tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13406351.post448861546923021858..comments2023-11-05T09:55:13.077+02:00Comments on Itching for Eestimaa: A Scandinavian Playground?Giustinohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04756707910693785516noreply@blogger.comBlogger37125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13406351.post-83535044072003990412009-06-16T16:42:41.255+03:002009-06-16T16:42:41.255+03:00It’s a very nice blog for...
I have been visiting ...It’s a very nice blog for...<br />I have been visiting blog for several months...<br />I would request you to write about Eco-friendly, green sustainable architectural designs...<br /><a href="http://www.architectsban.webs.com/" rel="nofollow" rel="nofollow">architects in bangalore</a> ,<a href="http://www.seekangroup.com/" rel="nofollow" rel="nofollow"> architects in bangalore </a> ,<a href="http://www.interiordesignersbangalore.com/" rel="nofollow" rel="nofollow"> interior designers in Bangalore</a> ,<a href="http://www.interiordesignersinbangalore.com/" rel="nofollow" rel="nofollow"> interior designers in Bangalore</a> ,<a href="http://www.architectsbangalore.com/" rel="nofollow" rel="nofollow"> architects in bangalore </a> , <a href="http://www.architectsinbangalore.co.in/" rel="nofollow" rel="nofollow"> architects in bangalore </a> , <a href="http://www.seekangroup.com/" rel="nofollow" rel="nofollow"> interior designers in bangalore </a>Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13406351.post-71241582486403477752007-05-30T11:07:00.000+03:002007-05-30T11:07:00.000+03:00I must say that Haapsalu is my absolute favourite:...I must say that Haapsalu is my absolute favourite: such Astrid Lindgren land. There are so many places yet to see, Kuressaare absolutely one of them, but also Ida-Virumaa is certainly on the list (Hmm, of course wrote it first with a "t", Estonian is such a confusing language...) Much of the Soviet architecture looks most dismal to me - I have to confess that when visiting first time one of the old student dormitories in Tartu, I was totally shocked, would have done old Sweden proud with my reaction!stockholm slenderhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16909107517362691387noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13406351.post-57559342809899476802007-05-30T10:47:00.000+03:002007-05-30T10:47:00.000+03:00Giustino, why do you say Kuressaare lacks attentio...Giustino, why do you say Kuressaare lacks attention. The effort to clean and restore Kuressaare old town has been going on since early 90ies, has been well-planned, unusually systematical, extremely successful and years ago when it was still news it also got lots of attention in the media.<BR/>Kärdla. Andres is not the only one who has not been there. You see, while all of the Estonia wants to become "slightly boring Nordic country", then Kärdla is already there (in fact it's gone way beyond that). It is safest place to live in Estonia and the only news it ever generated was that 100 years ago, when there were only 2 cars in Kärdla, these managed to crash into each other. So if Hiiumaa decides to move to another dimension one day, like Valinor, then nobody would notice before election period starts.Wahurhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15861003012357572291noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13406351.post-72817691733594798892007-05-29T13:59:00.000+03:002007-05-29T13:59:00.000+03:00heli, http://www.sillamae.ee/index.php?page=151&&P...heli, <BR/>http://www.sillamae.ee/index.php?page=151&&PHPSESSID=54b06aabd07187b88b22fd875b216584<BR/><BR/>There isn't much beautiful about Sillamäe other than the promenade that leads to the sea and the main street, where there are nice 2-3 storey buildings. I don't know about Kärdla, since I've never been to Hiiumaa in my life. Shame on me :P The only things I remember from Kuressaare are small wooden dwellings and the castle.Unknownhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17076822279861048442noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13406351.post-17430114624870198592007-05-29T13:43:00.000+03:002007-05-29T13:43:00.000+03:00What I find interesting about Estonian discourse i...What I find interesting about Estonian discourse is the lack of attention paid to places like Kärdla or Kuressaare when it comes to architecture.<BR/><BR/>Is it just that Kärdla's old time Scandinavian architecture is boring and Sillamäe is more interesting because the style is named after a dictator that was responsible for millions of deaths?