Saturday, March 26, 2011

Amazing Race Estonia: Leg 4

Here is your next clue: Make your way to Viljandi. Tour the city and visit the city museum

We got up this morning at about 8 since we didn't have meet anyone today.

We passed a really cool old church and cemetery along the way. I thought I saw a sign nearby that said Mähla, but I can't find that or anything like it in my atlas. there was no sign on the church...it was I guess 15 kilometers west of Tartu near Puhja. We stopped and took some pictures. (EDIT 5/24/2012: I discovered that the church was St. Alexander Nevsky Orthodox Church in Mõisanurme. Like many churches, it was likely closed in the mid-1960s by the Soviet authorities.)

We made it to Viljandi, but no one old us nothing is open this time of year! The tourist office was closed, the museum was closed...even the restaurant was closed. So we made the best of it, driving and walking around the city, checking out St. John's and St. Paul's churches and the old water tower. Then we drove back to Tartu...just in time to drive through another snowstorm. At least this one was quick and mild!



Once we got back to Tartu, we decided to wander around the city for a while. I found the university bookstore and bought a nice road atlas and some postcards. Then I found a little cafe' on Raekoja plaza, ordered some soup and wrote my postcards.

On my way back to the hotel, I stopped in a souvenier shop.

And this is where I got my big score!

The clerk in the score spoke to three women who came in after me. She addressed them right from the start in English. Then she turned to me and asked if I needed any help...in Estonian! Big score for me! I asked her about some of the items, and then got directions to the post office...all in Estonian.

I left the shop and found the postoffice, bought some stamps, and mailed the postcards. Then I headed back to the hotel. I think I earned a nap.

Tomorrow, back to Tallinn.

1 comment:

Nomads By Nature said...

You are rockin' the Estonian lingo! The pics and the snow are lovely.