarve stopping at Saka which had been a border post during the cold war. Here there was a four storey lookout post on which had been situated a very powerful search light, this when switched on would illuminate anything within a 10km radius, but this platform was now used as a view point looking out across the Baltic.
In the same grounds was an old Manor house from the 17th century. This had been occupied by the German army during WW2 until taken over by the Russians as they advanced west. Our main reason for going was to see the 48 mtr high water fall /cascade mentioned in the blurb of things to see when in this area, well I do not think it had seen water for years! Leaving Kohtle-Jarve we turned right heading south following a huge lake which was the border with Russia and stretched almost the full length of Estonia. This was a very long and uninteresting drive on sometimes very poor roads; major towns that we passed were Tartu and Voru. Some of the camp sites where we made overnight stops, were by lakes and very nice. Then over the next border into Latvia and on down past Rezekne to Aglona, where we visited the Basilica Aglona which is a beautiful white building first built in 1700s by the Dominican Order of monks called the White Fathers and is now known as the “Catholic centre of Latvia”. Pope John Paul II went there on Pilgrimage in 1993.
In the early 19th century a sulphur spring with healing qualities was found in the gardens of the church, so the white fathers built a small hospital where medical baths were provided. But by the end of the 19th century the water had lost the sulphur and its healing qualities. Today the water is clear and sweet, much favoured by modern pilgrims.
We spent the night on a camp site called Apple Island, yes it was an island and was covered in apple trees and we parked in amongst them, we were told that we could pick as many as we wanted. On leaving “with a good supply of apples”, it was on further south and east, back over the border into eastern Lithuania, but I will have to leave that till the next edition or John “the editor” will be telling me to cut it short. Christine Culley |
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