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Jane And Rog
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Thank you!Loving this thread.
Jane & Rog’s Eastwards Coddiwomple
- Thread starter Jane And Rog
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cliffanger
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Lovely photos and I’m thoroughly enjoying your trip.
I have to say, I’ve never heard of a Sundew, and today I’ve read about it twice!
We are in Lessay in Normandy. Parked in an aire next to a nature reserve. What do you think is a highlight of the reserve? The Sundew (which apparently is very rare)!
If the sun shines tomorrow we’ll be off in search of it!
Keep coddiwompling!
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Jane And Rog
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When I found said sundew on the app, I looked at its distribution, and found someone had found it just down the road from home, where we often walk the dog. So well worth travelling 2,238km for then.
Mousy
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Come Ger….wheres yer travel blog?! I’m expecting musical influences with a relic hunt thrown in.
- Oct 12, 2009
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Jane And Rog
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I did think of taking a photo to prove it, but all the possible angles were very unflattering!Stop! Enough! This is a family forum.
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Jane And Rog
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Coddiwompling day 34: “Eastonia”
The day stared grey so we decided to have a look round Riga. We parked near the Soviet Impressive Bridge, paid the mostest parking we could (€2.50 for 60 mins) and set off. Riga is nice but, as its reputation as a party town would imply, it doesn’t get up very early.
We planned to camp up the coast so first a supermarket but, before that a DIY shop. In a weird echo of our Albanian trip, the MORE STURDY storage has also broken. Good news is it’s made of “wood” so I can screw it together rather than stick it together. Eastern European DIY shops are fantastic. They’re massive, the power tools are cheap and they sell beer. B&Q are seriously off the mark.
I was denied a chance to fill Denby up with power tools but I did sneak in an electric screwdriver and €1.60 worth of self tapping screws. Jane got some lovely fringe scissors and no lions.
Then on to our not-stop-for-the-night. Latvians really love the weekend so they were heading out of Riga in droves. Worse they were either actually filling up the campsites or they were threatening to be the cause of reviews like “Campsite rules said no noise after midnight, drunk people don’t read rules”.
We drove on and suddenly… Estonia. We walked Flynn along a bit of the national coastal path and headed for a carpark in Pärnu. Pärnu is the fourth biggest city in Estonia but, something of a holiday destination - you can fly to Pärnu in 75 minutes from Stanstead and you should. Unless you own a van, then you should drive here. Obviously.
The city has a lovely laid back cafe culture. We had a pint over looking a big park to start then walked into town. I wanted to eat at the medieval Alms House which allegedly had a restaurant serving age appropriate food. Sadly it had closed so we wandered around looking for a restaurant.
We settled at Krog. we ordered drinks but, before they arrived the waitperson told us food might take an hour; they had two large tables just seated inside. We decided to skip across the road to Böök which looked much snapper. Indeed the person before us was carrying a violin and said “we need to eat in 40 minutes, we have a concert to be at”.
We watched someone take our table at Krog, eat and leave before our food arrived. When it did arrive it was very good - especially the cod’s liver and raw fish starters.
Here is a bonus photo of Flynn on the walk trying to carry the biggest stick he’s ever seen
Sadly MHF can’t handle this exciting image
Codiwomple rating: good at first, increasing
Ankle report: limping less slowly
Shipping report: rising quickly, two thousand and four, good.
The day stared grey so we decided to have a look round Riga. We parked near the Soviet Impressive Bridge, paid the mostest parking we could (€2.50 for 60 mins) and set off. Riga is nice but, as its reputation as a party town would imply, it doesn’t get up very early.
Sleepy
We managed a very nice bagel for breakfast and Jane went into a few amber shops to not buy anything and then we were off.I did share, honest.
We planned to camp up the coast so first a supermarket but, before that a DIY shop. In a weird echo of our Albanian trip, the MORE STURDY storage has also broken. Good news is it’s made of “wood” so I can screw it together rather than stick it together. Eastern European DIY shops are fantastic. They’re massive, the power tools are cheap and they sell beer. B&Q are seriously off the mark.
Look! Impact driver only €58
Something for everyone
Scale model of Flynn. 1:1
I was denied a chance to fill Denby up with power tools but I did sneak in an electric screwdriver and €1.60 worth of self tapping screws. Jane got some lovely fringe scissors and no lions.
