Working up a sweat in Tartu

Hi from still in Estonia, just a little further South (closer to Latvia).

I had a really good sleep last night; there was an American guy in my room but we didn't really speak until just as he was heading out for a drink. I kinda wished I'd gone out with him because I wouldn't have minded a little company, but it's probably a good thing I didn't as I needed some rest.

I woke up this morning at 11:00, starving and dehydrated and, for lack of an immediately better option, I had a McChicken for breakfast. The McDonalds was right beside the vine-covered town walls: pretty nice location.

It was miserably cold and rainy so I decided to get out of dodge. I planned to go to Riga, but the next bus there wasn't for several hours and Tallinn was too rainy to walk around. So I decided to catch the 2:00 bus to Tartu instead.

It was a 2 1/2 hour bus ride to this little University town. I was pretty keen on having another sauna (when in Estonia...), so I decided to stay at the Alexandri Hotel, which has a spa attached to it! It was a bit of a hike away from the centre of town, so apart from the road heading towards it to it, I didn't see much of Tartu!

I got a nice room with a television, but didn't stay in it for long as I ended up booking a sauna right away (I was a bit gutted that the massages were all booked up for the day, as they were very cheap!).

I stopped into the adjoining restaurant, had a quick beer, then headed to the spa. It was actually a solarium rather than a sauna; apparently it's less hot but is supposed to make you sweat more and lose 600 calories. I sat in it for a half hour and thought I was going to spontaneously combust from the heat. I don't know if I lost 600 calories, but I probably sweated 600 gallons!

I ate dinner at the hotel restaurant (the Alexandri sure was a one-stop shop!), and thoroughly enjoyed my steak with mushroom sauce, potatoes and coleslaw, and red wine. I was happy to learn that an Estonian band would be playing later in the night, and just as I finished dinner, they took the stage.

There was a guy sitting a few booths behind me who I kept making eye contact with; a few songs into the band's set, he finally came over and invited me to sit with him. His name is Andras, he's from the town of Parnu, and he proved to be a great companion. He told me that all private houses in Estonia have their own saunas, he talked about Russia and about ice-fishing in Norway.

We had a few beers, a few cigarettes in the smoking room, and then - the piece de resistance! -we asked me to dance. He was probably the best partner I've ever danced with, and we had a grand old time out on the floor. When we sat down again, he serenaded me with an Estonian version of the song "Country Roads."

Tartu ended up being a real highlight of my trip (well, at least its hotel did!)