<BR/><BR/>What gives?Giustinohttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04756707910693785516noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13406351.post-7556523190729264632007-05-29T13:22:00.000+03:002007-05-29T13:22:00.000+03:00Sillamäe- beatiful, hm? I´ve been there only once ...Sillamäe- beatiful, hm? I´ve been there only once in the end of 80´s but I can recall only 5-store Mustamäe-like houses everywhere I pointed my eyes there and couldn´t find anything beatiful..Though I was only passing through the town then and it was a couple of hours stop so probably I didn´t make to see whole town. But the impression was depressing what it left me.Unknownhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04935901565998236413noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13406351.post-48657665207977634202007-05-29T12:50:00.000+03:002007-05-29T12:50:00.000+03:00Yeah, Sillamäe is beautiful. Some rumours say the ...Yeah, Sillamäe is beautiful. Some rumours say the best of the USSR were chosen to plan it and Stalin personally looked after the construction. The houses are a bit worn and would welcome a new layer of paint but the architecture is way more pleasing than anything else from the Soviet era.Unknownhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17076822279861048442noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13406351.post-47564167614005400112007-05-29T12:17:00.000+03:002007-05-29T12:17:00.000+03:00By the way, advice for all you architecture freaks...By the way, advice for all you architecture freaks :)<BR/>If you want to see really stylish Stalinist town, Sillamäe is an absolute must-see. Anything like that has not survived even anywhere in Russia, I guess. I personally think it should be protected like Tallinn Old Town, and fast.Wahurhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15861003012357572291noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13406351.post-44131244682159546592007-05-28T21:29:00.000+03:002007-05-28T21:29:00.000+03:00Yep, it seems that Russia is stubbornly playing ol...Yep, it seems that Russia is stubbornly playing oldfashioned geopolitical games with economy and investment, in the long run that's a gigantic own goal - something that the Kremlin seems to specialize these days. It is a strange, even alarming spectacle, one wonders what kind of a political system Russia will end up with...stockholm slenderhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16909107517362691387noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13406351.post-38338976735598682002007-05-28T19:20:00.000+03:002007-05-28T19:20:00.000+03:00Hey, did you see that that Russian businessman dec...Hey, did you see that that Russian businessman decided to end his interests in Estonia?<BR/><BR/>I couldn't help but think that decisions like these play into the hands of those that will likely take over -- be them Estonians, or Finns, or Swedes.<BR/><BR/>It benefits the companies that probably support Reformierakond. One might have seen the possibility of sanctions as a Russian capital 'house cleaning' that would invite another round of Scandinavian investment.Giustinohttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04756707910693785516noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13406351.post-64927383708752213162007-05-28T19:07:00.000+03:002007-05-28T19:07:00.000+03:00Well, I think that Swedes tend to be bit dramatic ...Well, I think that Swedes tend to be bit dramatic when it comes to international politics and crisis situations - it can make you a nervous wreck when all the time scary things are happening around you and often almost spill over to your pleasant, perfect, superior kingdom. Two hundred years of uninterrupted peace can make any mindset peculiar. This said, they also can take much more courageous moral attitudes than for example us cynical, pessimistic Finns that don't believe that right often has many chances against might...stockholm slenderhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16909107517362691387noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13406351.post-70070985796650167182007-05-28T12:40:00.000+03:002007-05-28T12:40:00.000+03:00if only russia would take that attitude...? :) k...if only russia would take that attitude...? :) kidding..klxhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02756387772020517484noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13406351.post-57382342119398467692007-05-28T09:51:00.000+03:002007-05-28T09:51:00.000+03:00I mean, I like Sweden and I like that parallel uni...I mean, I like Sweden and I like that parallel universe, but in the Swedish mindset Estonia seems "far" even though it's right across the Baltic Sea. This happens all the time. I say that I live in 'Estland' and I am automatically viewed with some suspicion. <BR/><BR/>They have a provincial perspective on their own neighborhood. I mean, some are perhaps even scared of visiting Estonia! Yet they fly all the way to Thailand to vacation.