I Can See Russia (Just Not From the Hotel)

Work sent me to the northeast corner of Estonia the other week. The city of Narva lies on the west side of the Narva jõgi (river in Estonian) and the eastern side of the river is Russia, officially known as the Russian Federation. The population is predominantly Russian-speaking. I speak not one word of Russian, so the co-workers I traveled with tried to get me up to speed with some pleasantries: welcome, thank you, good-bye. My pronunciations made them laugh. Yes, I was that bad.

Anyway, I did get to see a lot of the city after work (ok, really between one work event and then the other).

We went to Narva's Alexander cathedral where you could go up inside the bell tower. There is an observation deck and some exhibits as you wind your way down the stairs to the different floors. (You can take an elevator, too.)

We also took a walk along the river, including this little spit of land in the middle that is Estonian. But it's amazing how close it is. It's also interesting to see Hermann Castle (Narva Castle) on the Estonian side of the river and Ivangorod Castle right across the water from it.

The one with the white tower is Hermann Castle. Apparently, all along the river on the Russian side are border guard towers. And if you swim in the river, and apparently some people do, best no stray too far from your own shore.

I think my favorite was the tour of Narva College of Tartu University. It's on the square, but it's this modern riff on the classic Estonian building.

And inside was beautiful. The library had this interesting feature in the middle where you could essentially walk up one side of a stadium type seating on one side and computers on the other, and down the other. It was fun. And kitty corner to the new school is the old town hall.

Apparently the new building caused quite the stir. But I like the juxtaposition of the old and the new.

The other interesting tidbit about Narva. It's reportedly the only place in Estonia with a statue of Lenin still standing. It's inside the courtyard of the Narva castle & museum.

Looked pretty intimidating to me!