I didn't realize when I ventured out on our first day in Tallinn that I was going to want five rolls of film for just the prison itself. I don't remember how many I had but it was definitely not enough. After my film ran out I resorted to the only other thing I had on hand, my iPod touch, which became its own game of trying to photograph and simultaneously preserve the battery to the end of the day. I guess digital's not immune from the "oh shit, didn't bring enough film (battery, memory) with me" sort of problem.






The inside of the prison was confusing and a little chaotic in an empty, spooky way. I almost immediately lost track of the route we were taking and our location relative to the outside grounds.




















Our tour guide was a bit of an asshole, and would say odd things like, "Why are you all following me again? It's so weird, every time I do this, all the people just follow me."

Poor lass. He really just needed someone who was on-their-feet enough to be like, "Because you're the tourguide, asshole. What did you think was going to happen?" Over the course of the tour I developed a bit of a soft spot for him. Next time I would totally call him out on his shit.




He also talked repeatedly about how we shouldn't wander off or walk into the cells because we might get lost and the locks still worked and the walls were thick so no one would be able to hear us scream.




We found out later that he had some kind of tech support or programming position or something. My friend remarked that this "explains both why he did the tour like that and why you like him."




I missed most of what the guide said because I was always pushing staying within earshot, trying to photograph as much as I could without losing the group, and nervously glancing behind me before going into any cells, in case the tour guide suddenly showed up to shut me in. But I did catch the tail end of what he said in this room, which was that the mural was done by one of the prisoners.






Scabies earned you isolation.






"You can cut through the courtyard if you like; it's shorter. But that side of the building is falling apart, and I can't guarantee the building won't try to kill you."










Apparently they hold concerts in the prison yards in the summer. Tallinn seems like an awesome place.