Day 8, 9, 10 Riga Latvia, Tallinn Estonia, and Äänekoski Finland

Today was a wasted day.  We spent last night in a hotel so we had a long sleep.  I went to charge around 11 and went back to get George at noon.  Talk about having a lazy start.  The room was amazing for such a small town.  Black marble everywhere and just the sweetest place.  We booked out the entire Diamond svećiu nami. Because we arrived so late, the owner had to stick around and wait for us to arrive.  You see, the only downside of driving a Tesla is that other people do as well.  We had to wait for over 30 minutes to get onto a charger, and since our battery was pretty low, we had to wait another 45 to charge.  No big deal for us.  We had dinner and watched a movie in the car, but I'm sure the guy who came up and asked how much longer we wrestle going to be thought we were being greedy and selfish.  As this was the first ever time I've had to wait to charge, I didn't plan for it and we ended up late checking in. 

By the time we got here George was so tired he just jumped into bed. 

That staying in bed bit us in the backside though. I didn't realize that the E65 is 2 lane road all through Latvia and Lithuania.  We traveled the entire distance swapping between 70 and 90 km. Can you say long drive?  

These three days have been uneventful.  Driving, and lots of puzzle shopping.  In both Riga and Tallinn we stopped at Brain Games and were able to find puzzles that we didn't have.  My list of commercially made available puzzles gets shorter at each stop.  Since there is no official Lego store in any of these areas, we did not get my passports stamped.  

We are becoming shipping kings.  We stopped at a small place in Riga and sent our puzzle purchases on home.  They have already arrived!  And for €39, I'd call that a major win. 

Tallinn was funny.  We stopped to puzzle shop as usual, and to pick up some salmon for dinner.  While in the grocery store, I had to take a photo.  I have never ever seen so many alcohol isles in a grocery store. This photo only has about 1/2 of them. 

I planned to cook when we arrived at our campgrounds for the night.  And here is where the story gets funny.  It turns out the campgrounds is a driveway in an urban area.  It has a beautifully kept garden and there was plenty of room to park.  

When we pulled up we were told we didn't have a camper so we couldn't park there.  Then when I said I had a booking she said she was full.  I finally had to show the receipt.  Ok, gate opened and we drove in.  When she asked where we would sleep and I told her inside the car she looked horrified!  It took her about a minute to come back with a key to a cabin.  She said we were to sleep in there.  Fine by us. It had beds...

Until we walked inside.  This place was over the top!  The owner painted the walls and brought the outside in.  I'll leave you the photos because I just can't describe it.  The artificial turf on the ground OMG!

It turns out, this is a converted garage. She had 2 garages and made 6 little rooms to rent.  All the same.  I'm guessing since we had key number 14 that she has other rooms elsewhere.  The temperature never got as warm as the Tesla would have but it did have very hot water and a stove.  I'm not complaining about this one at all.  It was an experience. City Garden Camping I don't recommend.

Tallinn did have some interesting architecture, but I only got to see it through the car window.  

At 7:45 we woke with our alarm and headed out.  We had a ferry to catch!  We took the Tallink Megastar across the Baltic and continued on our way.  It was a very calm 2 hour crossing.  I thought I would have to take motion sickness tablets, but it was as calm as could be.  While on board, George sat and programmed and I went shopping.  Ok.  They sure drink a lot in this area.  There was one whole level of the ship that was duty free alcohol! (I bought only a bottle of water.). 

I did buy some cookies, a brick set of the ship we were on and the funkiest jacket ever.

When we landed I just drove.  Today was much better. We were going to stop at JYU but my professor wasn't in so I carried on another 1/2 hour north.  And here once again we run into a funny story.

We booked a great looking place online.  It had a hot tub, sauna, river front views...

When we arrived, it reminded me of a scene from a horror movie.  The first thing we saw was a junk yard and a dead animal. 

We went for a bit of a walk as the keys were in the door waiting for us and it was the first night we arrived at our destination with light still in the sky. 

George found a few friends

And I found the hot tub (but not the sauna).  We passed on it. 

As we pulled up, it reminded me of that horrible story in Utøya, Norway.  I sent Kat our location and told her I loved her.  As it turns out, we met the owner and his adorable children. The daughter couldn't wait to speak Italian with me. and the whole evening was just perfect.  We slept soundly with a roaring fire. 

In the morning, there was a wonderful breakfast provided.  

All in all, this was a nice stay.  I would highly recommend the Riverside Cottage Äänekoski Sauna Hot Tub Northern Lights. 

This morning we head to Kajaani to pick up a few puzzles, and then it is off to Vessa to visit Sloyd for even more puzzle shopping.

Day 5, 6, and 7: Krakow, Warsaw, and Kaunas.

 The next two days were busy ones.  First stop was Katawice.  Here we stopped at a Lego store to get my passport stamped and pick up a few toys.  I love some of the large display models and am putting photos up here for my daughter who got me started on Lego.  I hope I will not bore you with the photos. 

Ready for Halloween

We didn't manage any puzzle shops as they were all closed for the day by the time we arrived.  Who shuts their doors at 3 pm on a Saturday when they should be open for me to shop? 😂

Can you spot our car in this sea of campers.  I guess we are the poor folk now.  Slumming it I think.  But enjoying every minute of it.

In Italy we get a few Lego magazines, but not many.  Whenever I see them when traveling, I pick up a few.  This is what I purchased in Krakow and Katawice. Of course I can't read polish so you know it's only for the mini figures. 

The next morning we headed to Warsaw. Now we have been in both of these cities before so sightseeing was not high on our list.  When we got to the campsite I put in a load of laundry and then we headed to a DHL shop to send out the puzzles and Lego that I had purchased.  While downtown, we did do a bit of walking around.  The lights on this building were amazing.  

We got our package sent out, and returned to the campground to retire for the evening.  The next morning we awoke around 9 and headed out.  First stop, A lego store in Warsaw. More stamps.  More magazines.  More minifigures.  

The puzzle shop we thought about going to was again closed until much later, and as we had to do some major detouring to charge the car we opted out of that stop.  

This is the only time we did not have a direct route with a supercharger.  We had to make a detour through Białystok Poland before heading to Kaunas Lithuania.  When we arrived, we discovered that we had gone through a time zone change and gained an hour!  I forgot to look into that.  Not a problem, but as it turned out, for €101 we had rented out the entire hotel this morning and the owner had to wait around for us.  If you are in the neighborhood, we highly recommend this hotel.  We didn't camp that night because the campgrounds are not local.  They are a 45% battery drop away so I opted to check into a hotel near a supercharger instead. The room is comfortable, and we were very pleased to sleep in a full sized bed and have a bathroom for the middle of the night instead of the pipes.  

Before we got to the room though, we stopped by a puzzle shop.  Pay dirt!  I found loads that we did not have, and we picked up a Hessburger for dinner.  

The shopping mall was pretty cool in that it was built around a couple of old buildings which were left in place.  

On the way, we realized we were at the closest a few hundred km from Ukraine and an equally short distance from Russia.  Years ago, we'd have thought nothing of that but given the current situation, it gave us pause for thought. 

The countryside is beautiful along the way and we are enjoying our time alone together.  When we return, there will be very little of that.