Otepää

population of 2,189 (as of 1 November 2009)
Otepää is a popular skiing resort, popularly known as the “winter capital” of Estonia
It is the site of an annual FIS Cross-Country World Cup event.
The earliest surviving firearm in Europe has been found in the ancient castle of Otepää and it dates to at least 1396.

^{Since im constantly running around with a camera, i figured i might as well put something together for you to see or me to chuckle on after some years. Heres a small Photo-tour of my hometown “Otepää”}

“town square” the building is the city hall, to the left is one of 2 small supermarkets, to the right is tourist trap of a pub (imo)

The town church is remainder of… different times. not a clue if its even open at any point- not suprising in a country where only 14% of

population believe in something…

usual streetview.

and one of the 2 nightclubs (more like pubs ^^)

Old culture centre.. mostly falling apart, hasnt changed for as long as i can remember.

And the hospital… if possible, better go to tartu for more serious problems ;)

Long street running through the town

and lots and lots of private houses

And of course the whole place is packed with sports… lots of events and the sports infrastructure is constantly in development

The good ol stadium.. newly fitted with a modern shooting range, tribunes, tracks, lights, etc. also a starting point for miles and miles of ski and rollerski tracks

old ski tower for practice..

even in summer they cant stay off the skis…

and this is the view from the other “bigger” K90 tower built pretty recently… view is awesome but the ticket price equal to a cinema session is a bit crappy :/

And the local torture chamber *ahem* i mean school. also went through a major renovation in 09 or so.

If we go on we end up at the pretty lake of pühajärve… best way to go around the place :)

This retro gem is an old beach cafe they restored after a few decades of decay. its real nice in and out + the food is great (and not too expensive either) definitely worth a visit ;)

On to Pühajärve spa.. seems to 4 bars, bowling alley, gym and a pool… helpful to kill off a few hours here or there.

The towere cafe… best place for a cup of coffee… the view is great, the atmosphere is cozy and the chairs are soft

The war oak… pretty old bugger, got its ass whipped by a recent storm that tore it almost in half.

and of course theres 2 ski “resorts” that the town is most known for among Estonians. not really resorts.. more like tiny hills 300m over sea level

5min up – 1min down – longest slope is a km perhaps? Kuutsemäe on the image.

Well, all jokes aside, theire still good enough to have fun and practice your jumps.

The second hill Munamäe- dont really go there much- kuutsemäe has way more slopes and a better park + its better developed since munamäe has had problems with its owners who just wanted to milk it the way it was. apparently there has been progress in the past few years though.