Pictures from my recent lecture/conference trip to Estonia. I visited Tallinn, Viljandi and Tartu. Tallinn is the capital, with an imporessive Germanic, Hansa-style, medieval city center. Viljandi has an interesting Cultural Academy that funcions as a part of the University of Tartu. Tartu, the caiptal of southern Estonia, is a marvellous University Town, with beautiful neoclassic buildings and realy great cafés. Recommended!

Tallinn, Feb. 9-10: 

Tallinn has narrow streets.

A tourist with a camphone... (and me taking a picture of her taking a picture)...

...and this is what she shot, see! (But after seeing me with a camera, she took a camera too, and did not continue with a cam phone..)

Another tourist - playing GameBoy in an odd place, a viewing spot over Tallinn on Toompea Hill, the center of power in Estonian Government (and lots of amber shops, too).

My dinner: a pig's foot. not great, but a there was a lot of it, and it was expensive. Eh, eating in a tourist spot is like that sometimes.

Back to the hotel.

Viljandi (about 2 hrs south from Tallinn), Feb. 10: 

Staging Dept.: Romeo and Juliet.

Recording studio: improvising Coltrane.

Tartu, Feb. 10-13: 

The Statue of Gustavus Adolphus, Rex Sueciae (Sweden), who founded the university.

The main building of the university.

Tartu Museum of Art in a funny house, leaning because it is partly built on old city wall.

University Café's sign...

The opening of the conference on Art Education in Tartu Month of Art. The place was an auditorium at the University Library. - I gave a talk here about our experiences in combining art and (serious) research in Helsinki.

Dinner place: Café Kissing Students (named after a fountain in front of the City Hall, which is almost next to this café on the right side in this picture. Students keep putting soap into the fountain, which fills the lace with bubbles every spring. Good old university town traditions!).

A club, whose name I forgot. In old town anyway, and a great place!