1-31-07

wasn't able to upload pictures last night, but will catch up now. quick adventure with Tiit and Carol to the Estonian museum of art today (Kuum). Bought a book of Tiiu's art there. great exhibit of Felicien Rops ( http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/F%C3%A9licien_Rops ), and others. then just finished about 7 hours of estonian lessons in the lounge on the top floor of the hotel. tomorrow i think i will finally meet up with the folks for breakfast instead of sleeping in. Then have one final meeting at the gallery to set pricing and arrangements for Friday.

cousin liis with me and dad


tiiu, liis' mom



another entrance to Vana Tallinn




graffiti on toompea. maybe I'm just easily amused.....


parliament (on the inside of the giant stone wall)

Today is my grandmother's birthday. On this day in 1948 my father snuck out from the home and broke his leg while tobogganing. It was a big moment for the family while in the german camp. Ema had to take a job at the hospital in order for them to treat Dad's leg, and then they would not let them leave (because they needed her to work as a nurse). They eventually escaped and caught up with grandfather and Tom. Anyway, Ema could not let her birthday pass without reminding my father of his mistake when he was 8, so I figure I will carry on the tradition.

Had our first meeting with the gallery yesterday, planning out the opening for Friday, organizing the paintings. Turns out that Julius reproduced many of the paintings he had to leave behind during the war, so there are near duplicates of several paintings already over here. Here's a photo of the original Pikk Jalg. And yes, it is an entrance to the fort that is Vana Tallinn. Pretty amazing actually. The parliament and government offices are still within the great stone walls.



started meeting relations too. Liis I met once before in 1993, but I had not met her husband Kalle or her mother Tiiu before. Liis father's mother was my grandmother's sister, which makes Liis some sort of cousin. Tiiu is also a well known Estonian artist, and some of her work is up at the same art gallery. this link shows some of her work at the haus gallery.

http://www.haus.ee/?s=otsing&otsingus6na=pallo-vaik

1-9-7, 2

So, with a brief google search on Pikk Jalg the street in question has become more real and ordinary. The street is well known and there are plenty of photos available on the web. I love the streetlamps, though I have to say I love them more in the painting.

1-9-7

So my story starts with a picture of Pikk Jalg, a narrow street in old town Tallinn. The gate tower at the end of the road was apparently built in 1380, and at one point the street was the only way into the fortress (i think). I know the street primarily from my grandfather's painting. I spent many hours as a preschool kid staring into this painting. the steeple in the background was in at least a dozen paintings in the living room, and I could probably draw the map of a 5 mile radius just from the paintings i remember. slanted streets and all.