TallinnMapSeptember 16–20, 2002 Welcome to Est onia.
Beautiful country, provincially totalitarian design. * * * The 18 triangles with pedestrians on them at every pedestrian crossing are not unusual in Tallin. The local road sign culture is more developed than in any other country in the world.  The “no entry for vehicular traffic” signs in Tallin are panoramic that was eeveryone will seee them.  The anthropomorphic silhouettes are painstakingly drawn — you can even see the slippers. Viewers will admire Estonians’ posture, the curve of their necks, and their poses.  Crime scene.  For some reason the arrows indicating which lane to use aren’t white on a blue background like everywhere else in Europe, but black on a white background.  Close the road; unfurl the road to full-screen mode; roll up the road to the right.  The graffiti outlines both young people’s problems and an understanding of how to resolve them. 
Write to us! Stained glass windows adorn the entrance hall of the TV tower. Here’s a wonderful Soviet test card made of glass.  The business district consists of three and a half skyscrapers.  The old town is teeming with lots of lovely little details.  Car number plates.  Cab.  Taximeter.  Postbox.  Payphone.  Traffic lights.  Manhole.  Street name signs are a strange shade of brown.  Postcard views everywhere you look.  |
In lieu of a letter from the editor the tourist brochure “This week in Tallin” rapturously relates the development of the country’s logo and slogan, a process which took two years. The logo, which conveys the idea of a land of contrasts (how original), is going to be emblazoned on everything from packaging (instead of writing “Made in Estonia”) to passports (replacing entry stamps at the border):