Estonia...FINALLY!

Friends, we are here again...

When we last met, Yaz and I were boarding the ship, the Victoria...I wanted the Romantica, but we can't always have what we want. We were off to far and exotic places...

Before I continue...this post, more so than my other posts is simply an indulgence to me and the endless clicking of my camera...

Goodbye Stockholm....

and Hello, Tallinn

The whole of old town Tallinn is simply postcard perfect in my book.

The road up from our hostel
I never realized how much ironwork could excite me, but I found myself taking pictures of water spouts, lightning rods and gate work. Artisanship, if that is a word, is something that I find lacking in most structures on the west coast of the USA. In some of the larger cities you can still find stonework and other ornamentation with beautiful craftsmanship, but unfortunately in my little slice o'heaven the 60's and 70's brought leadership that thought that starkness in architecture was the way to go and so most of our downtown has been gutted and re-gutted according to fad. I do have to say that there is some beautiful stonework in downtown Portland and I also have seen some in Roseburg.
Just to "keep things real" this avenue is about 2 blocks from the old town section. It is an example of what Estonians were calling the "Capitalist" sector, or New Tallinn. These Chinese Crested dogs both fascinate me and repel me...go figure.

One of the old guard towers that frames the "grand" entrance to the old town.
A beautiful flower market.
I don't know if you can read this but it is a museum of medieval torture instruments... at first I laughed and thought it was too campy... but then I really thought about it and YUCK. Maybe if we had left methods like these behind...

Our lunch place, so quaint. Yaz ordered a pumpkin schnapps and cheese plate to start... it was JUST the right thing SO Estonian! I ordered something with sauerkraut, I am so serious, I smell the kraut and it must be a smell memory of my Grandmother's house during the holidays. I never ate the stuff as a kid, but now, it just tastes so good!
The bustling courthouse square.

Is sushi really everywhere?
More ironwork!

The towers, some kind of smurfy goodness.
A Russian Orthodox church, maybe Eastern Orthodox? They had just finished a wedding when we got there. The bride was in a beautiful red dress, unfortunately I missed the shot...poo.
Tall tower.

Tomb inside of a church...I just liked the lion.
Ironwork!
Sometimes graffiti totally intrigues me.

The Orthodox church from a far...I love onion domes, the shape is so pleasing.
The ring wall and more smurfy towers.
My sweet tree, I remember sitting here a long time, just enjoying the time to sit.

Old cool clock.
I liked the griffins (?) surrounding the doorway.
The gingerbread details and the stained glass were so folksy and I LOVED IT.

Inside the coziest cafe, drinking coffee and snacking on a little cookie...I LOVED IT!
Pink buildings with ironwork...I LOVED IT!

The old house hostel...I totally recommend it, I think that it was about $22 a night and had every thing: Clean bathrooms, free Internet, nice people and a breakfast room.
Our sweet cozy room, that I could never figure out how to open the door to.
A nice waitress in traditional Estonian garb.

The square at night.
A marzipan museum...what else?

I would love to research this symbol, maybe use it in a quilt or something.
More griffin ornamentation...LOVED IT!
Crazy weird colors, sunshine and strange angles.

Laundry day with geraniums.
Yasmiene and I found the COOLEST outdoor amphitheater, complete with a track surrounding the outer rim so that props like boats could move during the play. (more on this theater later...)

There is I am at the PAX Margaret tower (also called fat Margaret because some of the walls are 4ft thick.)
Smokin' a hookah in the park...??

I also have an affinity for utility covers.

My most favorite people that I stalked on my trip. They were so Goth, but just SO clean, too well pressed .

If you look closely you can see his shiny safety pins evenly spaced, shining in the sun.

Ok, so it looks like I am loving the buildings there in Tallinn...but that is because I left out all of my door and window pictures....

Color, geometry and a bit of flash...tomorrow.

JMB