Baltics - 21 June 2012 (1)

Sightseeing in Kuressaare

Finally a chance for a bit of a lie in, so I got up at 07.10.  I had a leisurely breakfast, chatting to Roberta.  It was the first time that I’d really had a chance to talk to her all holiday and she was a very interesting woman.

Baltic Coast by Kuressaare

Our city tour of Kuressaare was at 10.00 and our guide was Juhan, the hotel owner.  The tour started on the bus and we drove very slowly through the town while Juhan told us its history and pointed out the major landmarks.  As it was a small town, there were not many landmarks and we were shown things which certainly didn’t figure in any other city tour we had been on during this holiday.

Baltic Coast by Kuressaare

Kuressaare and the rest of Saaremaa are very much a tourist area, the tourists being both Estonians and overseas visitors.  Juhan said that the main season would begin that coming weekend and start with the mid-summer and solstice celebrations.

Juhan was obviously proud of some recent developments, most of which aimed to encourage increased tourism.  It is difficult to get to Saaremaa directly from overseas and most visitors – like us – arrive by ferry.  We drove past the airport, which currently takes private planes and small planes from Scandinavia, but which is capable of handling planes the size of 737s, in the hope of a future influx of Russians.

German & Russian War Cemetery, Kuressaare

He took us to the golf course, which he said was difficult to create given the terrain, making him even more proud.  It is possible to play there until November, so people come from Finland because of the longer season – and because it is cheaper.  With the low ground and proximity to the sea, there are lots of water hazards.

German & Russian War Cemetery, Kuressaare

We drove past the swimming pool and past several new large hotels near to the sea.  One of these is a new Spa hotel.  Juhan said that SPA stood for Sanus Per Aqua, which is fascinating, if true, though it probably just comes from the name of Spa, the town in Belgium.

Public Cemetery, Kuressaare

We didn’t see much industry on our tour.  We passed a business which built luxury yachts.  Juhan said that it was successful.  We also passed timber yards, timber being a big export.  Although there weren’t many cars about – Juhan said that there were no traffic lights in town – we passed some car dealerships, together with shopping centres.

Public Cemetery, Kuressaare

Several times during the tour, we passed through residential areas.  I really liked the pretty wooden houses, with well-maintained gardens.  Apparently there are three main sorts of housing.  First, there are the old buildings, pre-dating WWII, which have been lovingly restored.  Then there are the Russian built dwellings of the 1960s and 1970s.  We didn’t see many of these during the tour.  Finally there are newer houses, which are more in keeping with the style of the older houses.  Juhan said they had been built during the boom before the collapse of 2008.  He said that the island was now out of recession and the economy was almost back at 2006 levels.

Castle, Kuressaare

As we drove along the shore, we could see lots of off-shore islands.  Apparently five are inhabited, but many more are not.  Some have been designated bird and seal sanctuaries and people are not allowed to land on them.

"Hunting Castle" by Alfred von Ekesparre

At last Juhan told Dzintars to stop and we got out of the bus.  We had arrived at the cemetery, which is in two parts.  We were taken to the war cemetery, which was immaculately maintained like all the war cemeteries I have visited.  What makes this one so unusual, if not unique, is that is contains graves of both Russian and German combatants.  We then walked through to the town cemetery.  This too was well maintained, with some gardening tools showing evidence of on-going work.  This side was very pleasant with lots of trees amongst the graves.

Ekesparre Residence Hotel

Then we got back on the bus and headed to the castle for the main part of the tour.  As we walked towards it, we stopped to admire the two restored wooden houses either side of the path.  One is now the Ekesparre Residence Hotel and the other is the "Hunting Castle" built by Alfred von Ekesparre.