<BR/>-----------------------------------<BR/>Giustino, perfectly said, that´s exactly what I meant to say but failed in my english :). <BR/>And the fact that they are indeed "scared" and cancel their trips to Estonia after bronze-night like has been written in newspapers lately has made me even more biased towards them and came to realize that they are just very distant from us and probably just like that way the best.Unknownhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04935901565998236413noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13406351.post-53219748060257412932007-05-28T09:23:00.000+03:002007-05-28T09:23:00.000+03:00Some Swedes are notoriously self-absorbed. Going t...Some Swedes are notoriously self-absorbed. Going there you feel as if you have stepped into a parallel universe where everyone is swallowing their vowels. I am sure that Finnish politics barely register, let alone Estonian politics. Think about it. Ilves' election was the frontpage in Helsingi Sanomat, but perhaps warranted a brief in Dagens Nyheter.<BR/><BR/>I mean, I like Sweden and I like that parallel universe, but in the Swedish mindset Estonia seems "far" even though it's right across the Baltic Sea. This happens all the time. I say that I live in 'Estland' and I am automatically viewed with some suspicion. <BR/><BR/>They have a provincial perspective on their own neighborhood. I mean, some are perhaps even scared of visiting Estonia! Yet they fly all the way to Thailand to vacation.<BR/><BR/>Figure that one out.<BR/><BR/>I think it's more isolated northerners, Icelanders and Finns, that "get" Estonia. They are used to staring at world maps and thinking about these things.<BR/><BR/>It's ok though. I think the Norwegians, Finns, and Danes pretty much feel the same way about the Swedes.Giustinohttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04756707910693785516noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13406351.post-63784007285002628132007-05-28T08:36:00.000+03:002007-05-28T08:36:00.000+03:00Andres, now that you mentioned Finland who also ga...Andres, now that you mentioned Finland who also gave out our refugees it indeed reminded me that also that was mentioned in history class- my memory is fading obviosly, but since I graduated highschool in 1994 already then no wonder LOL :D. <BR/>Soundwhiz, I didn´t mean to offend any swedes and of course I´m not holding any grudge because of our history, but I talked from my personnal experience with them cause that is the feeling they have left me, but could be that I´m not objective and even bitter cause I have myself swedish and danish roots which I found out only in 90´s (my parents, grandparents and grand-grandparents are from Saaremaa (Ösel) and Hiiumaa (Dagö)) and after that our families started to commune familywise but it has been really weird and gave me these biased views.Unknownhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04935901565998236413noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13406351.post-61182193242294881532007-05-28T02:45:00.000+03:002007-05-28T02:45:00.000+03:00I wonder what will be done with all the old Soviet...<I>I wonder what will be done with all the old Soviet blocks of flats. How long will they endure? Will they be blown up and new ones built or something?</I><BR/><BR/>You don't need to tear them down and rebuild them. With some minor re-doing of the fassades, you can make Soviet apartment blocks turn into plain old apartment blocks. I took a picture a few years ago of a redone apartment block right beside a "traditional" one. The difference was quite stunning. The indsides of these blocks aren't actually too horrid, depending on how well the respective owner has taken care of it, of course.<BR/><BR/>There are a few in Lasnamäe, which look just like plain old apartment blocks, like they exist all across Europe. I hope that with a few more years, all of Lasnamäe will be like this. I have no idea what the status is in other parts of the country.<BR/><BR/>Also, I was last in Estonia in February 2006. As has been mentioned here, Estonia being Estonia, I should't count on recognizing much in July when I return :pspace_mazehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04761076198531074140noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13406351.post-55404656132415125022007-05-28T02:33:00.000+03:002007-05-28T02:33:00.000+03:00It is amazing to hear that Estonia has changed so ...It is amazing to hear that Estonia has changed so much. These Estonians are really impressive. I can't wait to go and see it myself!