ESTONIA June 5-9, 2019
Kilometres Driven:
Estonia – East and South (Tartu, Viljandi, Võru, Jõgeva, Põlva) July 5-6, 2019
I entered Estonia in the southeast corner. It is so nice going across Schengen borders. You hardly know you have entered another country. Lithuania/Latvia was my first since possibly mid-March between Italy and Slovenia.
Hindsa/Misso areas. In the NM “XL” series, this is the part of Estonia in the far southeast, bordering Russia and Lithuania. These are two tiny villages.
VÕRU
Võru Kannel. In the NM “entertainment/things to do” series, this is a cultural center with a theatre/cinema (movies €4) seating 240, art displays around the walls and other rooms for recitals and meetings.
Roosisaare Pedestrian Bridge. At 111m, this is the longest pedestrian bridge in Estonia. Built in 1998, it connects the town of Võru with Roosisaare, or Rose Island, a peninsula that juts out into Lake Tumula. It is a yellow cable suspension pedestrian bridge over the end of the lake that is mostly tall grass and water lilies in bloom. Lake Tumula used to be 1m higher and floods were common but a canal that starts at the bridge was dug.
OTEPÄÄ
Horse Carriage Museum. This is at Pilkuse farm manor, 8kms from Otepää. Its exhibits include carriages (military, ambulance, firefighting), buggies and sleighs and all the equipment that comes with them.
Otepää Winter Sports Museum. (Otepää Talispordimuuseum). This museum is in the large Tehvandi Stadium, a football pitch surrounded by a track and field events facility. The museum deals with hockey, cross-country and downhill skiing and other Olympic winter sports. There is an Olympic ski jump nearby and an interesting hotel built into a bank that is used year around by the winter facilities. On the day I was there, there were many skiing on roller skis in the heavy rain. €4
Prangli windmill (Põlva Peasant Museum), Põlva. This small open-air museum has some original buildings with a handicraft shed and sheds with carriages and a old Opel car. The museum has a school classroom, many pairs of shoes, jewellery, clothes, an exhibit on the Pioneers, and upstairs an exhibit on a woman artist. There is a reconstruction of Polva County towns at a scale of 1m to 1km. The octagonal windmill has 4 floors to climb and see old threshing machines and the mill workings. I am uncertain if the top rotates to take advantage of the wind direction (the woman in the museum didn’t know).
TARTU
My day was made when I finally found (after looking in about 10 countries throughout eastern Europe) the R-907 Camping Gaz tank required by my stove. It was in a hiking store in a shopping mall. I haven’t cooked dinner for over a month trying to save my gas for coffee. The side benefit is that I have lost weight eating only salads. Cost €25 for 4.5kgs of gas, €99 with the tank but I get about 10 weeks of cooking from one tank eating all my meals in the van.
Tartu Architecture and Culture.
Estonian Aviation Museum. About 10kms south of Tartu, this museum shows 27 planes and helicopters, most Soviet military (including 2 Migs) or ones manufactured in Eastern Europe. Labels were in Estonian only that significantly decreases the value of the museum. Also the planes are over 40 years old and not so interesting. A passenger jet from the 70s used by Elk Air had flights to Moscow, St Petersburg, Riga and Tartu. €10, 7 reduced
Museum of KGB Cells. In the NM “the Dark Side” series, in the 40s and 50s, political prisoners were held in these cells. Descend into the basement and start with all the statistics of population changes and where they went from 1939-1945. Estonia lost 25% (280,000), Latvia 30% (1,400,000), and Lithuania 15% (2,400,000) of their populations. The museum is a disjointed exhibition mainly of momentos of various people held in the cells. In the last room is an exhibition on Czechaslovacia in WW II and about the two parachutists who assassinated Reinhard Heydrich, an SS officer stationed in Prague and the brutal reprisals to the towns that helped them. €5, 2 reduced
AHHAA Science Center. Most is orientated to children, but the math and some of the games were interesting. With children it would be easy to spend 2-3 hours. €15, 11 reduced.
