A Travel Story by Nick Statham & Gill Roger
We finally left on Sunday the 17th August 2008.
Nick is riding a 1985 R80 GS BMW, I am riding a 1995 R100R BMW Mystic.
The ride to Hull for the overnight ferry was uneventful, which was just as well as we almost missed the ferry. They closed the doors as we were tying the bikes down!
We sailed into Tallin 23rd August, on a lovely sunny morning. We were both looking forward to another new country.
We went straight to the tourist information on the quayside looking for a campsite close to the town. We end up camping on a boatyard which was the yachting venue of the 1980 olympic games. The facilities are adequate, but basic.
We catch a bus into the lovely medieval town of Tallin, which is now very touristy.
September 1st
We awake and check our documents, we are horrified to find they are all damp, including the St Petersburg maps which are illegible. Luckily the hotel has a heated floor in the bathroom where we spread them out to dry whilst we eat breakfast. The hotel receptionist explains we need to book a slot to cross the border at a special office. We cannot find the office so again we go to the tourist information office.
Saturday 6th September
Leaving St Petersburg we were heading south for Moscow, via Novgorod. Trying to find the correct road out of St Petersburg proved to be a trial due to lack of road signs.
So, we headed roughly south, picked up a motorway with signs and sorted ourselves out that way. This was to prove the same for the whole of the Russian part of the trip. Plenty of signs showing the main roads into and through cities/ towns but they became confused in the centres, leading to a slightly hit-or-miss approach to navigation! having a very large scale map did not help.
24th September
After a rough nights sleep we are eager to be up and away, looking forward to Moldova, another country!!