Today’s ride took us through some stunning pine and deciduous forests and made for a wonderful morning ride. If anything, it passed too quickly. The Estonian border snuck up on us fast at 25 miles.
Smiltene, Latvia to Tartu, Estonia
DAY #33 of 35Estonia2,121 miles total
Valga & Valka
The Latvia-Estonia border runs north to south through Valga and effectively splits it into two separate towns and two separate countries. The northern side, `Valga’, belongs to Estonia and `Valka’, on the southern side, belongs to Latvia.
For years, this created a complicated situation where members of one family, even living on the same street, may have had different citizenships and had to go through customs and border guards in order to visit each other. Fortunately, after both countries joined the Schengen zone, border points were removed, and Valga-Valka is fast overcoming the separation issues.
Estonia 🇪🇪- A New Country by Bicycle
We entered our 8th country on this epic #Napoleoncyclingtour … Estonia 🇪🇪. It was our first time here on a bicycle (we visited the capital Tallinn a few years back). We ❤️❤️❤️ 🇪🇪!
Video: Colette Jumps into Estonia
Otepää – Estonia’s Winter Capital
The small hilltop town of Otepää, 25 mi south of Tartu, is the center of a picturesque area of forests, lakes and rivers. The district is beloved by Estonians for its natural beauty and its many possibilities for hiking, biking and swimming in summer, and cross-country skiing in winter. It’s often referred to as Estonia’s winter capital, and winter weekends here are busy and loads of fun. Some have even dubbed the area (tongue firmly in cheek) the ‘Estonian Alps’ – a reference not to its peaks but to its excellent ski trails. The 40 mi Tartu Ski Marathon kicks off here every February but even in summer you’ll see professional athletes and enthusiasts hurtling around on roller skis. Trivia Fact: The earliest surviving firearm in Europe has been found in the ancient castle of Otepää and it dates to at least 1396. The first settlement in Otepää was in 6th century BC.
Video: This is my kind of traffic!
Video: Colette welcomes riders to pizza lunch in Estonia.
Tartu, a Pleasant University Town
Trivia Fact: Tartu lies on the Emajõgi (“Mother river”), which connects the two largest lakes of Estonia. The larger of the two, Peipsi Jarv (“Lake Peipus”) is one of the biggest inland lakes in Europe — we will be cycling past it tomorrow.