Then on to our not-stop-for-the-night. Latvians really love the weekend so they were heading out of Riga in droves. Worse they were either actually filling up the campsites or they were threatening to be the cause of reviews like “Campsite rules said no noise after midnight, drunk people don’t read rules”.
We drove on and suddenly… Estonia. We walked Flynn along a bit of the national coastal path and headed for a carpark in Pärnu. Pärnu is the fourth biggest city in Estonia but, something of a holiday destination - you can fly to Pärnu in 75 minutes from Stanstead and you should. Unless you own a van, then you should drive here. Obviously.
Cafe etc. Jane finally photographed!
The city has a lovely laid back cafe culture. We had a pint over looking a big park to start then walked into town. I wanted to eat at the medieval Alms House which allegedly had a restaurant serving age appropriate food. Sadly it had closed so we wandered around looking for a restaurant.
We settled at Krog. we ordered drinks but, before they arrived the waitperson told us food might take an hour; they had two large tables just seated inside. We decided to skip across the road to Böök which looked much snapper. Indeed the person before us was carrying a violin and said “we need to eat in 40 minutes, we have a concert to be at”.
We watched someone take our table at Krog, eat and leave before our food arrived. When it did arrive it was very good - especially the cod’s liver and raw fish starters.
Liver.
Sadly MHF can’t handle this exciting image
Codiwomple rating: good at first, increasing
Ankle report: limping less slowly
Shipping report: rising quickly, two thousand and four, good.
Sadly MHF can’t handle this exciting image
I get this sometimes and I just crop the image a little and that works for me…
- Oct 12, 2009
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You clearly don't follow him. He is a brilliant photographer.
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Jane And Rog
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I agree, and some fab drone shots too.
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Jane And Rog
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Yesterday’s map.
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Jane And Rog
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I’d assumed we wouldn’t bother with any of the Estonian islands but Rog sprung a Coddiwompling Surprise and we ended up on the ferry to Muhu. We hadn’t booked, but they only sell a percentage of tickets in advance, so we got straight on with a very short wait. The crossing was just 27 minutes.
Our first stop was the Koguva Village Museum. This is a traditional Muhu farming village, now protected as an open-air museum.
I particularly liked the house displaying beautiful traditional textiles from the area, and hope I can find some embroidery designs to do when I get home. Just look at these socks…
We also saw the ancestral home of the author Juhan Smuul (1922–71), but not knowing anything about him or his books, I was more interested in the fact that he was the 19th child of a Koguva fisherman! Was he also the 19th child of the fisherman’s one and only long-suffering wife, or did several women contribute to the total?
As it was practically on our way, we also stopped to see a famous oak tree. Under Stalin’s regime in 1951, they tried to get rid of the tree to make a football field. They wrapped cables around the trunk, and tugged, but the tree refused to budge. Seeing it as a symbol of hope and resistance, the players left it there, and happily play around it to this day.
Our campsite for the night is a fantastic spot - Kõiguste Marina. This has the feel of a wild camp, but with fantastic facilities. That said, I was a bit nervous of the communal showers - luckily nobody else barged in to embarrass me.
We walked Flynn through some lovely flower meadows (fragrant orchids added to the Seek list)…
…and then barbecued catfish fillets, which were delicious.
However, pozor, pozor! Followers of Rog’s bag woes will remember that last year he left it in a restaurant in Croatia (€50 stolen), and on this trip had to do a late night emergency dash to rescue it in Slovakia. Well, bag disaster has struck again. It has been left in last night’s restaurant - they confirm they have it, so fingers crossed the contents are all there too.
Our first stop was the Koguva Village Museum. This is a traditional Muhu farming village, now protected as an open-air museum.
I particularly liked the house displaying beautiful traditional textiles from the area, and hope I can find some embroidery designs to do when I get home. Just look at these socks…
We also saw the ancestral home of the author Juhan Smuul (1922–71), but not knowing anything about him or his books, I was more interested in the fact that he was the 19th child of a Koguva fisherman! Was he also the 19th child of the fisherman’s one and only long-suffering wife, or did several women contribute to the total?
