Abandoning the Latvian goat farm for Estonian architecture studies

It turns out that the only things stopping me from having a goat farm are the goats, the smell of the goats, learning about milking the goats, and the muddy areas of goat farms. But, as always, Ron was more open-minded and was trying, for some reason, to get a goat to kiss him:

We’re in Tallinn, Estonia now for a few days. This post will be mostly pictures – I’m taking a mid-trip break from history and depressing politics.

There’s some crazy architecture here, starting with the Rotermann Quarter. It’s a small area just off the old town where there used to be a lot of industry – barley mill, power plant, boiler plant. In the last 20 years, they’ve taken the old buildings and added onto them with futuristic updates. I absolutely loved this place – filled with shops, restaurants, apartments, and shopping. Here’s a few pictures, none mine:

Then look at this place below. It’s the Fahle apartment building – a 2006 addition onto a 1926 limestone factory building. I didn’t get out to see this but I’m including it for you. Fabulous!

Just so I’m offering you the full spectrum of Tallinn’s architecture, here’s the Alexander Nevsky cathedral, from 1894:

And here’s Tallinn’s Town Hall Square, from the 14th century:

Somehow it’s the newfangled parts of Tallinn that are grabbing my attention, though. We wandered out to the Seaplane Harbor Museum because I liked the building. This place was used as a military arsenal by the Soviets and left to structurally deteriorate:

But by 2012, Tallinn had saved the building and renovated it into an incredibly fun interactive sea vessel museum, which houses an entire 1937 submarine. Here’s the exterior now:

Here’s the interior:

Here’s a better look at the 1937 Lembit sub, which is open so you can stroll through and feel claustrophobic (confession: I couldn’t get myself in there and had to rely on Ron’s report)

There’s a nautical-garb dress up area for the little kids/adults who were unsuccessful in trying to kiss a goat back in Latvia:

Back to Old Town Tallinn. Here’s a nice overview pic by me:

Here’s one from a better photographer:

And then here is the meal we had after the super-fancy meal at SNOB back in Riga. It was also served by staff wearing gloves, although they were latex, not velvet:

And then here’s me in Tallinn, enjoying everything we see! I’ll talk to you in a day or two – from Finland!