On Thursday, I went to Narva, the Estonian border town with Russia, to work with a group of teachers. Although it did snow a bit and was rather blustry, I had a chance to take a walk and once again admire the dramatic border of the Narva castle, river, and impending Russian fortress on the other side. It is a spectacular border and view.
Not only is Narva characterized by this physical border with its neighbor but also by the predominance of the Russians who live there (a minority elsewhere in Estonia). You can feel that you are on the edge of something different beyond language. I cannot quite explain it myself but I like the "something different" in Narva--perhaps because it is different (or perhaps, as a friend suggested, it is my inner Slav who feels more at home). When I rode the bus back to Tartu, I felt like I was returning from another country much farther away... and I thought that I would like to go back.
I've visited Narva before, always for work-related purposes, and I've decided that I would like make a return visit to enjoy Narva when the weather is nicer. Perhaps I'll even have to attend the Narva Bike 2011 to get my fill of border city and biker subculture.
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