roadtrip Estonia 2018

I hadn't been to East-Estonia since I do not know how long, some of the villages  I had never visited. So,  besides great company and lots of laughs, it is also just so good to explore my own country once in a while.

Rakvere

Estonian Mining museum at Kohtla-Nõmme

This pink wall was such a favorite. We did quite a session there. 

Stayed the night at a guesthouse in Toila, the room was lovely and had a fireplace, the breakfast was great and a lovely bar/tavern was nearby. Well it's an Estonian small town, everything is quite nearby. 

Next stop, Sillamäe. The locality of Sillamäggi was first mentioned in 1502, in the 1800s it was developed into a resort village. Sillamäe as a town was built in the 1940s, during the Soviet period, as a “closed town”. It was home to the chemical and nuclear industry, especially uranium production. It was part of the Soviet Union’s military program and was run by the military, which is why it was closed. Sillamäe did not even exist on maps and had no postal address.

First ghost town: Sompa. On a sunny Saturday early afternoon, it was actually quite an active village!

Second ghost town: Viivikonna. 

Viivikonna was industrialized after the Soviet Union occupied the Baltics. Mining was basically the only thing to do in the town of few thousand people. After the collapse of Soviet Union the village emptied little by little as the people left into bigger towns in search of a work and a new life. It's still not a complete ghost town tho, some of the private houses are very well-looking and active. There's still some of the community left. 

The Blue Mountains Memorial. The hills are best known as the location of the Battle of Tannenberg Line, fought in World War II in 1944.

Narva

Russia is right across the river. 

Tartu University and City Hall.

Kreenholm. 

Already in the 14th century, there was a sawmill opened at Kreenholm. In 1856 the famous textile factory was founded there. By 1913 over ten thousand people worked there. A compact complex of industrial architecture developed around the factory including a hospital, workers' barracks, directors' houses, and Kreenholm Park. 

Estonian mining ponds aka the Blue Lagoon (not the swimmable kind). 

Kuremäe monastery.

The Kuremäe Convent was established in 1891 and is the only functioning Russian Orthodox nunnery in Estonia.

Driving home surrounded by this beautiful sunset.