Tartu

"Suudlevad Tudengid" (Kissing Students)



Tartu, my home town, is also home to the University of Tartu. This statue is in the heart of the old city, at the town square in front of the city hall. It used to be a statue of Lenin but as you can see, Lenin's out, smooches are in. [edit: Turns out the Lenin statue was somewhere else, smooches are still in in a big way though]

Town Square

My friend Raimo and his fiancee, Gerda. This was the day before their wedding at a cafe also in the town square.

Old City From Across Ema River

Wandering Around Town

The Honeymoon Suite

Raimo had to drop some things off at the hotel so I got to see their honeymoon suite.

Angel Bridge
Afterwards, we went roaming around the university campus. The University of Tartu is quite old and is spread throughout the old city. It has an amazing campus, all the buildings are very well restored and kept. My parents studied there, as did Gerda and Raimo.

University Cafe

More Campus
An InteriorWe didn't get to go into any classrooms but the interiors of the buildings are just as nicely kept. This one has a bit of a mental ward thing going, but its still pretty cool. I think this is the business and communications building. Any alumni: feel free to correct me.

Miina Härma Tartu's 2nd School (grades 1-12)
This is where I went to grade school. It used to be a crummy old building where spackle would regularly fall from the ceiling, but it has also been restored and quite nicely.
(Apparently the school has also recently been visited by royalty: princecharlesiswatchingyoupoopheknowsitswrongbuthedoesntcare)

My Appartment Building
This is my appartment building. I've lived in many places in Tartu but this is the first and only place I really remember. Its in a section of town called "Ränilinn" or Silicon City. A coincidence? I think not.

The Estonian Country-side
Ränilinn is on the edge of the city, so past the playground next to our appartments starts the farmland. This is taken from my favorite childhood sledding hill, which has coincidentally shrunk a lot over the years.

T'was a Gloomy Afternoon
On my second day in Tartu, I was left to wander the city on my own while Raimo prepared for the wedding. I walked around downtown for a while, mostly just running from building to building, keeping out of the rain.


KGB Building
Hanging Out at the Mall

The Behemoth Shoe-Box of a Mall
Finally I gave up being manly about the weather and went to the mall to buy an umbrella.


A Cafe in Town Square


I finished with a slanted cup of coffee and hiked to my hotel room.

That's it for now! I hope this isn't turning out to be a vacation slideshow (tm), where the only interested person is the presenter. Leave me comments if you want.