Bonnie Stein, known professionally as GOH, was co-producer with the von Krahl Theatre in Tallinn, of "What's Up?  Reverse Psychology, Agenda III".  Dancers and actors performed for three days on the streets and in the von Krahl Theatre.  There was so much interest in the performance, that reservations were turned away on the last night.  Every night was booked solid!. 

Yoshiko Chuma of NYC, was choreographer and performance creator. She has created over 50 works with her New York based company, The School of Hard Knocks.  Bonnie has been in the business for many years producing and promoting dance companies, among them Min Tanaka of Tokyo.

Everything about the trip was fascinating.  Watching the production of this incredible Dance Festival, of which we were a small part, gave me some insight into the dedication, efficiency, and compassion of the production people such as Bonnie. Perfection is making sure that every single little detail fits into the pattern, and Bonnie was the expert of this.  Not only are production details important, but deep consideration for the people involved is the moving force to which keeps Bonnie in this business so long, with keen recognition for her integrity and skills.

Recognized by the National Endowment of the Arts, as a leader in her field of production, Bonnie serves on their panels in making grants and assisting artists.

A reservation was made for me at a big modern hotel, but I preferred to move to Helke Hostel, magnificant old house with seven rooms on one floor, located near center of old town.  Bed in private room and breakfast provided, with lots of conversation with young people passing through from all over. English was spoken by all travellers.

A remarkable small town, formerly part of the Soviet bloc, since the people yielded to Soviet occupation, so very little of the town was destroyed.  When the crack was obvious in the Soviet system, they simply voted independence for themselves, without bloodshed or violence.  In fact, they are proud of their huge stadium where each year, the community gathered to sing for peaceful return of their country.  A community of all kinds of churches living in close proximity, singing for peace, was their way of becoming free from Soviet occupation and opporession,  and it worked!

Although obviously a Lutheran community, old churches and museums started in 1200 by the Dominican Order, of the Roman Catholic Church, are carefully preserved,  as well as the many Lutheran Churches, Alexander Nevsky Cathedral, a Greek Orthodox Church, and St. Mary's Cathedral.  It was a real thrill to walk through this medieval community, carefully preserved, not having been destroyed by the ravages of "holy wars"..

Guide books are proud to say that when the Domincan Order came to Tallinn, all peasants were given complete education, and emphasis on education is very much central to their culture today.  The Order of the Dominicans preach and teach all over the world, and here especially, you can see the pioneering effort by the Catholic Church in 1200, to educate its citizens, starting with the peasantry.

How different from our powerful leaders who not only do not provide education for local citizens, but bomb their very existence and land, for a variety of well sounding slogans. "Make the world safe for Democracy", "Ethnic cleansing" "Rid the world of Evil", to mention only a few.  Can we doubt that our bombing is engendering a lot of anger and resentment against us?.

A citizenry, well educated, somehow protected  itself by cooperating with opposing factions, even the most recent Soviet Union.  Many people told me that if it was required for them to do labor in Siberia, they just went, got it over with, and went back to their own business.  Also, there was an influx of Russians into Tallinn, and they seem to live in peaceful coexistance with the original Estonians.

Out of the Teach and Preach philosophy of the Dominicans in 1200, there has come a real fortress of the National Library of Estonia.  Looking more like a formidable armory, the State Library was established in 1918, the primary collection of 2,000 books considered necessary for lawmaking and governing.

As a result of Soviet occupation, all links with foreign libraries were severed, but the bulk of Estonian publications was placed in restricted access collection. Hence, they were saved from destruction at the end of 1940, the fate of almost all Estonian publications.

Since 1988, the library has had status of a national library, and due to political changes in the Soviet Union, it became essential to provide services to budding local lawmaking and government bodies.

The new site of the National Library, an eight story building, constructed between 1985 to 1993 is the largest library in the Baltic States, capable of seating 1070 readers at any one time. The stacks are designed to hold 5 million volumes.

On equal par with the old churches, the formidable library, were the many many restaurants, each with more savoring food. I felt very honored to dine at the MAIIsmokk (Sweet Tooth) with its owner, Peeter Jalakas, on Lai Street in old town, Tallinn. Converted from a magnificant old home, the restaurant featured such items as boar with cranberries, venison, wild turkey roll, local herring from the Baltic served with vodka. 

When the wall finally came down, we were all shocked at the condition the Allies had left this magnificant city of beautiful museums, cathedrals, and synagogues.  Under the rule of the Soviets, nothing was repaired, and we could see how people are killed and western culture destroyed, as in Biblical days, when a vengeful God destroyed ancient  civilizations.

I stayed for awhile with Tobias Netta, a talented musician on the trumpet, and with him I visited all the important jazz clubs, and danced with the most avant gard!

Bardo Henning, now lives in a beautiful large studio home, outside of Berlin.  He took me to his new play: "The Little Prince," written and directed by Birgit Wolke. He has directed the Berlin Experimente; large choral groups of Turkish residents, and is a brilliant pianist.

Entertainment in Berlin is endless. When I was not roaming the clubs with Tobias, I visited some of the vast spectacular events each night.  For instance, the Berliner Ensemble offered Robert Wilson production with Tom Waits in their interpretation of Georg Buchner's Woyzeck.

Another night in Pottsdam, there was Martin Scorsese "The Band, the Last Waltz", a real oldie with Robbie Robertson, Neil Young, Van Morrison, Muddy Waters, Ringo Starr, Bob Dylan.  A real thriller for me.

I went to a number of galleries. An Agatha Christie exhibition, featured her work with her husband, on archaeological sites in Iraq.  Not only was she a great writer, but she was the photography on site.  She even brought her children with her.  What a woman!

I never miss a Picasso Exhibit, and Berlin featured a number of paintings I have not seen.

I love staying at the Humboldt Institute on the "Island" in East Berlin. The magnificant museums are now being restored after 60 years of neglect, by the Soviet Union, having been heavily bombed by the Allies.

My favorite is the Pergamon Museum where the great walls of Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon are displayed, bringing full life to the story of the capture of the Jews recorded in our Bible.

A jewel of Mesopotamian architecture, these walls were found in tiny pieces, and reconstucted, so carefully.  Other magnificant remains are from Nimrod, another ancient city, visited by the prophet Jonah, who had some interesting experiences in the whale, recorded in our Bible.

The Berliner Dom, a Protestant Cathedral, and the new Synagogue nearby, have now been restored revealing similarity of architecture.  We were told that Berlin has the fastest growing Jewish population with 24 synagogue having been restored, with active congregations. Who would have ever believed it?

Connie Mueller met me in Berlin and off to Hamburg for another adventure.