Planetarium Tartu. In the AAHHA Science Centre, there is one show daily in English at 7pm, called Discovering the Universe, €6, 4 reduced
Snail Tower (Tigutorn). This 23-story tower is made of monolithic reinforced concrete constructed in a spiral design resembling the structure of a snail shell. It has interesting round windows. The lower floors are offices and the upper floors apartments.
Vanemuine Theatre & Concert Hall.
Father and Son Sculpture. Made in 1977 by the sculptor Ülo Õun (1940-88), it depicts the nude author and his nude 1½-year-old son Kristjan. Unveiled on Children’s Protection Day on June 1, 2004, it expresses ties between different generations and evolution. The bronze statues are the same height but the chubby son is actually much bigger than his father which produces an incongruous appearance. They are holding hands. It sits in a park near the main square of downtown Tartu.
Tartu Art Museum. Exhibits the works of the Pallas Art School (1919-1944) – anatomy, painting, prints and sculpture were all taught. The 3rd floor has paintings owned by locals with small stories of the art and an exhibit of female members of the school. Generally the art was not so interesting. €5, 4 reduced
Tartu Toy Museum. This emphasizes Soviet and Estonian toys, especially dolls and mechanical toys. The puppet display and theatre are a highlight. €6, 5 reduced
St. John’s Church. This dark red brick church with a single large bell tower is very attractive inside – all exposed brick, brick rib vaulted aisles, flat wood ceiling, clear glass windows and very spare adornments. Terracotta figures (there were originally 2000 pieces) and modern art are on the north wall.
Built on a swamp 700 years ago, logs were used for foundations. The church has a definite lean to the right. In WW II, the roof was destroyed and not renovated until 1995-2000. Concrete pillars were placed at the same to time and the church is now stable. Much of the plaster was removed to expose the brick.
University of Tartu Botanical Gardens. Formed in 1803, this is possibly the nicest botanical gardens I have seen in Europe. Quite small, it is formed around the bastions and town walls of Tartu with many small paths and stairs leading through compact plantings and mature trees. Peony, rose, moss, Estonian plants, North American plants, a small lake with lilies, rhododendrons, and a gorgeous sunken alpine garden full of boulders are just some of the highlights. The greenhouses (fee) closed at 5 but the main gardens were open till 7pm and are free.
Estonian National Museum (Eesti Rahva Muuseum). This is a huge gorgeous building of etched glass. I arrived without much time to see the whole museum. Echo of the Urals, the story of the Finno-Ugric people who live in Norway, Sweden, Finland, Estonia and Russia, emphasized the different ways men and women view the world. There are many wonderful pieces but the lighting was so poor, much could not be read. The other main permanent exhibition called “Encounters”, shows the archaeology, language, folk poetry, and skills of the people of Estonia over the last 15,000 years. €15, 12 reduced. Finno-Ugric €6, 4 reduced.
The museum is also a cultural centre with concerts, plays and films every day. www.erm.ee/en
I started on my way to Narva, at the far NE of Estonia next to the Russian border.
Elistvere Animal Park. About 25kms north of Turtu, this zoo is on the old Elistvere Estate with only ruins remaining. It was established in 1997 to show only European animals, of which there are relatively few to see, as some of the enclosures were so large and treed that the critters had many places to hide. I doubt that anyone has ever seen the lynx. They call our moose, elk. €3.20, 1.2 reduced
Kuremaa Manor Windmill, Kuremaa. 28kms north of the animal park, this farm dates to the 16th century. A mansion was built from 1837-43 where whiskey and a dairy were the main income. It was seized by the Estonian government in 1919 who established an agricultural school. After a fire in 1986, it was entirely rebuilt. The windmill was refurbished in 2009 and can be hired for events. A museum on Estonian windmills is on the 3rd floor. It is a lovely stone mill with a top that rotates.
