London and Estonia 2017

I made it to the British Museum just after opening time this morning. Seems like that's the time to go, because it felt like there were 10,000 others with the same idea. I opted to follow the One Hour Tour, hitting the highlights. Although I didn't follow the map, and the tour was well identified, I didn't notice anyone else on the same route. There were crowds everywhere except one of the gift shops. It was an oasis of calm, as were the areas by the Nishga’a and Haida poles in the Grand Court. I made a point of seeing the North American display because the collection of art from what is now British Columbia at the Museum of Natural History in New York is significantly more impressive than the collection at the Royal BC Museum in Victoria. The British Museum has three Haida pole, the Nishga'a one, a few Coast Salish poles. It has a Nu’Chal’Nuth exhibit as well. The Bc First Nations’ displays account for about one quarter of the North American displays. I felt incl...

Tuesday was a travel day. Sadly, I returned thecar, after discovering that you can't open the gas compartment if the car doors are locked. Then I discovered the roads that I wanted to take to return the car were closed. Oh well. It took longer to get through the customs line than it took to fly from Tallinn to London.  Sigh. The good news was that I made it into town in time to buy a ticket and see The Mentor, starring F. Murray Abraham. He was playing a washed up playwright mentoring a man beginning his career. His critique was harsh, and the up and comer took it hard. Language, naturally, was a recurring theme, and the language was often brilliant. Murray Abraham was clearly enjoying himself, but the play’s structure was not as good as the words. The men on each side of me were in a similar boat -- they both saw F. Murray Abraham’s name on the marquee and bought a same-day discounted ticket. The man on my left was a private piano teacher from Devon. The man on my right wa...

I started my penultimate day in Estonia with a search for my grandfather’s grave. I knew it was not that near the homestead.  Once I found the graveyard, it should have been easy to find the headstone. There's an Estonian Grave Finder search engine. Type in the name, and details come up. Select “map” and you're set. You know where this is going, don't you. Key phrase was “once I found the graveyard.”  I found the churchyard with no difficulty. It was extraordinarily beautiful. And full. As you'd expect for a place where people have been buried for hundreds of years, it was chock-a-block with graves. My map was broken down into coordinates. I knew the perimeter, and where the grave was with respect to the perimeter. It should have been easy. After half an hour, I started looking up names that I saw on headstones, to see where they were in relation to the one that I was looking for. Eventually, by walking out of the far side, I figured out that I was in the churchya...

I loved loved loved the Talking Heads exhibit in Kumu, the Estonian national art gallery in Tallinn. I'm pleased to say that I made it there on a day that it was open, unlike last Monday. It's a beautiful building nestled into the side of a hill. It has a green patina, so perhaps the building was clad in copper, or perhaps it's wood. I didn't look that closely. The building has the obligatory stramp, as does Canada’s National Gallery in Ottawa. Back to the talking heads. Almost all of the sculpted busts are in one triangular room. Some are on the wall, others are on plinths in lines on the floor.  The collection is large, as is the room. What makes the exhibit exquisite is the soundtrack. There's a dull mumble, bringing otherwise dull heads to life. It's brilliant. The temporary exhibit on the top floor also piqued my imagination. At the beginning and end there were two installations that made use of metal studs, the kind office builders use when makin...

Yesterday I drove from an island off the west coast (Saaramaa) to Tartu in the south central part of Estonia. Today, I took the advice of the young woman at the tourist information centre, and drove along the east coast before heading back to Tallinn on the north coast. Needless to say, distances are less great than in Canada. First, I enjoyed a visit to the Tartu Botanical Gardens. It's a wonderful size -- big enough to have a little bit of everything and small enough to make it look good. The peony patch was a wonder!  Flowers are just ending their blooms, and there were just so many of them. The patch was about 15 meters wide and 25 meters long, with colours grouped together for a more impressive show. There were paths winding through, enhancing the experience. The first thing I saw, when I entered by the side gate, was a palm tree sculpture made of 6 inch terra cotta pots and rope. It stood about eight feet tall. The dahlia patch was small, and rather sorry looking. Thank...

When I’m away, I like going into grocery stores to see how they are arranged, what the emphasis is on, and what prices are for standard objects. Today, I have a new “check it out” item -- ferries. I just drove on the ferry from Saaramaa to the mainland. It actually goes from Muhu, a separate island that is accessible from Saaramaa by a causeway. I, like most of the cars, was sent to the bowels of the ship. A ramp/hatch opened up like a gaping mouth, and down we went. Six lanes of cars. It was a bit like entering a horror movie. However, these ferries go every half hour, so it can't be that bad. Coming to the ferry terminal, I stopped at the Kaali Meteorii Kraater. These Estonians love their double vowels. During the 3 kilometres off the main road, I drove through a fabulous field of red poppies. It felt like I was in a Monet painting. Absolute magic. I walked into the field on the side of the road that did not have the no walking sign, and found the poppies were almost five fee...

The Slow Food Movement is alive and well in Estonia, and today, the farmers of Saaramaa tried to celebrate it. Only trouble was, it rained. A lot. Typical for me, I got lost trying to find the farmer’s market. I saw a lot of the periphery of this largest Town on the largest Estonian island. I found the sea plane terminal, some warehouses, a few car dealerships, and eventually the market. That's when it started to rain. The car I rented has a feature called rain alert, and the wipers turn on. The feature took me a bit of time to get used to. It also sounds an inside alarm if I park close to anything, like another car or a barrier of some sort. I walked around the site in the rain. There were many more cars than people, so perhaps I didn't see the entire grounds. The food signs were in Estonian only, and the only guy I talked to was telling me about his different cheeses. Sorry, fella, wrong customer. Naturally I got lost returning to town. I made the mistake of following...

Tonight’s digs are in sharp contrast to yesterday’s. While I basked in Nordic luxury last night, tonight I'm seeing how the locals live. In in a wood panelled guest house for 17 Euro for the night. It's pleasant, it's clean and it had room for me. The room is less than two meters wide and a meter and a half longer than the single bed. The wood on the walls, ceiling and floor remind me of a sauna. My window looks out at calm, flat farmland and a few farm buildings. There's ample light, plenty of hot water in the bathroom next door and a supermarket across the parking lot. I'm all set. Hiiumaa is the more northern of the large Estonian Islands. I think I already said the ferry trip here was 1.5 hours, and the ship looked like it was built for strong winds and rough seas. Many city folk vacation on the islands. I'm guessing that most have cabins in the woods, since there were a lot of sign with place names, and not much visible in the way of places. The b...

Haapsalu, on the west coast of Estonia, kiss famous for its knitted lace. It's also a long time summer spot, and has healing waters for people needing a pick me up. Tchaikovsky spent the summer of 1867 here, probably obvious to the political events in far away Canada. The town features a 13th century castle (in ruins) built by the Church of Rome. An interpretive sign says the protective features include spots to pour burning oil on invaders. Inside the walls nowadays is a marvellous playground, a cathedral not in ruins and a stage for the upcoming Blues Festival. Along the extensive waterfront is a promenade, with sponsored benches, most commemorating deceased relatives. The Tchaikovsky bench is stone and has piped music playing so softly that I had to be still to confirm it was real. In the middle of the recreational harbour is a statue of a polar bear on a rather small ice floe. It was installed before climate change rose to prominence, and still serves as a reminder. On ...