59 days of European summer

That was it, the longest stay back in Europe since 2007. This is how the stats go:

-> 59 days in June to July

-> Met up with all friends, except 1

-> 2400km travelled between Riga and Tallinn

-> 11 visits to different institutions for getting all the paperwork sorted.

-> 44 different events - concerts, pub evenings, terrace construction, song and dance festival, etc.

-> 19 different occasions of getting into sports, besides all times favourites orienteering and MTB went to discover also new ways or recreation. Got into less frequent road biking, kayaking and golfing. And also introduced  myself to SUP (Stand Up Paddling) - funny sport invented by wave surfers, that has transformed into something completely different in wave-less Baltic sea.

Thoughts from the summer.

Welcome to Estonia, where suddenly all the people are riding bicycles

Welcome to Estonia, where friends have turned into Santa Clauses

Happy to give spin with road bike, Taivo thanks for the trip plan; Dag, thanks for the bike!

Welcome to Latvia and the cafeteria culture

Folk fashion in Riga

Sometimes orienteering finds its way out from forest, for example into Old Tallinn

One of the best concert experiences ever: Brainstorm and Ewert concert in Pärnu. Perfect weather, location, music. 

Welcome to Estonia, how retro is that?! Midsummer party in its best

This is how to surf the waves when there are no waves to be found

Yes, Latvian also has Song and Dance Festival, that is held in every 4 years, that has become very popular, so that it is almost impossible to get tickets. At one moment there will be compulsory rain attack. Everything same same as in Estonia, must be neighbours thing!

5th time ~15 of my friends dressed up in K11 bike shirts will bicycle for a about six days around Estonia to train for Kilimanjaro 2011 (K11) trip that already took place in 2012. Hard work that will culminate in absolute black-out on the way back to normal daily life.

Welcome to Estonia, last bye from the good old trains, that became history in July this year.

Riverside of Riga to brainstorm of Estonia

Setting sail to America's Cup... no no, just departing from Riga. Have been living in New Zealand for 6 weeks, talks of sailing competition and America's Cup is 24/7 around me.

Thanks friends, amazing summer!

Week nr 3, Beach life

Time to get ready for the summer, made a move and replaced the road side motel with one by the sea. On sunny days - as last Sunday was - it seems to be a wonderful place, during the rain with quick temperature drops I still get reminded that August is a winter month and being at beach is refreshing experience, even when inside the hut!

Motel camps are at the far end of the small village, main attraction seems to be 1 beach, 1 golf course, 1 church, 1 bowling club, 1 takaway food place, 1 restaurant, 1 small shop, everything else is 20km away.

Morning and tide moving out, will be back by evening

Small stick at the horizon is the Auckland TV tower, the bungee jumping one

Week nr 1 in New Zealand

Beach with blue-black sand, Karioitahi beach  The road was winding up with a rather steep degree, finally from the very top there was sudden magic view down, to the ocean, kind of a "Wow" moment. There was a road that was now making its way down to the bottom of a V-shaped river valley that ended at the coast, all this slightly mist caused by salt from the ocean. 

Between the hill range and waves ran around 200 meters wide stretch blue-black sand beach. That sand is actually the ironsand used in the mill for making steel. A rare persons walking to the fog of salt or a 4-wheel driver running the dog on the beach. That was about it, until suddenly the sun had sunken into ocean and it was getting quickly pitch black.

Day nr 3 in New Zealand

Day 3 in New Zealand
To keep the jet-lag under control after 38 hours flight and changing 9 hours' worth of time zones, I decided to have an early start for Saturday and check out places "just down the road" - old lighthouse 40 km from the motel in Waiuku. Mainly to confirm if the country is still as dreamy as it got recorded in my mind at 2008. And also to take quieter side roads to remind myself how it was to drive on the wrong side of the road.
Still New Zealand is amazing, even during the harsh winter! Now it is the winter - only few flowers in blossoms, butterflies flying, some people running outside in shorts, though some trees actually have lost the leaves.




The stacks in the upper right corner belongs to the New Zealand Steel mill. It seems to be the only heavy industry mill in this corner of the country.

Winter 1 - logo of Swedbank

Winter 2

Winter 3

Rizhao car show mish-mash

Well, the cars in China look different - brands never heard in Europe, styles from past or future, sometimes very hard to understand if more from past or from future. For some strange reason I finished up walking through the Rizhao car show in April. This was not exactly the new concept cars' exhibition, more of a car dealers show to boost sales in Rizhao.

Together the show made a confusingly beautiful combination of new-old-true-fake, some stands even spicing up things with non-wheeled models.



Get a Mazda 6, whatever generation desired

Chinese Lotus and a model. One of them with a big poster "Engineered by Lotus", not sure how much actual input the small workshop in UK had to this car.

The "V" car and Mazda 3, who is who?

April was still chilly month, model turned rather white in cool spring winds

Place of contrasts, in the same stand the grand ~30 old taxi-Santana (11,500 EUR) or machine called New Santana (price starting from 10,800 EUR).

Focus on models

BALC car company stand. First it looked the central piece of their exhibition is the Mercedes. My first guess: partnership with Mercedes factory. Took a closer look of both cars, the 2 looked extremely similar. In interior the "Mercedes" had actually a BALC logo on steering wheel, very odd! Finally it came to me, the only piece of Mercedes was the logo on the bonnet.
The short conclusion: not a problem at all to borrow other car's logo to promote the new baby in their own official stand.

Best value for money, grand old mega-mini van, 3,800EUR. It might look big on this photo, actually super small van that would wobble in any wind and driving 80kmh feels like its preparing to take off like a plane. Not much luxury there, but this is the legendary mover in far inland provinces of China. In trips to Sichuan, Yunnan, Fujian etc. this was usually the top choice of our illegal taxies.