Tartu, a perfect little city in Estonia

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On a long-term trip like this one to Europe, some days feature one big event and others are comprised of several smaller excursions. Today, the first full day in Tartu, Estonia, Masayo and I had the latter. It was a lot of walking around Tartu, a pretty wonderful town, looking at the inviting, laid-back sites, soaking up the pleasant vibes, and (for me) fighting some high blood sugars.

After my terrible before-bed reading last night, I was still 232 when I woke up this morning. The buffet breakfast at Aleksandri Hotell was great, though, and extensive: I took a big Humalog shot for it.

Would it be enough to get me down into the range I wanted? I hoped so.

My first attempt didn’t work at all: after hanging around our room to do some online work after breakfast, my BG was 285 before lunch. I was disappointed and frustrated. But that’s a pointless way to feel about it; all you can do is accept it, fix it, and learn from it (if you’re smart).

So I took a shot of Humalog and had a very small lunch — some of the cinnamon cereal and piim (which, fortunately, did turn out to be milk like I’d hoped) I bought last night. I laid out some of my laundry, still wet from last night, on the radiator, and it was time for us to go see more of Tartu.

Out in Tartu

First we stopped at a vintage clothes shop on the way; it was a small place down some stairs that only sold women’s clothes. Then we stopped by the post office to mail some postcards — the lady there explained she only spoke Russian and Estonian, so we had to make do with smiles and gestures. Masayo took a photo of me talking to her and she angrily snapped, “No no no!” Excuuuuse us, humorless post office lady.

The first thing we did was find Tartu’s Town Square; there is a famous statue of a couple kissing under an umbrella. As we walked around it we noticed a guy on his knees, holding a ring and looking up hopefully at a girl. A marriage proposal!

Nobody else seemed to be noticing. I took a couple discreet photos from a distance. They hugged; she had evidently said yes. Awww.

At a nearby cafe called Kohvipaus Masayo got something to eat but still angry at my blood glucose readings, and full enough from breakfast, I had only coffee. It was good, and satisfyingly big. Much more interestingly for me, we then found some basement antique shops, including one with all sorts of cool coins, stamps, books, records, and old electronics.

BG check on Toome hill

Toome is the name of a big area on a hill in Tartu and we had to go climb up it. Under the towering, bare trees and amidst the thick carpet of fallen orange leaves, I sat on a bench and checked my BG in the late afternoon sun; it was 86. Back to normal! I got a particularly scenic BG selfie, and then elected to eat a little chocolate, considering all the walking we were doing.

Tartu Cathedral

Then we stumbled onto the giant ruins of Tartu Cathedral. It’s on Toome hill and is a gigantic and impressive brick structure, even in its current decaying state. Its former glory hasn’t diminished with age or disuse, and one part of it has been turned into an excellent museum. Another part is an exciting section of steep and narrow stairways that wind around inside the cold brick walls.

We wanted to climb through the walls and tunnels but you had to buy a ticket to the museum to do that, so we saw the museum too. It’s nice, on several floors, and tells the story of science and learning at Tartu University and the wider world. Nineteenth century items from classrooms, science labs, and professors’ offices make up one part.

I thought it was really interesting, though at one point a guide lady started following us around rather doggedly. Either she was being super-available to explain stuff, or (as I suspected) they had noticed me taking a couple discreet but disallowed photos.

Then we went climbing up into the cold narrow passageways of the other part of the cathedral. It was similar to the Old Town wall we had climbed around in Tallinn, except this was better lit and there were other people there so it didn’t feel quite as hidden and strange. Some of the wooden platforms reached out over long drops though which was kind of exhilarating.

Angel Bridge and Devil Bridge

A small pedestrian bridge near Tartu Cathedral is called Angel Bridge – we found it and then of course went looking for the Devil Bridge which was supposedly nearby. But my tourist map was confusing and I couldn’t find it — we ended up over at the National Museum we had been to yesterday. At my encouragement, Masayo went in to buy the knitting book she’d passed on the day before. It was heavy but I knew she’d like having it. I even offered to carry it for her, in slight violation of the deal we’d made while we were packing for this trip.

We found the Devil Bridge, took some photos sitting on its ice-cold stone cut-out seats, and went across the Emajõgi River to see the other side of town. Nothing much was happening – which was nice, as we just walked around the long, lovely paths under the trees with almost no other people around. By the riverside I checked my blood sugar – 97! I win diabetes.

Dinner: Kapriis restaurant

Tired from walking and chipper about the loveliness of of our day-long stroll around Tartu (and me about my good blood sugar) found a restaurant on the main square called Kapriis. My shrimp pasta and hot chocolate were good but, as usual with pasta, I had to guess about the carb content and my insulin dose. I hoped I wouldn’t destroy my excellent recent readings.

After dinner I was really cold — the temperature had gone down with the sun and I wasn’t wearing enough layers — but I wanted to check out a big church near our hotel. The mod, futuristic-looking Salemi Kirik was lit up with green lights and there was some meeting or something inside. Intriguing sight on this super crisp and cold night.

Dessert: hotel room cereal

Back in the room all the clothes were dry, and I had some cinnamon cereal for dessert and a beer I bought from the hotel reception desk — my first alcohol of this whole trip. Plus I took more Humalog, of course. After pasta and hot chocolate this was a big gamble. But hey, I was enjoying myself and it had been a very nice day.

Unfortunately diabetic instinct had failed me yet again: afterwards I was 282. With gritted, cinnamon-flecked teeth I took a couple units of corrective Humalog, vowing to do what I could to avoid bookending days with upper-200s BGs like I did today.

Tartu is such a nice, well-put-together town. But the trip pulls us ever onward to new horizons: tomorrow we’re taking a bus to Valka just across the Latvian border. I had budgeted for four days in Estonia, but in fact spent six, for the same money. I have big breakfasts and small lunches to partially thank for that. And for some of my high BGs as well: something to work on.

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