<BR/><BR/><I>Is that what EU accession does? Is that what 10 percent economic growth means?</I><BR/><BR/>At least it means that there is a lot of capital being poured into Estonia. The real estate sector seems to be booming. Estonians are able to convince investors that their small country is the right place to put their money. And they are getting richer in the process.<BR/><BR/><I>So if Russia were a flaming red, and Sweden a navy blue, then Finland and Estonia would be a striking purple ;)</I><BR/><BR/>Absolutely. Estonia's architecture is like a history book. You have different periods of its history standing side by side, and some of these periods can be traced back to some of the old foreign powers.<BR/><BR/>As to the regional institutions, I thought the three Baltic republics had already been granted membership of such clubs like the Nordic Council. Good to know that there is still that divide.Juan Manuelhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01997278614759180471noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13406351.post-70332838142029567172007-05-28T00:33:00.000+03:002007-05-28T00:33:00.000+03:00I wonder what will be done with all the old Soviet...I wonder what will be done with all the old Soviet blocks of flats. How long will they endure? Will they be blown up and new ones built or something? Because, well, there's a shitload of them all over Estonia (especially in Tallinn's suburbs). Will I live to see the day Lasnamäe's 9-storey concrete monsters will crumble down like card houses one by one? That would truly be a nice day :PUnknownhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17076822279861048442noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13406351.post-4669973105545363642007-05-27T23:58:00.000+03:002007-05-27T23:58:00.000+03:00This was in 2002, they may have removed it ever si...<I>This was in 2002, they may have removed it ever since.</I><BR/><BR/>Tallinn has changed a lot since then. That was the first year I came too, and I had a similar experience. <BR/><BR/>The port area was one of the last pockets of nastiness in central Tallinn. <BR/><BR/>But ruined factory by ruined factory they've cleaned it up so that you leave the glass buildings of Helsinki and meet them again in Tallinn.<BR/><BR/>When I lived in Tallinn in 2003-2004, the Ülemiste shopping center was this "holy shit" kind of newfangled Scandinavian shopping experience in central Tallinn. This was before they did Kaubamaja. <BR/><BR/>And the road the airport was littered with scarred and decaying buildings. But one by one they took them down and surrounded Ülemiste with so much crap that it now looks quite ordinary.<BR/><BR/>Now it's the road out of Ülemiste beyond the airport that is being carved up by different kinds of companies that build in the Scandinavian tradition.<BR/><BR/>Christ, even the train station in Tallinn is fairly well-kept these days. In 2003, it was a craphole plagued by wandering drunks with cuts on their faces.<BR/><BR/>Is that what EU accession does? Is that what 10 percent economic growth means?<BR/><BR/>If so, I hope it spreads to Jõgeva. Fast.Giustinohttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04756707910693785516noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13406351.post-78362387277121408542007-05-27T23:45:00.000+03:002007-05-27T23:45:00.000+03:00Andres: I don't know, I came out of the Tallink sh...Andres: I don't know, I came out of the Tallink ship and what I saw was a huge symetric beton block. It seemed some kind of totalitarian architecture to me. This was in 2002, they may have removed it ever since.Juan Manuelhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01997278614759180471noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13406351.post-52058645377530351032007-05-27T23:36:00.000+03:002007-05-27T23:36:00.000+03:00Changing subject: one day you should write about E...<I>Changing subject: one day you should write about Estonia's nordic identity through its architecture. <BR/><BR/>***<BR/><BR/>I don't know directly how nordic countries look, but the old wooden houses in Tartu remind me of a provincial town in the old, multi-ethnic Russian empire. I saw similar neighborhoods in small Russian towns. I would say the same thing about Haapsalu with its train station. It looks to me like a "kurort" where one of Chehov's plays could take place.