Tartu, Estonia - Day 1

Our first full day in Estonia saw Scotty attending lectures at the conference while I wandered around town.  It’s a lovely little town with a river running through it, a large central plaza lined with restaurants, and a mix of beautiful old colorful buildings.  Some of these buildings are immaculate while others are in a state of tasteful disrepair.  Here’s some pictures from my wanderings.

Decaying flag pole holders.

The old observatory

The town hall on the main plaza

There is a gorgeous ruined cathedral on the top of a hill in the city center. One part has been restored and turned into a museum featuring the history of the University of Tartu. I was much more taken with the ruins and these lovely windows.

View of the town square from the hill.

Town Hall

The University of Tartu

Mid-afternoon I wandered over to the University where I met up with Scotty for lunch.  Scotty enjoyed some local cuisine that was delicious!

Following lunch, I was on my own again and resumed my directionless ramble.  It’s a good town to just start walking – no maps necessary.  I would just walk along and if something caught my eye, I’d turn in that direction.  It resulted in me stumbling into quiet little neighborhoods and seeing lots of things I wouldn’t have seen if I’d kept to the main roads and sights.

Saint John's Church

The Children's Toy Museum - it was closed the entire time we were there. I think it would have been really interesting to visit.

Funny sculpture here showing Oscar Wilde sitting with Estonian writer Edgar Wilde. While the two never met, the artist cheekily thought it would be a good idea to memorialize them having a chat - one that only ever occurred in the artist's imagination.

Funny English translations abound in the Baltic - I really liked this one: "Area of wireless Internet"

I have so many more pictures of Tartu, lots of detail pictures of doors, signs, quaint buildings.  But I don’t want to bore you with everything all at once.  In the mean time, here’s some pics of our hotel, Villa Margaretha.  We would definitely recommend it.  It has this great Art Deco theme and the rooms are spacious, beds comfortable, and it’s pretty quiet.

Our room was in this wing - which was really quiet until the fire alarm went off the the first night. It was soon resolved but the girl at the front desk was super stressed out about it.