Tartu is the oldest town and second largest city in Estonia. Almost everything in Tartu was destroyed during the northern wars when Russia attempted to capture the Baltic states from Sweden and Peter the Great gave the order to blow up Tartu. Germans formed the upper and middle classes of society during the pre-independence period and this is reflected in both the architecture and city planning of historical Tartu. Did you know that at the end of the 16th century, Southern Estonia was under Polish rule?

Breakfast at 7:00 a.m. and left the Reval Central Hotel at 8:15 a.m. in two mini-buses that took us to Tallinn’s bus station for a 9:00 a.m. express bus to Tartu. It was only a 2-1/2 hour ride through very monotonous and flat scenery with the exception of one Dutch-style windmill…View image. At the Tartu bus station, another private bus was waiting to take us to the Kantri Hotel outside the main city. A modern hotel decorated in Danish style but it would have been nice to be more centrally located. Signe gave us 45 minutes to unpack before climbing back on a mini bus into Tartu that let us off by a park through which we walked into the heart of Old Tartu.

father and son lifelike statues, Tartu, Estonia 

Tartu, Estonia map
Plenty of time to walk around since a local guided tour wouldn’t begin until 2:00 p.m. There wasn’t very much to do in the rainy interim but eat, do a little walking, and visit the Tourist Information Office located in the 18th century Tartu Town Hall…View image. Found one pastry shop…View image…thought I had picked out two sweet rolls, bit into it and discovered they were pizza rolls. Eew…bad me. Big disappointment especially since I had bypassed yummy looking chocolate pastries.

How could I have missed buying this pastry in Tartu? 

Sheila resting on Dutch shoes in Tartu, Estonia
Local guide, Sigrid began the two-hour walking tour in the 13th century Raekoja plats – Town Hall Square, Tartu’s main shopping area with restaurants and cafes…View image. There is a “kissing students fountain” in the middle that university students race around during the summer. Between wars and fires (as stated above), almost all the buildings around the square and in old Tartu date from after 1775.

Kissing Fountain in Tartu, Estonia
There was only one really unusual “older” sight. The leaning house…View image. HINT: If you really want to see leaning houses, visit the Alsace area of France. This leaning house leans because the foundation is on wood logs and rocks and near the river. Builders put foundations on the old city wall and wooden piles after 1790. I happened to like the very different stone sculptures used along Ulikooli pedestrian-only street. The Dutch shoes…View image… and turtles were my favorites…and there was another dragon downspout on a building…View image

turtles used as car barriers on Tartu’s pedestrian street, Estonia
You can tell from this photo…View image… that I was seriously underwhelmed but there was still the second half of the tour, up to Dome Hill and perhaps that would excite…

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