Week 6- City Insights

Different Cities, Different Feels

Throughout the program, we have been able to visit many different national parks, museums, and cities.  Throughout our travels, however, one thing has stuck out.  Every major city we have visited has felt extremely different from its counterparts.  Everything from architecture and restaurants to the people and speed of life greatly varies.  To start, the capital of Tallinn felt the most developed and modern, and rightfully so.  This does not distract from the older sections of the city that pay tribute to its heritage.  We were blessed to be able to visit on the day of the national singing festival.  Overall, the people and their national pride were a very cool thing to witness.  Coming from our familiar ‘home’ city of Narva, the influx of people and amenities made for a much different experience.  

The second city we visited was Tartu.  There were some similar qualities to Tallinn, such as the old cobble roads and the historical part of town.  It was clear, however, that this city was the academic center of Estonia.  There were far more young people around our age than in either Narva or Tallinn, most of which we found only spoke English and Estonian.  

The modern feel of both of these cities makes the rough, Russian-feeling Narva stand out even more.  As a runner, I have experienced and seen a fair amount of all three cities, including several places that one wouldn’t consider “ideal sightseeing”.  With all three of these cities, it is safe to say that, while they differ, overall they are much more calm and peaceful than an average American city.  

Running

As previously mentioned, I have enjoyed getting to run all around the different cities in Estonia.  I have put the most miles in around Narva, and a couple of things have stuck out to me.  To start, running is not a common thing to do.  It is rare that I ever see fellow runners out and about while on the various paths and trails.  Speaking of paths, they seem to be the only safe and acceptable places to run.  Running is much more common in general in the United States, and usually, it is done on neighborhood roads as lots of cities have poor sidewalks or none at all.  I have noticed that people tend to notice and or stare much more here than in the US.  I have not been running shirtless here either, as I do not feel overly comfortable doing so even when it is quite warm outside.