There is more to Tallinn than the Old Town. We ventured out to the wooded neighbourhood of Kadriorg Park. Meaning "Catherine's Valley" in Estonian, Kadriorg was named for Catherine I of Russia, wife of Emperor Peter the Great. Their 18th Century baroque palace now houses the foreign art collection of the Art Museum of Estonia.
The star of Kadriorg Park, though, is the KUMU. The Kunstimuuseum, or "Art Museum" in Estonian, is an impressive glass building, sharp and soaring (designed by a Finnish architect), at the end of a long, tree-lined boulevard. And we couldn't get in. One of the problems with traveling during the holidays is that places of interest - say, one of the largest art museums in Northern Europe - might not be open when they should be. We had trudged through the snow of that long, tree-lined boulevard only to stare in disbelief at closed doors. Eventually, a young German couple and an older German lady joined us in the hopes that we had all been mistaken, our watches might be a little fast, and maybe it was a little earlier than the 11:00 opening. After 20 minutes of shifting and stamping our feet to stay warm and peering into the darkness of the hallways, we had to admit defeat and retreated.We returned the next day and were triumphant! We even exchanged a nod of victory with the older German lady when we met again - indoors - at the coat check. The permanent collection is large, and we didn't see everything. Of particular interest were Difficult Choices (an exhibit on art and propaganda during Estonia's period as a Soviet state), the hall with works by Kaido Ole (an Estonian artist curiously obsessed with caster wheels), and the highly disturbing exhibit by Lithuanian artist Šarūnas Sauka. Originally drawn in by the thumbnail of his "Man with Problems" in the KUMU brochure, we quickly realized this was probably one of the only pieces they could have put on such a public piece of paper without someone being disgusted or offended. Sauka's paintings and sculptures evoke the details and religious themes of Hieronymous Bosch, except more twisted and graphic in its sexual and food fetishes. I was kinda appalled that some parents brought their 7 year-old son in with them. That kid was probably going to have nightmares... because I certainly was!
The star of Kadriorg Park, though, is the KUMU. The Kunstimuuseum, or "Art Museum" in Estonian, is an impressive glass building, sharp and soaring (designed by a Finnish architect), at the end of a long, tree-lined boulevard. And we couldn't get in. One of the problems with traveling during the holidays is that places of interest - say, one of the largest art museums in Northern Europe - might not be open when they should be. We had trudged through the snow of that long, tree-lined boulevard only to stare in disbelief at closed doors. Eventually, a young German couple and an older German lady joined us in the hopes that we had all been mistaken, our watches might be a little fast, and maybe it was a little earlier than the 11:00 opening. After 20 minutes of shifting and stamping our feet to stay warm and peering into the darkness of the hallways, we had to admit defeat and retreated.We returned the next day and were triumphant! We even exchanged a nod of victory with the older German lady when we met again - indoors - at the coat check. The permanent collection is large, and we didn't see everything. Of particular interest were Difficult Choices (an exhibit on art and propaganda during Estonia's period as a Soviet state), the hall with works by Kaido Ole (an Estonian artist curiously obsessed with caster wheels), and the highly disturbing exhibit by Lithuanian artist Šarūnas Sauka. Originally drawn in by the thumbnail of his "Man with Problems" in the KUMU brochure, we quickly realized this was probably one of the only pieces they could have put on such a public piece of paper without someone being disgusted or offended. Sauka's paintings and sculptures evoke the details and religious themes of Hieronymous Bosch, except more twisted and graphic in its sexual and food fetishes. I was kinda appalled that some parents brought their 7 year-old son in with them. That kid was probably going to have nightmares... because I certainly was!
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