Baltics - 11 June 2012 (1)

Off to Tartu

We had an early start and I was down for breakfast by 06.30.  Most people were ready and waiting in the lobby well before the coach came to take us to Tallinn Coach Station.  This is not in a picturesque part of the city.

We got there at 08.15, even though our coach was not due to leave until 09.00.  While we waited, I popped to the underground toilets.  They cost €0.35, but were quite good – especially for a coach station.

When the coach arrived, we found that we had the front 20 seats.  I sat next to May and we chatted for the whole journey as we looked out of the window.  Outside was mostly farmland, with a few woods sprinkled in.  There were lots of wild flowers and May spotted some storks, nesting on poles.

Hotel Tartu in the Rain

When we arrived in Tartu, we found that our hotel, the Hotel Tartu, was immediately opposite the coach station.  It was raining as we crossed the road, which did not bode well.

We quickly dumped our stuff and gathered in the lobby before heading into town for lunch.  The rain had eased slightly.  The route into town was through a park and we passed the “Father and Son” sculpture by Ülo Õun.  I found it a bit creepy because it is of a man and a baby, but the baby is as tall as the man.  There was a much nicer statue in front of the town hall – the “Kissing Students”.  They were well prepared for the weather, as they had their umbrella with them.

Kissing Students

As it was getting late, we went straight to the Püssirohukelder or Gunpowder Cellar for lunch.  As the name suggests, it was in a large, underground room which was once used to store gunpowder.  Some people ordered soup and others a main meal.  I had a vegetable pasta as there was no other vegetarian choice.

The soups arrived fairly quickly in bowls which were large round loaves, which had been hollowed out.  Saves on washing up!  The rest of us waited and waited.  Our guide for the afternoon, Inkari, arrived, but our meals did not, so she went to investigate.  She returned with apologies from the kitchen and promises of food in 4-7 minutes.  The veggies on my spaghetti were stir-fried carrots, green beans and cauliflower.  I wasn’t that impressed but ate it all as I was very hungry by then.  To speed things up, the waitress started collecting payment from the soup people before the rest of us had finished eating, so we were processed fairly quickly in the end.

By the time we left the restaurant for our city tour, it was bucketing down and the puddles were huge.