As it was practically on our way, we also stopped to see a famous oak tree. Under Stalin’s regime in 1951, they tried to get rid of the tree to make a football field. They wrapped cables around the trunk, and tugged, but the tree refused to budge. Seeing it as a symbol of hope and resistance, the players left it there, and happily play around it to this day.
Our campsite for the night is a fantastic spot - Kõiguste Marina. This has the feel of a wild camp, but with fantastic facilities. That said, I was a bit nervous of the communal showers - luckily nobody else barged in to embarrass me.
We walked Flynn through some lovely flower meadows (fragrant orchids added to the Seek list)…
…and then barbecued catfish fillets, which were delicious.
However, pozor, pozor! Followers of Rog’s bag woes will remember that last year he left it in a restaurant in Croatia (€50 stolen), and on this trip had to do a late night emergency dash to rescue it in Slovakia. Well, bag disaster has struck again. It has been left in last night’s restaurant - they confirm they have it, so fingers crossed the contents are all there too.
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Jane And Rog
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Today’s map.
Those socks were beautiful Jane were they knitted? I would have had to have bought a few pairs of them for sure
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Jane And Rog
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Knitted but not for sale sadly. They did have hats in the shop, but nothing like as good as those socks.Those socks were beautiful Jane were they knitted? I would have had to have bought a few pairs of them for sure
They are gorgeous and being a knitter myself I appreciate the work that has gone into those patterns.
- Dec 19, 2020
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Yeah, just what we need - an aerial shot of a stray dog.
He has never done an aerial shot of stray dogs.Yeah, just what we need - an aerial shot of a stray dog.
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Give it time.
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Jane And Rog
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OK, let’s forget Northernraider, given this is our thread! I wish Rog had never mentioned him & that photo competition.
Talking of drone shots, Rog got a great one of our current site last night.
Talking of drone shots, Rog got a great one of our current site last night.
One of my flat mates at Uni was one of 15 children, I visited her home during one holiday. Talk about organised chaos.
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Jane And Rog
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Wow! All the same mother?
Yes! She had terrible varicose veins. The parents were devout Catholics (converts as my other Catholic flatmate’s mother used to say whilst nodding sagely!), needless to say the children didn’t follow in their parents footsteps.
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Jane And Rog
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Coddiwompling day 36: What day is it?
We woke up today to realise that our ferry back is late this month and we have just over 2 weeks to drive 2600km - that’s not great Codiwompling. But first, we had a church to see:
We drove to the north of the island to see Karja Church, arriving promptly at 9am two hours before it opened. We killed time planning those two weeks and, at 10:45, left without seeing the inside of the church and its medieval pagan graffiti. It did have this rather nice relief above the transept door though.
We left the church because we were in no hurry: we decided to take the overnight ferry to (kindof) Stockholm from (kindof) Tallinn. There are only a handful of sailings per week and fewer overnight so we’ll wait in Estonia until Saturday. It did mean we didn’t need to hurry to see Karja Church though. Instead, we’d decided on lunch at Sääre Paargu near the Sõrve Peninsula lighthouse. On arrival Flynn got a walk/swim down the peninsula then we sat down to herring on black bread and kvass (if you’re the driver) white wine (if you’re the navigator).
We wandered round town a little and had a pint of local (style and provenance) beer at Saaremaa Veski; a pub made out of a windmill.
Sadly there’s so much sun and it goes on so late here that Denby was getting hot. We’re north of Newcastle and for some unknown reason two hours ahead of Blighty. It’s colder than it has been but ,right now, it’s still 21C at 17:30 and the sun is more or less overhead. So we couldn’t leave Flynn in the carpark. There was an aire in town but it wanted €29 for a night by the harbour. We visited all the carparks in town looking for a shady, free spot. It wasn’t to be and we decided to stump up the €29 for a place with electricity.
Flynn safely air conditioned, we walked back into town and had a pint at the John Bull Pub (not a pub). Mr Bull has a great view of the castle from his terrace.
We then walked on to KuKu which also overlooks the castle but is a little more upmarket. We started with freshly salted whitefish - accompanied by the local cakes rye bread. I went to the loo and came back to find Jane smirking like a naughty schoolgirl. She’d been encouraging a herring gull to steal from our table.
Not quite the crime it would be in the UK - the staff were amused by its antics.
