Estonia Randomness #3: Veljo says “Married with Children” is the most popular television show in Estonia. I can’t decided whether or not this is better or worse than the fact that they show Jerry Springer in Senegal.
Estonia Factoid #1: Along with Icelandic, Estonian is at present one of the smallest languages in the world that fulfils all the functions necessary for an independent state to ÔperformÕ linguistically. Teaching, at both primary school and university level, is in Estonian; it is also the language of modern science (molecular biology, astronomy, computer science, semiotics, etc.). Estonian is used in the army, in the theatre, aviation, journalism Ñ in all walks of life. Estonian is the only official language in Estonia in local government and state institutions. (- Estonica.org)
After first stopping in Imavere, we finally made it to Tartu. This is Estonia’s second largest city, after Tallinn. It’s got a couple of universities and houses the country’s Supreme Court and National Archives. But life seems to be centered around the university. Veljo says that people joke that Tartu is all thoughts and no action compared to Tallinn. (And I’m sure the reverse is true.) We just parked near the older part of town, and walked through some cobblestone streets and met Hannes Astok, as I mentioned before, at the Wilde Irish Pub. This was a quite expansive pub, with a separate restaurant-style area adjacent to a balcony, and a main area around the bar. There was a group of Irish kids gathered around a table waiting for some soccer match on television. Apparently the Wilde Pub (it’s named for Oscar Wilde and for the famous Estonian writer Eduard Vilde) was started by an Irishman, so it’s supposed to be pretty authentic.
One of the most refreshing pubs in Estonia, with the class and sophistication to put many of its Tallinn counterparts to shame. Located in a 19th century publishing house, Wilde has become the in place for anyone living here or passing through. CITY PAPER recently spotted the prime minister here and any number of leading scholars sipping coffee or throwing back pints of Guinness. (– Carine)
After the meeting, we walked down through one of the main city squares — plats in Estonian — which Veljo got WiFi-enabled. Except they turn it off during the winter, which doesn’t make much sense to me. It’s not like electricity costs more in the winter. We headed over to the Old City Hall square (photos are coming later tonight.) One thing that I’m really enjoying about the Estonian buildings is that they are very colorful. The Soviet buildings from the 60s/70s tend to be large, cement and very ugly structures (think Wurster Hall on Berkeley campus). Down into the old town, we came to the main hall of the university, which is just tucked into the city, unlike Berkeley or other university towns where the campus announces its presence with a gate or something to mark the border. I guess that Tartu University is so integrated into the city (Veljo says it owns 1/3 of the city). It was founded in 1632 when Estonia was under Swedish rule — so I guess that might make a difference.
We stopped in at the nearby Ulikool Kohvik (University CafŽ), which was a semi-upscale place not unlike a Faculty Club on a university campus. It had a downstairs cafŽ with an upstairs and fancier tea room. We munched on bread, tea, and a really tasty mound of cold salmon wrapped up around creamy blue/herbal cheese. I’ve hardly had any meat here except salmon here — and it’s not because it’s something that’s unique to Estonia. In fact I think most of the salmon here is imported from Scandinavia. Veljo is big on having fish in the afternoon and meat in the evening (but we’ve had hardly any of that either), so it’s not so heavy. I’m not complaining, just noticing. After I paid our bill, which came to something under 100 kroons ($10), I was surprised at how we got so much for so little money, Veljo said: “We’re not in Tallinn anymore.” An apt comment.
We walked a little around the city some more, walking up the hill and underneath the “Bridge of Angels”, which marks the entrance to a small park where the University Museum sits. We spent a little time walking around the 13th century Medieval Dome Cathedral, which now stands in ruins.
The Museum is situated between the ancient walls of the Medieval Dome Cathedral (13th-15th cc), on the Tartu Dome Hill. Lutheran reformation and the Livonian War in the 16th century caused the building to become neglected and finally fall into ruins. In the beginning of the 19th century the choral part of the cathedral was rebuilt for the needs of the University Library. Since 1981 the historical building hosts the only Estonian museum for the history of science. (- About the Tartu University Museum History)
We walked back through the snow-covered park and across the Bridge of Angels towards the Tartu Old Observatory, which is a lovely small building painted print yellow on the highest point in the city. (Estonia is a flat country, its highest point is only 318 m, or just under 1,000 feet.) Then it was back on the road for us.
Our next destination was Moniste, just a few kilometers from the Latvian border, in the deep south of the country. But we first made stops in Pšlva, a smaller town where Veljo had to check out a WiFi hotspot. One of the things that he does is when a site has their WiFi set up, he goes and checks it out and if he’s satisfied with it (ie, it actually works) then he certifies it with a sticker/metal sign and adds it to the regional list on WiFi.ee. We stopped again in Kanepi, at a little crossroads pub for directions, where got some munchies and tea for a total of 10 or 20 kroons ($1-2). Basic rule that I observed is that as you go south in Estonia, prices drop, and people become less wealthy (less cities and more farming towns/villages).
Veljo had wanted to take me to some local music show, but we ended up being too late for it. By the time we left Kanepi, it was dark and Veljo wasn’t entirely sure where we were going. I wasn’t much help considering that we didn’t have a detailed map, nor did I speak Estonian, nor did I know the area. Plus, I fell asleep pretty quickly.
Probably about 45 minutes later, Veljo tapped me on the shoulder. We had arrived.
