Well, this is sleepy Kuressaare, a pleasant little town on the south coast of the Estonian island of Saaremaa.
We couldn’t get onto the noon ferry crossing today, so we had to sit in the queue for the 13:00 sailing from Virtsu to Kuivastu. We might have done better to book in advance, which we’ll now be certain to do for the return journey on Monday.
The drive over the small island of Muhu and then Saaremaa was lovely. Saaremaa is covered in thick pine and spruce forests, not to mention juniper groves. Lighthouses and windmills supposedly dot the landscape, although we’ve so far seen only one windmill. This is old Estonia, rustic charm at its very best.
Saaremaa is still gloriously unspoilt, the unwittingly fortuitous consequence of many decades of Soviet rule. During that era, all access to the island was strictly forbidden, thanks to the presence of an early radar system and rocket base. The encroaching tourism in the years since independence doesn’t yet seem to have put much of a dent in the island. Long may it remain so.
We visited the Kuressaare’s castle today, which was good fun. Unlike the previous ruins we’ve visited on this trip, this castle was still intact, so it was much more interesting to walk around.
One part of the castle that particularly appealed to the imagination was the courtroom, where many a poor sod was sentenced to death and summarily executed by being hurled into a shaft with ferocious lions at the foot. It sends a shiver down your spine, just thinking about it. These days, the roars of the lions from the shaft are mere recordings, but it’s enough to get the idea.
Our hotel is a stone’s throw from the castle, located right next to the moat. It’s a beautifully charming Art Nouveau building with attractive period furnishings. Of all the settings of all the hotels we’ve stayed in over the years (and that’s quite a few), this one ranks pretty highly in terms of picturesque appeal.
At this point, it’s hard to know whether to feel sorry or happy for the Baltic countries and their relative obscurity as a travel destination. If more people knew what they were missing by not coming here, they surely would decide to come. Whilst that would provide a very welcome cash infusion for the economy, it would also bring with it the horrors of mass tourism we know and loathe from across the globe.
Estonia is a little bit bigger than the Netherlands, but has less than 10% of the population. No wonder it doesn’t feel crowded here.