</I><BR/><BR/>What you've hit upon, somebody, is that the buildings resemble the era in which they were built.<BR/><BR/>Most of the wooden dwellings here in Tartu were built in the 1900s. The last phases of the Russian empire. So I guess they would resemble that time period.<BR/><BR/>Meanwhile, Tallinn's old town resembles a northern German city during the 1500s.<BR/><BR/>Meanwhile, the glassy, modern architecture of today, found in Tartu and in Tallinn and basically everywhere, wouldn't be out of place in the suburbs of Reykjavik.<BR/><BR/>Each power in Estonia left behind architectural curiosities. In most cases, those northern German medieval buildings in Tallinn really were for medieval German traders.<BR/><BR/>Those ornate train stations, like the one in Haapsalu, really were built for Russian travelers.<BR/><BR/>I mean, what kind of Estonians in 1907 -- when the station was built -- traveled by train to Haapsalu and for what purposes? It was built for imperial visitors from St. Petersburg. Haapsalu was a summer retreat for them.<BR/><BR/>Now, I should say that when I was in Helsinki the first time, I definitely did not feel that I was in Scandinavia. It did not feel like Stockholm or Copenhagen.<BR/><BR/>The avenues and large grey post-war buildings looked alot like what parts of Tallinn look like now. The 1960s apartment buildings were in better shape, but not unlike the Soviet apartment blocks in Tallinn. <BR/><BR/>So, like Finland, Estonia is not east or west, but "somewhere in between." There is nothing "Scandinavian" about the Langinkoski fishing lodge of Tsar Alexander III near Kotka, that's for sure.<BR/><BR/>Rather than view the world as a serious of boxes (as Scandinavians and Finns (and Estonians)) might be prone to do, I think the world is comprised more of colors and shades. So if Russia were a flaming red, and Sweden a navy blue, then Finland and Estonia would be a striking purple ;)Giustinohttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04756707910693785516noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13406351.post-11652774687632722722007-05-27T21:29:00.000+03:002007-05-27T21:29:00.000+03:00"Therefore I personally don´t think much of swedes..."Therefore I personally don´t think much of swedes at all and I´m pretty sure that they have same feelings for us"<BR/><BR/>A ridiculous statement to which I strongly disagree. Swedes very much like Estonia and its people. Of course, I have nothing to back up this claim with, but I'll bet you don't either with yours. Unless you were seriously considering the extradition debacle 60 years ago perpetrated by a small group of people who are probably dead or getting there. Let it go.<BR/><BR/>I hate nazis, but I love Kraftwerk, Mercedes, Kinder eggs, Lufthansa and I think Angela Merkel would be a fine shag if it was just her and myself on a deserted island. Sins of the fathers are just that. Don't perpetuate them.<BR/><BR/>Kristofer<BR/><BR/>Oh... I'm Swedish :Dsoundwhizhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16818970300431226044noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13406351.post-33063294590276900242007-05-27T20:02:00.000+03:002007-05-27T20:02:00.000+03:00Finland also gave out refugees in my opinion. They...Finland also gave out refugees in my opinion. They were so terrified of the USSR, so it seemed like the sensible thing to do.Unknownhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17076822279861048442noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13406351.post-18786775763747030562007-05-27T19:00:00.000+03:002007-05-27T19:00:00.000+03:00One more thing came to my mind cons. Sweden´s beha...One more thing came to my mind cons. Sweden´s behaviour in the 40´s - in the estonian history lesson in highschool was mentioned that they also extradited a lot of estonian refugees to USSR. One can only guess what happened to these people, I guess they were even too much of the "traitors of sov. rep of Est" to be "just" sent to Siberia. Therefore I personnaly don´t think much of swedes at all and I´m pretty sure that they have same feelings for us.Unknownhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04935901565998236413noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13406351.post-10964201060384753092007-05-27T18:59:00.000+03:002007-05-27T18:59:00.000+03:00The Tallinn seaport is a modern box of glass and c...The Tallinn seaport is a modern box of glass and cardboard AFAIK. Or are you talking about some previous building?Unknownhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17076822279861048442noreply@blogger.com