 |
| INVALID CAR FROM SOVIET TIME WAS
PARKED IN FRONT OF THE OLD PUB, A STATELY MONUMENT
OF ARCHITECTURE. |
The first thing we did after reaching the area of our competition map was to check the propane refueling site in Väimela, 5 km to North from Võru. Valdur had tried to find a place that would meet my requirements: ideally no buildings, people and traffic within radius of 400 meters, and easy escape route for the waiting balloon vehicles in case of fire at filling site. The places he had found in Keila and Väimela were not perfect but very good. I was glad that Valdur had again done his best. Propane explosions are rare but they spell disaster. The latest BLEVE type explosion had taken place on August 10 in Toronto. It was a lucky one: only one person died in the explosion. Police evacuated the surrounding(!) residence area within one mile radius of the propane terminal. Accommodation for balloon teams and competition staff was also in Väimela, in the students' quarters of Võrumaa Kutsehariduskeskus, a vocational school with more than 80 years of history behind it. Buildings were renovated up to high standard in 2005. Hostesses Taimi and Klaarika promised to meet the teams in the courtyard, give them the keys and take them to their rooms. Later we saw that they delivered this excellent service. |
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| ONE OF THE
BUILDINDS WHERE WE WERE HOUSED AT VõRUMAA KUTSEHARIDUSKESKUS.
ANOTHER IMAGE: A DETAIL ABOVE CENTRAL WINDOW. |
| After making our presence known at the Town Hall and Võru Spordikeskus, the new and impressive sports center that was our competiton headquarters, we spend rest of the day checking possible goal sites and launch fields. The medium range forecasts and EMHI's one week forecast had indicated that we will need launch fields in South West and West if we want to fly over town of Võru. The best way to provide balloon entertainment to general public was to fly over town. During his preliminary trip to Võru Valdur had found Karellioja, a goal site in town next to the Sports Center, a launch field in Roosisaare, West from town, and a 500 m long army shooting range in South West. I decided the scoring areas and the spot for target at Karellioja. We took a qvick look at Roosisaare and a close look at the shooting range in middle of a big forest. |
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| ARMY
SHOOTING RANGE IN MIDDLE OF FOREST WAS FOUND SUITABLE FOR TAKE-OFF
AND TARGET. BIGGER IMAGE. |
| Võru's population is over 14 000 people, same as my home town's in Finland. The difference is that Võru is a real town, as the other is town only in name. In evening Valdur took me to Võru Kannel, the Culture Center. I asked our guide how many people usually come to concerts given at the two concert halls. The answer indicated that people interested in high culture were much more numerous in Võru than at my home community in Finland, where we also have a very good Culture Center. Estonians are definitely a cultured nation. I would not say the same about Finns. Cultured people in Finland are a small minority. They have no say in matters that are decided by politicians, not in countryside. |
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| THE PUB WHERE WE
HAD SUPPER AT END OF THE DAY. |
| Wednesday would be the 17th Day of Restoration of Independence. No shops or restaurants would be open. That's why we went to buy bread, cheece, sausage and other things for breakfast, and couple of beers for nightcap. Among the important things was Nescafé. Valdur was very suspicious as he had never before drunk it. It may have been 20 years since I did, but I assured him that in an emergency like this Nescafé would do the trick: open our eyes in the morning. [CONTINUE TO WEDNESDAY] |
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| JÜRI STREET
AT SUNSET. DIFFERENT IMAGE, AND BIGGER. |
