It was a leisurely wake up that began with the included breakfast. I had a small potato pancake that somehow had too much flavor. Baltic cuisine is an interesting thing. We were on the road just before 10:00am and spent the next 20 minutes getting out of Riga. We then drove for another 2 and a half hours on a 2-lane highway. I was expecting something more on par with an LA freeway, though I’m not sure why I had such expectations. Despite all that, we made good progress. We waited for maybe 20 minutes once we reached the ferry dock at Virtsu in Estonia and were directed onto the large vessel which left promptly.
There were restaurants, a snack bar, and numerous areas to lounge. It was actually pretty impressive for just a 30 minute crossing. Google maps had predicted a nearly six hour journey from start to finish including the ferry, but we had somehow cut more than an hour off of that. So invigorated were we, that we decided to make a brief side trip to the Angla Windmill Park.
It is exactly as it sounds, a park with a few old windmills. Unfortunately, what could have been a nice natural setting of old windmills in the countryside was ruined by an attempt at commercialization. Judging by the size of the parking lot, this place perhaps caters more to large groups, though only one other car was parked there when we arrived. They also had some sort of “museum” as part of it all and some food and other things to try. But for such privileges, one needed to pay 8 euro per person to access the grounds. Considering all we wanted to do was see the windmills (which we could do without paying 8 euro), we naturally just took pictures from the outside.
From Angla, it was a quick 25 minute drive to Kuressaare on the southeastern coast of Saaremaa island. We settled into our apartment which is also of historical significance, at one point being a Bank of Estonia building. During Soviet times, it housed numerous higher ranking party officials, and in 2024 it housed Bricole, everyone’s favorite celebrity couple. For those looking to have the bragging rights to say they stayed in the very room that Bricole were in, look for unit 7 — the only one with a balcony. Our balcony looks out onto the street of the very quaint town of Kuressaare.
We decided to go for a stroll around the area. I saw we were near some kind of park. In fact it was a large green space with moat surrounding the Kuressaare Piiskopilinnus, but we were more interested in the Kuressaare Kindluse Pukktuulik. It goes without saying! In plainer terms, it is an old medieval castle that now contains a museum. They were charging 12 euro per person, so for the second time today, we simply skipped the museum and were able climb the ramparts and explore for free.
And what’s this? Another windmill?! Heavens, I’ve lost count of all the wooden windmills I’ve seen today. Again, I must comment on the weather we have been enjoying. I think it is safe to say that temperatures cresting above 70 degrees are not particularly common in these parts especially in May. There was a nearby beach park that seemed to be unsurprisingly popular on a day like today. The beach abutted some rather mucky looking water, but considering it is water from the Gulf of Riga which feeds into the Baltic Sea, the water also seemed surprisingly warm.
It was a nice leisurely walk back to town despite the thousands of bugs that flew about mercilessly. In these parts, they have such a limited window during which they can thrive. One only has to look at the windscreen of our rental cars to see that that narrow window has been narrowed further by the likes of a RAV4 and a Citroen. The amount of bugs we have killed is actually shocking.
We went to the market to get some snacks and such and also stepped into a sporting good store. They had some jerseys in there that I quickly googled to discover they were for the local football team on Saaremaa. Very niche. Though, I am told they play at the TOP TIER of Estonian football, which means something…maybe. Needless to say, I purchased such a unique item to add to my jersey collection. Then we got dinner for ourselves at a place called Poide, which is like a microbrew before heading back to our place.
We spent the rest of the evening relaxing out on the balcony. And what’s this? A washing machine?! Wowsers trousers! Looks like we will have plenty of clean clothes for the foreseeable future. Considering that I expected this to be a sort of lost day of driving, we were still able to see a fair amount and even had time to relax. All in all, I would consider this a very successful day. We have already checked off more than half of the “Must-sees” on Saaremaa, so tomorrow should be a very chill day here.
passports & pepto bismol 