peacetraveler22 | Crossing the Border Into Another World!

The Eastern Euro journey is in full swing now, after a very long drive on Thursday from Moscow to Estonia. Yes, the same horrible roads but a different Russian "highway" this time than the one we drove to St. Petersburg. It doesn't matter the "M" number, M9 or M10, I will say the same thing I said before but in a more polite way. Russian roads and drivers are freaking scary! Panic for the entire day as we passed huge trucks in head on traffic. We entered Estonia at a tiny border crossing, only a short wait in line but then there were some problems when Sasha told them he had cigarettes. Too many under Estonian law, and thus a duty tax was to be imposed. But no one could figure out the amount!! So, after wasting a lot of time they eventually let him go with no fees. Great! We're on our way to Estonia and then I look in my passport. No stamp!! They somehow forgot so a quick turnaround back to the border and everything was fixed. Customs/border agents were all very friendly. The section of the road right before the border crossing at Pskov is in very good condition. Magnificent cloud filled sky as we entered Estonia!

1. Some lovely scenes near the Russian/Estonian border.

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2. Estonian home in the middle of nowhere. Yard is well maintained, some color on the house, no disrepair. Noticeable difference from the homes I saw in rural Russia.

town1

3. Lots of cyclists riding on back streets and even the main Estonian roads, without fear of death. Some Russian drivers would probably be bored in Estonia. Almost everyone abiding by rules, passing only when allowed and not speeding or driving aggressively. No real adventure or cat and mouse games on the Estonian roads. You can see also that autumn has set in, great colors on many trees. Cool, frosty air. Wonderful! I saw the same in Moscow, but under very rainy conditions.

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4. We're driving through very rural areas. Oh how I love it! Peaceful landscapes, lots of farm animals, open fields. Estonia is beautiful!

town3

5. I'm sorry to say it, but here in Estonia I received a much warmer welcome than in Russia. People amazingly friendly, open and kind. One quick example. At a tiny market by the Estonia/Latvia border I met this woman. She saw my camera, it was probably immediately clear that I'm a foreigner. Did she stare at me in a cold way or say "NYET" when she saw my camera? No! She smiled, opened her hand and offered me free fruit. I will tell you more about her when I write my full post on Estonia. Same thing walking down the streets of small Estonian villages. Many locals were very surprised to see foreigners in their tiny towns. They wanted to chat and learn more about us, but no one in these rural areas speaks English. I spoke to one Estonian man in broken Russian and he invited us for coffee, but unfortunately we didn't have time to accept his offer.

market1

After the border crossing I learned something new - that there are a lot of Russian jokes about Estonians! :) Sasha tried to tell me some of them. Yes, all focused on Estonians being slow and I believe this perception is accurate. Perhaps in larger cities like Tallinn the pace of life is more comparable to Moscow or a big American city, but I didn't see it in the areas we visited. Estonians are lovely people and the country itself very beautiful. Simple and slow, not such a bad way to live.

Later in the week I'll try to write a full post on Estonia and share more impressions. Our travel schedule is very hectic, seeing so many interesting things each day. We've already driven through Estonia, Latvia and are camped out tonight in Lithuania. The rest of the journey will be spent only in Poland and Slovakia, the two remaining countries of the trip. So far, very fun and interesting for me!

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

From:

andrey-kaminsky.livejournal.com

Every time I have a pain in my heart when I read that russians are not friendly enough... This is because I understand that I have some of the blame for this. I don't sex-troll you and you are deprived of the opportunity to get acquainted with this important part of russian culture. (deep sad sigh) But you must not think that this is your fault. You would have sex-trolled well if the force of circumstances were not been present...
inamora... Even the fact that she is he, can't get me to stop to think about her. I just cannt sex-troll anyone but her. Her sexuality is a curse on me. I hope you will understand and forgive me. Have a nice trip.

Edited Date: 2013-09-30 05:43 am (UTC)

From:

amandakysses.livejournal.com

Excuse me, can you please tell me what sex-troll means? Please.

From:

andrey-kaminsky.livejournal.com

This is a Russian national pastime. Unfortunately, the Russian segment of the entertainment is closed now :( Try to appeal to Ukrainian or Belarusian branch.

From:

amandakysses.livejournal.com

Oh ok. Im sorry. Ive never heard the term before. Maybe Shannon knows. She can help me understand. Thank you.

From:

peacetraveler22.livejournal.com

Amanda, you're so polite in the typical American way! :)) "Troll", it's an Internet slang term in English and globally for someone who harasses or tries to instigate a reaction from someone online. Usually by making controversial or defamatory statements. However, here we use the term in good fun because everyone in Russia is worried about me getting laid. Just like you. :) So they tease me about it.

From:

amandakysses.livejournal.com

Oh my gosh thank you for explaining. I felt so silly, I had never heard of it before. Sounds pretty mean. I hope you dont have any trolls. I want you to get love not just laid, but laid will do in the interim. Miss you. Xoxo

From:

andrey-kaminsky.livejournal.com

Unfortunately again, she does not know what it is. But, fortunately, she can explain it to you. Sounds interesting. -Ð©Ð¯Ð©Ð¯ - this is just for create an atmosphere

From:

peacetraveler22.livejournal.com

Her blog is more suited for sex trolling. :)) And it's no joke, your country does not welcome tourists. It's a fact.

From:

andrey-kaminsky.livejournal.com

Do you hate the MacOS? (good laugh with macos) What did he do wrong? You think to switch the blog to Estonians? If not, then things are not so bad about Russian. They have gone through a lot of trouble and very cruel to put this fact in their guilt.