As mentioned on the main page,  this is "Old Town" in Tallinn,  the capital of Estonia.
 
 

Tallinn is both a very old city and young at the same time.  Notice the office buildings in the background.
 

Another shot of Old Town,  Tallinn with the Gulf of Finland in the background.
 
 

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A very elaborate Russian church
 

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The famous wool market at the base of the Tallinn old city wall.  My friend Kadri is on the left.
 
 

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Tallinn is located on the Gulf of Finland,  and so has lots of coastline.
 

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WHERE PEOPLE LIVE.....
 

These houses represent the mostly all wooded homes of Estonia.  The home above of course was owned
by the more affluent,  and the home below is a common "working mans" home.  Both built in the 1800s.
 

 

The photo below shows one of the many Russian high rise "condos" that exist on the outskirts of the cities
of Estonia.  The existence of the Cold War is still very evident in these buildings...   and they to this day are
mostly inhabited by Russians who refuse to speak the Estonian language.  The Estonians meanwhile,  refuse
to speak to any Russian who feels this way.  The animosity between Russians and Estonians will always be great.

 
 
 

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Estonians love the Spring and Summer due to the prolonged darkness of winter.  Almost every Estonian has a backyard garden
and every backyard garden has an outdoor grill.  Estonians spend every nice evening cooking their meal in their garden.
 
 
 

The above is just one of many old German manor homes.  The Germans were involved with Estonia for hundreds of years
and were the ones that made Tartu University famous in Europe.  The Russians won the war and drove the Germans out.
 
 
 
 

This is a wonderful indoor ice skating rink situated within Tartu's largest shopping mall.  The kids can have
fun while mom and dad shop.  Not a bad idea!  The shops themselves offer just about everything our malls do
but they are not as large or elaborate.  The cost of clothes in Estonia is about 3 times the cost of clothes here.
 

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Boat Cruise.....

Above you see my friend Kadri and her father preparing our lunch on a houseboat that he built.  He is a master carpenter
and the boat reflects this.  The door you see in the background is the Sauna.  All Estonians have saunas in their homes and
since this is a "home on the water"... he incorporated one here also.
 

The smoked fish... cheese spread and dark Estonian bread was excellent!
 

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FINALLLY,  LAST BUT NOT LEAST.......

 
 

How many people go on vacation only to spend time in the local junk yard?  This is exactly what I did when I heard that a very famous and expensive statue of Lenin had been standing in the local junkyard in Tartu  for some years.  All indications of communism in Estonia have been removed and pretty much destroyed except this 15 foot tall statue.  The statue stood in downtown Tartu in front of the Military Academy  ( Now the military academy for the Estonian Defense Force.)  How ironic that Lenin is now surrounded by the cast off trappings of everything he stood against....