today, everything we planned for tdb2015 is coming together – literally!

since jc and i spent the first part of the day separately, it might make sense to see what we were up to one by one.

let’s start with JC’s story

we left the action with jc on a ferry to helsinki with TW560 generating quite some interest and keeping jc busy explaining what a twike is all about.

the ferry arrives on time and finland welcomes TW560 for the first time.

welcome to helsinki
welcome to helsinki

we discovered just a few hours before that the ferry ports for finnlines and the one we booked for helsinki > tallin is 14 kms apart. lucky us we had factored in ample time for disembarking and checking in whilst booking the ferries!

a motorbike... save money, yet again!
a motorbike… save money, yet again!

with time to spare, jc arrives at the next port, just in time to see the second ferry arriving.

helsinki > tallin - TW560's ferry arrives
helsinki > tallin – TW560’s ferry arrives

not only ferries are present at this port as the masses of tourists present prove 🙂

ready to cater to thousands of tourists
ready to cater to thousands of tourists

after this leg, jc arrives on time in tallin. with me already in the air he messages me instead of calling. i send him pics of the coast from above and confirm that i will be landing on-time.

my day

i start out in umbria and am driven to the airport by friends i know since i was a child. en route i even see a leaf – wohoo, even italy is getting it… somehow – check the pic i took the day before 🙂

park... and charge - a challenge!
park… and charge – a challenge!

at fco i head directly to the gate and off i go!

travelling light: one small backpack
travelling light: one small backpack
bye bye, italy!
bye bye, italy!

my gps tracker even works when flying across europe 🙂

pan european travel for TDB2015
pan european travel for TDB2015

after an utterly uneventful flight i arrive at riga airport where i have a 90 min layover – i head to the lounge to relax a little.

there are worse ways to spend time at an airport!
there are worse ways to spend time at an airport!

getting up to get some food and my favourite drink from the bar, i spot what is one of the first things risk managers should hammer into employees’ heads: don’t leave your laptop unlocked at airport lounges!!! (or anywhere, for that matter)

they never, ever learn!
they never, ever learn!

the bar offers one of my favourite foods: köttbullar’s!

aaah. soul food! köttbullar & g&t
aaah. soulfood! köttbullar & g&t

streaming some stuff off my server in my cellar in switzerland via a vpn, drinking some g&t’s and having *all* available meatballs means my 90 minutes go by very, very fast. i board my flight to tallin and off we go.

riga - we'll probably see each other again tomorrow.
riga – we’ll probably see eachother again tomorrow.

i send jc following two images after he confirms that he will be at the airport in time.

nothing like this in switzerland!
nothing like this in switzerland!
the coast we'll be travelling along
the coast we’ll be travelling along

after landing in tallin, i’m surrounded with innovative communication concepts:

maybe i should...
maybe i should…

and: (…there will be a few lavatory-themed pictures coming up)

i visit the men’s toilet on my way to the exit.

just in case you forgot
just in case you forgot

cool.

and we get another valuable reminder…

one last thing :)
one last thing 🙂

again: cool. just in case you forgot.

then i thought: wait a moment. if we men are treated to such helpful info…what do women get told?

i can help 🙂

girls get a pep talk before leaving the loo
girls get a peptalk before leaving the loo
and... some info about how to be fashionable!
and… some info about how to be fashionable!

and with this i was ready for a language lesson! (probably the most important sentence)

oh, yes! definitely my type of restaurant
oh, yes! definitely my type of restaurant

then: jc and i meet and our tdb2015-prologue is over!

Hi there! First glimpse of TW560 in tallin
Hi there! First glimpse of TW560 in tallin

after a quick check-in into our villa tosca we head out to rix from rixbikes.com a guy building serious to loco electric bikes. he also invites the guy that supplies him with the batteries for his bikes. check out his site to see the utter creativeness of this guy!

rix' workshop
rix’ workshop

an item found at his workshop 🙂

hm..
hm..
master rix shows us the difference between china and his art
master rix shows us the difference between china and his art
rix battery provider with his own creation
rix battery provider with his own creation

we offer rix a ride with TW560 and teach him how to drive himself – a fun experience for all involved!

rix test driving TW560
rix test driving TW560

tallin old city is awaiting us! en route there, our eyes spy an abb 50kW combo AC/DC charging station with a leaf parking before it.

tallin electric taxi
tallin electric taxi

the driver tells us that there now are a few electric taxis in tallin and that he personally drives around 70-80k kms a year with this car just for his job and would not trade it for any other car!

tallin’s old town is stunning. we drive and walk around and marvel at its beauty. if you haven’t been to tallin yet: plan to go NOW. 🙂

tallin old town...with TW560

another thing we like alot is the fact that the day is so long here: the sunset is at 2230 – so much more time to do things!

2230...sunset
2230…sunset

since we’ve got so many toilet related pictures in this entry, one last thing 🙂

we somehow ended up eating at a medieval-themed restaurant where not only all artificial lighting was banned in the main restaurant area and every interior design element genuinely looked like it was from many centuries ago, lots of attention went into these rooms, too!

medieval theme in bathroom
medieval theme in bathroom
medieval mens room :)
medieval mens room 🙂

with one hour time difference, we didn’t really feel too tired at midnight. 🙂

tomorrow we’ve got our first official day ahead of us and are really looking forward to starting our 9th TWIKE adventure!

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