As part of my quick tour of the Baltics, I spent a day or so in Riga. It was extremely clean. Riga has an old town but it is not as medieval as Tallin’s. In Riga, on the main square, the bricks are laid out to show where the old houses were torn down to make way for the grand square.
I still managed to find some buildings from before 1700 but it took some hunting.
I went to a market that is trendy. I think I preferred the famous central market located in the zeppelin hangars.
In the fall, I decided to visit some of the former “iron curtain” countries and I decided to start at the top. Estonia is small but lovely.
Tallin is a wonderful old medieval town with modern technology and efficiency. The architecture in the old town was delightfully old and out of a fairytale.
Much of the town is Baroque and from the 17th century. I like the older bits better.
I have been to some of the award winning airports like Singapore and Rome Fiumincino, but I think Estonia’s Tallin airport might be my favorite.
While it is a small airport, for a small country, the aiport is unusual on the outside and the inside. It is blue on the outside which is unusual. And on the inside, the chairs are colorful in a cultural design that hint at tradition in a very modern country.
The airport has play areas for children and child-like people. The shop is a small emporium of cards, food, traditional crafts, and duty free.
The airport in Tallin left me with a good impression. The country did too. More on that another time.
Estonia, I’ll be back.
