2015: Exploring the Nordic and Baltic States: BP (Before Putin): 10 July: Oidrema to Monica's Guest House (59 miles; 669)

After heavy rain in the night, the day began with sun, high clouds, and minimal wind. We rapidly rode 30 miles to Pardu, an attractive seaside resort town with beautiful buildings and a large pedestrian-only shopping street. Upon leaving Pardu, the rain began, transitioning from showers to steady rain. The bike path disappeared, we rode the decent shoulder of a busy highway, braving truck spray, before finding a promising paved alternative. However, the 20-mile paved stretch ended with 5 miles of sandy, gritty gravel and standing puddles, all in the rain. Upon reaching the village with our accommodation, we had to call for guidance. The proprietor rode her bike up to meet us and guide us through side streets, parking lots around apartments, and down a lane of gravel and grass to her marvelous guest house.

Estonia is approximately 40-50 percent forest and marsh; the rest farm land. We cycled by a number of what appear to be abandoned Soviet-era collective farm complexes. Most are large, concrete, gray and depressing. The individual farmsteads of the current farmers tend to be somewhat hidden from the road, perhaps to avoid the appearance of prosperity. After all, the prosperous ones were the first to have their property confiscated or taxed so heavily that they surrendered the title to the State.

Parnu

Applies to the above three photos

Built approximately 1740, Parnu

Parnu shop bike with matching wrap.

Parnu Pedestrian and Bike Only Street

Your guess is as good as mine. Music, of course.

Parnu Sign

As I write this, the TDF is on the TV, the sun is out, our clothes are drying in the sauna, the bikes are hosed off, and we will have a meal this evening in the guest house. Thanks to John for finding and booking this place last night. Unlike some countries, guest houses, B & B’s, and even hotel/motel accommodations in Estonia are not as prevalent as one might think.

Typical Construction

Old Door

Bustling Store

Collective Farm Buildings

Summer Cottage

The Road to Monica's Guest House. John found Monica's guest house and booked it on the web. Once we found the village, no one in the small store spoke English. John called, and Monica arrived in 5 minutes on her bike. We had biked over 10 mile so sandy, gritty, gravel in a steady rain. The bikes were filthy. This was taken the next morning. No photos of the mud and rain.

Monica's Guest House. Newly built on the original cow barn foundation.

Bike Parking at Monica's

Monica.

Monica is a divorced mother of two sons, 24 and 18. Monica has a PhD in biology, teaches at a nearby university, and often travels and works as a consultant on biosystems. Her former husband is one of the foremost nature photographers in Estonia.

Monica's grandfather was part of the Estonian independence movement.

The Estophile Enlightenment Period 1750–1840 led to the Estonian national awakening in the middle of the 19th century. In the aftermath of World War I and the Russian revolutions, the Estonian Declaration of Independence was issued in February 1918. The Estonian War of Independence ensued on two fronts between the newly proclaimed state and Bolshevist Russia to the east and the Baltic German forces (the Baltische Landeswehr) to the south, resulting in the Tartu Peace Treaty recognising Estonian independence in perpetuity.

In 1940, Estonia was occupied and (according to e.g. the USA,^[2] the EU,^[3] and the European Court of Human Rights) illegally annexed by the Soviet Union as a result of the Molotov–Ribbentrop Pact. During the war Estonia was occupied by Nazi Germany in 1941, then reoccupied by the Soviet Union in 1944. Estonia regained independence in 1991 after the collapse of the USSR and joined the European Union in 2004.

When Estonia was taken over by Russia post WWI, Monica's grandfather was sent to the gulags, working in a tin mine. He died in the mines. While sentences were set, few prisoners were released until Khrushchev emptied the camps. Due to the record of his father, Monica's father was never permitted to work. Monica participated in the 1990 Independence demonstrations in Tallinn. Their independence movement was sparked by USSR plans to mine phosphate in north central Estonia, which would have ruined (strip mined) the best agricultural land in Estonia.

Other interesting observations:

Estonians universally accept that Russian-backed and financed troups occupy eastern Ukraine.

When Putin took Crimea, most Estonians that Monica knows worked out escape plans A, B, and C.

The only people who long for the Soviet's return for protection are those over 60. While they owned little before, food and drink were cheap as long as they were willing to cue for hours and if the store had any stock when you were finally served, and travel was inexpensive (within the USSR).

Capitalism was a shock to the general population. The only entrepreneurs were those who sold a few vegetables and crafts on the side, so entrepreneurism needed to be learned.

Unlike the Greeks who used EU loans to pay pensions, the Baltic countries actually built things, mostly infrastructure, roads, rail, housing. Loans for individuals to start businesses were available, and they have repeatedly raised the retirement age to reflect longer life spans and fewer workers to support retirees.

University education is free, but not living expenses, as in some Nordic countries.

Many citizens of all ages are reluctant to discuss the past and current Soviet relationship, due to the past and ongoing network of agents and reporting. She noted that the Russian immigrant population largely remains and no one knows which individuals retain Soviet links. No on knows how many of their legislators are Soviet agents.

We see numerous abandoned collective farms, obsolete for modern agriculture. Farmer's must compete efficiently within the EU, so most farms are quite modern while the collective farms are disbanded and the buildings decay.

Customer service has been different. Clerks focus on the person they are serving and completely ignore all others. A casual conversation might go on for minutes while others waiting are ignored. If you are not first in line, then you do not exist. This is likely a practice retained from Soviet times, when people cued for hours to buy food and merchandise. Why acknowledge those waiting if the line includes tens or hundreds, and the wait will be hours.