Statues Tartu

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Tartu is a university town. We spent a pleasant couple of hours on a self-guided walking tour, and another couple of hours in the observatory which houses one point on the Struve Geodetic Arc which extends from the Arctic Ocean to the Black Sea. This arc was part of a segment measured during 1816-1852 to provide a means of establishing the exact size and shape of the earth. The upper portion of the observation tower can be winched around so that the observation opening for the telescope can be oriented 360 degrees. Unfortunately, they don't open it up at this time of the year because it doesn't get dark enough at night.

The university art museum was disappointing as it consisted of a small number of plaster casts of classical statues, a few unimpressive sketches by one artist and, inexplicably, a mummified body of an Egyptian child.

Kristjan Jaak Peterson was a young Estonian poet who may have become better known had he lived past the tender age of 21. The statue of father and son is unique because the 1 1/2 year-old son is the same size as the father. The (Capitalist) pig statue was, rather appropriately, outside the large food market.

Our first experience of an automatic gas station was something of a challenge because these are not manned. There was only one pay station for all four tanks. "How does it know which one I'm going to use?" Keith wondered. Another customer, who didn't speak English, came to his aid, although the machine wouldn't take his credit card. Luckily we had enough Euros in notes to partially fill our tank.

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Photos

Artist and son
Not to scale!

In conversation
with Oscar Wilde

Kristjan Jaak Peterson
Estonian Poet

Capitalist Pig
Out side the meat market