No I haven't lost the plot, my bearings, nor my diary entries, this is The Honky Tonk, Cantina in Tallinn. First visited 3 weeks ago, and I returned as it was my last night before flying back to the UK.

As I perused the menu, the waitress approached, I never forget a pretty face, and this lady was statuesque, the ladies of the Baltic Region really are stunning, (sorry just following my notes).

The conversation ran something along these lines ( I wasn't taking shorthand, I was too enrapt, staring into eyes that could melt ice).

The Godess (TG), " Hey, hello again, you were here sometime ago"

The mortal (TM), " Hi, yes, I had to come back, its my last night in your beautiful country"

TG " Thank you, where have you been, did you visit the Islands"

TM " No, I didnt go there, maybe next time I visit, This time a bit of a road trip all over, I have just got back from Narva"

TG " Tch, Tch, that is not Estonia, that is Russia, not a nice place"...........

............ and so that brings me back to Narva

I guess it's claim to fame is that it is just a stones throw from Russia, and with an ever falling population of whom just under 40% are actually Russian I guess my Baltic Beauty wasn't far off the mark! 98% of Narva was flattened during WW2, mostly by Russian bombing raids whilst pushing back the German forces.

So let's have a walk.

Even the corporate street art on the HIV clinic seemed drab, is this as good as it gets?

Let's make it as good as possible, it was a hot very hot afternoon.

Along the Narva River

To our left we see the rebuilt Fortress of Narva, to the right the imposing fortress of Ivangorod, Russia

Narva Fortress

Ivangorod Castle, Russia

Estonian beaches

Russian beaches

The founding members of The Blue Oyster Club were visiting Narva today!

Ivanograd looks very affluent, complete with its own border guards. Security fence along the stretch of riverbank

I wandered up to the railway bridge

Took a selfie and turned around

The Border

Flags: worth dying for?

One road in, one road out

The queues were leaving the Motherland

Beautiful Ivanograd..............

.........Welcome to Narva

I need to cool off.

The Resurrection of Christ Cathedral, built in the mid 1890's this was the only building left standing after the 1944 bombing of Narva.

Early evening, a service in progress, I wandered in , boy was it nice and cold inside.

Nicely chilled I departed and left the flock to it.

A stroll through the functional Soviet blocks eventually brought me to a bridge with some great views

There is something so romantic, evocative and thought provoking, for me at least, in seeing an engine hauling freight.This one was pointing towards Russia.

So that was Narva, I am glad that I visited.

To get back into the UK I visited here to satisfy the cockgobbling puppet masters. 65 euros to prove I am a fit and very healthy person.

The forms were in Russian, the attendants spoke Russian. I think she may have sworn at me in Russian when I sneezed heavily.

Not my fault, you go shoving a fucking stick up my nose, I cant be responsible for my body's auto-defence mechanism against unwanted intrusion.

.......and so full circle back to my baltic beauty; or rather the delicious food that I enjoyed.

Farewell for now Estonia. Forever in my heart.