17.7: Lunch in Latvia

As I wasn’t planning to go to Räpina until tomorrow, and had sorted out the bicycle, I had a day up my sleeve, so I decided to visit to the twin cities of Valga and Valka. These cities are really one and the same, split in two by the border of Estonia and Latvia. Valga (the Estonian half) is roughly 90 km southwest of Tartu. I caught the train there which took about one hour and cost €3. Going by train meant I could easily take my bicycle.

Train approaching station in Tartu

Valga station

Apparently Valga and Valka represent the only major territorial dispute to occur between Estonia and Latvia. A British mediator had to be called to settle the dispute. The border, as it exists today, was the result of these mediations. It is very easy to cross back and forth across the border as one walks around the town. It would have been a nightmare before the Schengen Agreement (which allows free travel within member states) was signed. Apparently, the cities are becoming more and more integrated with one another, sharing public transport and some other services.

My first order of business after alighting the train was to find a cache in Latvia, something I hadn’t yet done. The first cache I attempted was a bit of a failure. I spent quite some time searching for it only to realise it was about 4m up a pine tree – a climb I wasn’t willing to attempt alone… Speaking of being alone, just as I was trying to reach the cache with a long stick (and failing) I got quite a fright when I realised an elderly man was watching me, knife in hand, from behind some bushes about 10m away. Temporarily forgetting which country I was in I greeted him in Estonian and then English – no response. He went on his way, presumably mushrooming. I too decided it was time to move on to another cache. This one was about three kilometers away and it was a very pleasant ride through some forests to get to. I arrived at a rather large dam, with what may have been an old mill building next to the dam wall. I then went for a short walk through the forests to the ‘Brides stone’, a large chunk of rock in the middle of a forest near a stream. The story associated with this rock (copied from an information panel) doesn’t exactly shed the most positive light on the Estonian soldiers and is quite a harrowing tale:

Legend says: Ancient times Estonians came to Latvia to pillage. Those soldiers’ wifes [sic] accompany them and stayed near Pedeles river to wait for their coming back. Wifes wait for a long time, but husbands don’t come, so they went into the river, because of deep sorrow. Only one promised to wait all life. A wife sit and cried till her soul and body became a stone where sit that wife. A wife cried so much that developed small brooklet, which starts from the foot of the stone. People tell that every midnight wifes are coming out of the river and cried about their husbands who don’t come home.

I found the cache and ate some snacks under a tree beside the rock, pondering the meaning of all this. Were my Estonian ancestors really such terrible chaps or was it all a big misunderstanding… I guess we’ll never know.

Forest

The brides stone

River from which brides emerge 

Lake

What may have been an old mill building

I then returned to Valka and found myself in a café full to the brim with Russian babushkas. I had a coffee and pastry. It was then back to Estonia to check out Valga. I must say that Valga is looking in a bit of a better state of repair than it’s Latvian neighbour. I think there may be a bit more town pride on this side of the border. The streets were lined with flowers and all the lampposts had little Estonian flags attached – presumably so you don’t get confused as to which country you are in. The setup for tourists was also much better, with brown signs pointing to all the attractions at each major intersection. The tourist information centre was also excellent.

Coffee in Latvia

Looking from Latvia to Estonia

…From Estonia to Latvia

Straddling the borderline - you can see the next post in the distance

Valga

I wandered around for a while before going to check out the memorials to the Valga prison camps, which existed nearby from 1941-53. I don’t particularly wish to repeat what happened within these camps, as frankly it’s all a bit depressing. I’m sure it’s possible to Google if you’re interested. Needless to say, many Russian and German soldiers were buried in these forests. I thought both memorials were quite touching.

Russian memorial

German memorial

After all of this I had time for a quick refreshment in Valga before returning to Tartu at 5pm.