Bike Touring the Baltics – Estonia

Immediately upon arrival, we could tell that Estonia would be a good country for cycling. In fact, all three of the Baltic States (by their current definition) possess many of the elements that make for superb cycle touring. We immediately noticed that there were more people doing what we were doing (however fewer were camping; most were staying in the inexpensive lodging that dots the countryside). Estonia was shockingly inexpensive – especially when you consider the quality of the cycling. While Estonia possesses fewer “big” tourist attractions (and almost all of them are located in the capital of Tallinn). Regardless you can have a great time visiting smaller, more rural attractions.

The Tallinn City Wall (also known as the Margarete wall).

View of Tallinn City. You can see St. Olaf’s church in the center. We did a quick, self supported tour of this church. You need to pay to climb the steeple, which we skipped. This church has burned down 3 times in its existence!

The grounds outside the Old Town of Tallinn contained many artistic displays and gardens.

Outside of Estonia, our route took us mostly on quiet and flat rural roads which were easy to ride.

There are some mildly interesting attractions, such as a glass museum in Jarvakandi that we visited.

Janet sitting atop a piece of glass at the Jarvakandi glass museum