In November 1998, as a group of anthropology students from the University of Warsaw, we came to Estonia to conduct research in Setomaa. We had our first overnight stay in Tartu. We spent the evening at the pub. When it was closing, we decided to go somewhere else for one last beer. We met young people in the market square and asked them where else there was something open. They said to go with them. They took us to a place where there were security guards standing in front of the entrance. The place was very nice, there was even a jazz concert if I remember correctly, but what stuck in our memory was that the bartender showed us a Kalashnikov that he kept at the bar. It was quite shocking for us, but the evening was really enjoyable.

We also spent that night in a very original place. It was a dormitory at Pepleri 14, which in 1998 was a ruin. I think they closed it soon to renovate. We slept on the floor, in sleeping bags. Even the toilet bowls were broken. The past was visible on the walls. There are still some posters of past singers etc. The second time I slept in this place was in 2014, when everything was very nice.