After the whitefish, we had fried eels for Jane and smoked lamb for me - all the food we ate was from the island. We finished off with cakes from the cake cupboard. KuKu was probably the best food we’ve eaten all trip.
Codiwomple rating: It’s Monday
Ankle report: hardly even worth reporting on these days.
We woke up today to realise that our ferry back is late this month and we have just over 2 weeks to drive 2600km - that’s not great Codiwompling. But first, we had a church to see:
We drove to the north of the island to see Karja Church, arriving promptly at 9am two hours before it opened. We killed time planning those two weeks and, at 10:45, left without seeing the inside of the church and its medieval pagan graffiti. It did have this rather nice relief above the transept door though.
Jesus and the elves.
We left the church because we were in no hurry: we decided to take the overnight ferry to (kindof) Stockholm from (kindof) Tallinn. There are only a handful of sailings per week and fewer overnight so we’ll wait in Estonia until Saturday. It did mean we didn’t need to hurry to see Karja Church though. Instead, we’d decided on lunch at Sääre Paargu near the Sõrve Peninsula lighthouse. On arrival Flynn got a walk/swim down the peninsula then we sat down to herring on black bread and kvass (if you’re the driver) white wine (if you’re the navigator).
LighthouseesuohthgiL
Does my nose look big in this?
After lunch we drove back up the peninsula and east towards Kuressaare with its massive castle and trinket shops. We bagged some shady free parking which looked like it might last until evening and set off into town. It’s a lovely port town somewhat polished but with a lively harbour and bustling Main Street - in contrast with the rest of Estonia which has sometimes felt downright sleepy.
Bustling bikes.
We wandered round town a little and had a pint of local (style and provenance) beer at Saaremaa Veski; a pub made out of a windmill.
Large windmill or small beer?
Large hand or small dog?
Sadly there’s so much sun and it goes on so late here that Denby was getting hot. We’re north of Newcastle and for some unknown reason two hours ahead of Blighty. It’s colder than it has been but ,right now, it’s still 21C at 17:30 and the sun is more or less overhead. So we couldn’t leave Flynn in the carpark. There was an aire in town but it wanted €29 for a night by the harbour. We visited all the carparks in town looking for a shady, free spot. It wasn’t to be and we decided to stump up the €29 for a place with electricity.
Flynn safely air conditioned, we walked back into town and had a pint at the John Bull Pub (not a pub). Mr Bull has a great view of the castle from his terrace.
She will never pose for a photo.
We then walked on to KuKu which also overlooks the castle but is a little more upmarket. We started with freshly salted whitefish - accompanied by the local cakes rye bread. I went to the loo and came back to find Jane smirking like a naughty schoolgirl. She’d been encouraging a herring gull to steal from our table.
Quack!
Not quite the crime it would be in the UK - the staff were amused by its antics.
After the whitefish, we had fried eels for Jane and smoked lamb for me - all the food we ate was from the island. We finished off with cakes from the cake cupboard. KuKu was probably the best food we’ve eaten all trip.
Yum.
Codiwomple rating: It’s Monday
Ankle report: hardly even worth reporting on these days.
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Jane And Rog
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Sometimes you have bad days. This one didn’t start well as we had to back track 75km to Rööm restaurant in Pärnu, where Rog left his bag on Saturday.
Then we drove north-east to visit the Museum of Soviet Vehicles. This promised to be a fascinating collection of Soviet-era tanks and things, but turned out to be a bit of a junkyard where old vehicles go to rot.
No signs at all most of the time, and what there were weren’t translated. I left with the feeling that a lot of interesting history was just being left out in the rain and snow to die, without being understood, which was sad.
We’d thought we might wild camp somewhere from PFN but it didn’t go well. Rog walked Flynn briefly for a wee, while I cleaned a bit. On his return, Flynn was on his lead and we stood outside by the slider discussing whether to stay. Suddenly a small white fluffy dog appeared around the corner of front of the van and had a go at Flynn. Flynn obviously felt threatened, retaliated and there was quite a set to. Rog pulled Flynn off, but the other dog was either loose or Flynn caused it to become so (point of debate), so it wasn’t easy to stop things. Rog tried to reassure the other dog after the incident, and it growled at him too. Rog and the other dog’s owner had a tense and sometimes heated discussion, (I was told to keep out of it) and to cut a long story short, we have ended up paying for the vet’s bill of €90.
