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Peterburi (0)
Saint Petersburg (1703-1914 & 1991-), sometimes Peterburg in the nominative, capital of Russian Empire for over 200 years. Previously known as Petrograd (1914-1924) and Leningrad (1924-1991) and may also be known locally as just Питер (Peter). Founded a few km upstream of Nyenskans, a Swedish fortress on the Neva captured at the end of the Great Northern War. No prizes for guessing the street was renamed Leningradi from 1948 to 1992. In the early 20th C, St Peterburg, with some 60,000 Estonians living there, was ‘the largest Estonian city’. This street is part of the E67 from Helsinki to Prague.
Sõnajala (Sõnajalg)
Fern (lit. word-leg or ‑foot). Oddly, Estonian does not differentiate foot from leg (both jalg) or hand from arm (both käsi). Then again, English seems unable to distinguish the stomach (part of the digestive tube) from the abdomen. Hungarian – Estonian’s, er, German cousin – however, tends to scind kéz, hand, from kar, arm, but, like a well brought up language, keeps its legs together: láb = leg and foot. If it really wants to be nice, it says lábfej, literally the ‘head of the leg’, for foot. It seems that Bulgarian and Polish have similar situations for leg, so it may not be an FU thing. And, as the very old (sorry) joke goes: “Doctor, Doctor, my feet smell and my nose is running. Am I upside down?”
Kitsekakra (Kitsekakar)
Lit. goat’s camomile. Street no longer exists, but it’s a nice name, leopard’s bane, Doronicum orientale, so it stays; not to be confused with kitsekakar-ristirohi, no English name, Senecio doronicum. And it was in Maardu anyway :o(
