Tallinn Town Square

Cafes in Tallinn

Isn't this a ridiculously cute cafe? It's called Tristan und Isolde. It's located in a corner of the Town Hall. We ate Elk Soup, meat pies, carrot pies, and a pickle here. Gio loved the pickle. Is that weird for a 13 month old?

Another super cute street in old town.

We came here for dessert. The cafe is called Cafe Chocolaterie. It's all about extremely cute cafes in Tallinn.

Portraits in Old Town

Doesn't this photo look fake? The old town is so picturesque.

Gio wasn't thrilled with participating in a family portrait.

It's what Disneyland wants to be.

More Tallinn Architecture Tour

Tallinn Architecture Tour

Old clock on the side of Holy Spirit church. The church was built in the 13th Century. It's burned down a few times, but the interior has remained protected (I don't understand how!)

This is the top of Fat Margaret. It's a huge tower overlooking the North side the harbor.

The tower now houses a Maritime Museum. Perfect sign for it.

Love these random stained glass windows set in the stone building.

First day in Tallinn

Ming and Gio at one of the city gates. Tallinn's old town is almost completely surrounded by it's original stone walls. There were originally 46 towers, now only about half are left. Not bad considering they're over 600 years old!

See more of the wall there on the left. You can see the walkway on the top.

All of the buildings are colored a different, very well chosen color.

This is the tower to the town square. One of the oldest buildings in Tallinn.

The Last of Riga

This is one of the Three Brothers. They're the oldest stone houses in Riga. They were built in the 13th Century. Notice the small windows. When they were built, taxes were determined by the size of your windows.

Isn't this the coolest high chair? It was at a restaurant located in a cellar in Riga. It was our last night there. If you turn the chair on its back it becomes a rocker, turn it on it's front and it's a little bench and desk. Love it!

Architecture in Riga

This is just outside the old city.

A little alley inside the old town.

There are a lot of cafes and restaurants all over the city. Every street is cobblestone.

We think this is a medival warehouse. It's located near the water and there were a few of them right next to each other. The platform at the top holds a pulley to pull good up into the large doors in the building.

Even More Art Nouveau

These buildings were about a block away from the previous pictures.

These profiles are quite famous in Riga. There are pictures of them all over Riga.

Here's a bit of scale. Gio was looking all over, too!

More Art Nouveau

Isn't this one crazy?! I love all the details. There were many women's faces on the facade and they all had different expressions.

This is the facade of the Stockholm School of Business.

This was the home of 2 artists, a husband and wife.

Riga Art Nouveau Architecture Tour

Riga has the most Art Nouveau architecture of any city in the world. There are over 750 buildings in Riga. The city is continuously renovating more and more of them. The movement began with a magazine in Munich called Jugenstil. The style was a mixture of organics and romanticism. In Riga, the architects combined they're own national romanticism, including additions of foods harvested in the country and figures representing the countries ideals.

The architect of this building is Mikhail Eisenstein. He designed many of the best examples of Art Nouveau in Riga. He is also the father of Sergei Eisenstein, the famous Russian director of Battleship Potemkin.

This one is a favorite!

Each building is so unique. All of these pictures were taken on the same block.