I’m not really happy, as I don’t think Flynn was to blame (just bigger, so won the argument) and I have insisted that Rog points out in his payment acceptance email that we don’t accept responsibility and are only paying as we are visitors to their country and want to behave like good British citizens.
I was left shaking and quite sick with adrenaline, so rather than any sort of wild camp we headed to the security of a campsite, Mereoja Camping, back on the Baltic.
It was a very manicured site with good facilities, and definitely helped me to relax.
I cooked us a tomato and barley risotto with tahini and chilli dressing, pickled onions and halloumi. Probably I’d have chosen to go out for a pizza, but that wasn’t possible at this site, and it was what we had in. And yummy, though I say so myself.
Rog would like to point out that the halloumi is massively out of date (it was rescued from our fridge as we left in June, and past its date then) so if you don’t hear from us, it’s probably food poisoning.
Coddiwompling score - Yeah, but, no but.
Then we drove north-east to visit the Museum of Soviet Vehicles. This promised to be a fascinating collection of Soviet-era tanks and things, but turned out to be a bit of a junkyard where old vehicles go to rot.
No signs at all most of the time, and what there were weren’t translated. I left with the feeling that a lot of interesting history was just being left out in the rain and snow to die, without being understood, which was sad.
Flynn keen to explore the amphibious vehicle
I have no clue
Cute tractor, would like to take home with me
We’d thought we might wild camp somewhere from PFN but it didn’t go well. Rog walked Flynn briefly for a wee, while I cleaned a bit. On his return, Flynn was on his lead and we stood outside by the slider discussing whether to stay. Suddenly a small white fluffy dog appeared around the corner of front of the van and had a go at Flynn. Flynn obviously felt threatened, retaliated and there was quite a set to. Rog pulled Flynn off, but the other dog was either loose or Flynn caused it to become so (point of debate), so it wasn’t easy to stop things. Rog tried to reassure the other dog after the incident, and it growled at him too. Rog and the other dog’s owner had a tense and sometimes heated discussion, (I was told to keep out of it) and to cut a long story short, we have ended up paying for the vet’s bill of €90.
I’m not really happy, as I don’t think Flynn was to blame (just bigger, so won the argument) and I have insisted that Rog points out in his payment acceptance email that we don’t accept responsibility and are only paying as we are visitors to their country and want to behave like good British citizens.
I was left shaking and quite sick with adrenaline, so rather than any sort of wild camp we headed to the security of a campsite, Mereoja Camping, back on the Baltic.
It was a very manicured site with good facilities, and definitely helped me to relax.
I cooked us a tomato and barley risotto with tahini and chilli dressing, pickled onions and halloumi. Probably I’d have chosen to go out for a pizza, but that wasn’t possible at this site, and it was what we had in. And yummy, though I say so myself.
Rog would like to point out that the halloumi is massively out of date (it was rescued from our fridge as we left in June, and past its date then) so if you don’t hear from us, it’s probably food poisoning.
Coddiwompling score - Yeah, but, no but.
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Jane And Rog
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Funny I mentioned the halloumi. I just got this email from Ocado about the tahini.
————-
Product Recall - Al'Fez Natural Tahini Paste 160g
Our supplier AB World Foods Ltd is recalling Al'Fez Natural Tahini Paste 160g we delivered to you on 16/05/2024 because there is a risk of possible presence of Salmonella.
The affected items have a best before date of September 2025. Our systems show that you have been sent one or more of these items. Please dispose of the product.
—————
Really not our day.
————-
Product Recall - Al'Fez Natural Tahini Paste 160g
Our supplier AB World Foods Ltd is recalling Al'Fez Natural Tahini Paste 160g we delivered to you on 16/05/2024 because there is a risk of possible presence of Salmonella.
The affected items have a best before date of September 2025. Our systems show that you have been sent one or more of these items. Please dispose of the product.
—————
Really not our day.
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Jane And Rog
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The mystery amphibious vehicle is (according to the internet) a BTR-60 the worlds first 8x8 armoured personnel carrier.
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Jane And Rog
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Today’s map. A lot of driving! St Petersburg was on the road signs, but I think our eastwardsness stops here.
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