Puurmani Manor, Puurmani. Originally a Tuetonic Knights castle (1343-1560), this neo-Renaissance manor house dates from 1877-81 and is two storied with an elevated basement. Like all estates in Estonia, it was nationalized in 1919 and since 1926 has been the home of the Puurmani Upper Secondary School. It has a lovely 25m tower. The manor is surrounded by a park full of mature ash and oak trees. The Padja River forms the east border and has an island with the “African Hut”.
The storyboard outside the gates showcases Julius Kuperjanov and the Defence Leagues – partisan groups formed after the German occupiers left in 1918 and when the Soviets replaced them. They were stationed at Puurmani Manor and took part in freeing Tartu. They existed until 1944.
I slept in the lot outside this manor for a lovely quiet night.
Põltsamaa Castle, Põltsamaa. Founded as a crusader fortress in 1272, it was transformed into a home in the 1600s that was destroyed by a fire and rebuilt in the 1750s. In 1941, it was almost completely destroyed in an air raid. Today only ruins remain of the main buildings, but the church, originally transformed from the southern cannon tower has been restored. It has a remarkable narrow steep roofed bell tower with a cock weather vane.
I continued on my way to Narva at the extreme east of Estonia. Narva is on the Narva River that forms the boundary between Estonia and Russia.
GO TO ESTONIA CENTRAL (Tallinn)
ESTONIA Nomad Mania Experiences
Play/hear talharpa (tail-hair harp) or strakharpa (bowed harp) is a four-stringed bowed lyre from Northern Europe. It was formerly widespread in Scandinavia but is today played mainly in Estonia particularly among its Swedish communitiy
Taste rosolje – a popular Estonia party food – a delicious potatoe and beet salad, explosively crimson in colour – bite-sized cubes of beets and potatoes, finely chopped onions and pickles tossed with creamy, zesty, mustardy dressing. A perfect side dish for a party, picnic or barbeque.
NOMAD MANIA Estonia – East and South (Tartu, Viljandi, Võru, Jõgeva, Põlva)
World Heritage Sites: Struve Geodetic Arc
Tentative WHS: Wooded meadows (Laelatu, Kalli-Nedrema, Mäepea, Allika, Tagamoisa, Loode, Koiva, Halliste) (06/01/2004)
Borders:
Estonia-Latvia
Estonia-Russia
XL:
Hindsa/Misso areas (southwest)
Saatse area
Valga/Valka
Castles, Palaces, Forts
Alatskivi: Alatskivi Castle (Edward Tubin Museum) (Sight)
Põltsamaa: Põltsamaa Castle
Puurmani: Puurmani manor
Festivals:
Glasperlenspiel Music Festival
Leigo Lake Music Festival
Seto Kingdom Day
Viljandi Folk Music
Windmills:
Kuremaa: Kuremaa manor windmill
Põlva: Prangli windmill (Põlva Peasant Museum)
Ski Resorts
Kuutsemäe Holiday Center
Small Munamägi Ski Center
Pedestrian Bridges: Võru: Roosisaare
Entertainment/Things to do: Võru Kannel
Zoos: Elistvere Animal Park
European Cities
TARTU
Sights: Tartu Architecture and Culture
Museums:
Le Coq Beer Museum
AHHAA
Estonian National Museum
Tartu Art Museum
Tartu Toy Museum
Religious Temples: St. John’s Church
Modern Architecture Buildings: Snail Tower
Entertainment/Things to do: Vanemuine Theatre & Concert Hall, Tartu
Botanical Gardens: University of Tartu Botanical Gardens
Planetariums: Planetarium Tartu (AAHHA Science Centre)
Monuments: Father and Son Sculpture
Aviation Museums Estonian Aviation Museum
The Dark Side: Museum of KGB Cells
Villages and Small Towns
TÕRVA
VILJANDI
Sights: Viljandi – Town Centre and Castle
Museums: Viljandi Museum
OTEPÄÄ
Museums:
Horse Carriage Museum
Otepää Winter Sports Museum