Traveling Fool

I had a wonderful Sunday out last weekend with my pal and we attended the "Keith Haring: Art is for Everybody" exhibit at the Walker Art Center in Minneapolis. The exhibit runs through September 8, 2024, and I really recommend it to anyone interested in pop art. I was familiar with Haring's work, as in I knew the name and recognized some of his art, but I was not an expert or very well-versed in his career, but there was something about what I did know, that made me want to know more.  The exhibit covers Haring's career, which was a lot more than painting, or even just painting on canvas. He created and performed in performance art with dancers; he collaborated with rappers; he made sculptures and videos; worked with kids at a residency at the Walker; and he made protest paintings and other artwork to raise attention to growing AIS/HIV crisis in the 1980s.   In addition to paintings, there are various three dimensional art works, music videos featuring Madonna and Gra

  It was hard to resist popping over to Estonia from Helsinki when it's so easy to reach. It's about a 2 to 2 1/2 hour ferry ride and depending on what your sightseeing goals are, you can spend about 6 hours there and come back in the afternoon. I wasn't sure I had a lot of sightseeing goals, I just wanted to explore. I did know that I wanted see the Alexander Nevsky Cathedral, but other than, no idea.  On the ferry, I booked comfort class tickets, which isn't the highest level, but it's close, and you get a limited free buffet and food for purchase. I was hoping to find a nice little corner to take a morning snooze, but the two women in the little room decided that 7:00 am was a good time to have a chat. Ugh. But other than that, the crossing was very smooth and delightful. a view from comfort class on the ferry Upon docking, I just started to walk, following the crowd since most people were going in the same direction. The conditions were slippery and snowy and co

After my Arctic adventure, I planned on spending some time in the Finnish capital of Helsinki on my own. I did some planning, but I also planned to be a little spontaneous, if that make sense. I had things I wanted to do, but aside from a day trip to Tallinn, Estonia, everything else was up for grabs. My hotel, Hotel Klaus K, was perfectly located near a tram stop, walkable to the ferry and other areas of the city center. I also knew I was going to take public transportation, so I bought a four day bus/tram/ferry card and gleefully hopped on and off. Okay, if I'm honest, I had to hop on and off so much because I kept getting lost, or slightly misdirected. But no worries, on, off, walk a little, take a different tram, it all worked out.  My first afternoon in Helsinki I just walked around I'd like to say getting my bearings, but we both know that would be a lie. Helsinki, like most northern cities, include Minneapolis/St. Paul, doesn't stop because of snow. People were out w

 I like lists, lists of books, countries, counties and geographical markers, like 0 degrees longitude (Greenwich), Land's End and the freshly crossed off the list - The Arctic Circle. Apparently, I am not the only person with that idea based on the throngs of people visiting at the same time as me. It wasn't as hard to get to as one might imagine, in fact, once there, I was kicking myself for not trying to work out the details and avoid traveling with an annoying tour group. But let's not dwell on that.  We arrived at Santa's Christmas Village around 9 or 10 in the morning and were given an orientation and then left to our own devices. I went to Santa's Post Office which seemed like pure chaos to me, but I was determined to send a Santa postcard to my friend in Australia who has worked as a Santa for over twenty years, and then get out of there. I really just meandered around, looking for some good photo ops, maybe a souvenir or two, although my suitcase was too sma