Traveller Juhan
Traveller Juhan
He looked at travel letters with envy. A person who can write 100 pages about a foreign country where they spent 10-12 days seems fantastic. As a tourist, he has only been to Sweden and Italy. DV Turist
Viewing hectares of paintings messes up everything in the head, anger arises towards the Holy Sebastians. Criticizes Aimee Beekman’s “Madonna with a Plastic Heart”.
When was the first time on Saaremaa and Hiiumaa?
The first longer trip to Jäneda and Tartu Hospital.
II to Russia: In December 1941, in the Urals, in the Chernokul work battalion, in the hospital with malaria and arthritis, in 1942, working in the fields in a collective farm in the Chelyabinsk region, back to Chernokul in the summer, where the Estonian Division was located, fell ill with tuberculosis, in January 1943 in Yaroslavl, and at the beginning in Tutayevo rest home with Minni Nurme and Aadu Hind, in Yaroslavl, at Semper’s lecture, in June in Nizhny Tagil military sanatorium, in February 1944 in Leningrad hospital (surgery) and RH collaborator.
First time in Võru in August 1944.
In 1947, in Leevaku, where it was difficult to understand the locals. Traveled as an NH correspondent for two days and stayed for two months.
In 1949, in Võru, writing a poem to Stalin, in 1949, got caught in the rain while walking with Haavaoks by Lake Tamula and had to climb over the sawmill plank to get shelter. There was a sign on the boiler house door prohibiting entry to strangers, and Haavaoks was pushed out with a stove poker. When Juhan tried, he was soon invited in by Haavaoks.
After becoming the head of the Writers’ Union and a deputy to the Supreme Soviet of the USSR (he was a member of the 5th and 6th convocations of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR from 1958 to 1962, 1962-1966), constantly in Moscow.
In 1955, on the Atlantic SRT 4244.
Summer of 1956 in Sweden and Norway.
1957-58 Antarctica + Africa, Australia, Egypt.
In December 1959, in Vladivostok, boarded the ship Vojeikov. Two weeks at anchor, the southernmost point being the Fiji Islands.
In early May 1960, visited Hungary. On June 8, traveled to Murmansk to go to Teravmäed with Captain Jantselevits. Was supposed to spend a week there. The steamship “Vorovski”. Remembered the seal herds on the ice fields and the white silence of the polar day.
In July 1961, Juhan was in the Republic of Mali in Africa and praised that he had gotten used to the heat.
Until September 20, 1961, Juhan was in Brussels with Debora, where the weather was rainy.
In November 1962, a postcard was sent from Belgrade. While traveling around Yugoslavia, Juhan got to see the country.
In May 1963, Juhan and Debora spent about 3 weeks in Gagra.
In December 1963, there was a trip to Italy. On the way there, on December 19, spent a couple of days in Prague. There was a group leader on the trip and had to listen to the demanding Moscow ladies who demanded to fly immediately, although the weather conditions did not allow it. From Prague, flew to Milan: “In front of the Immortal Cenacolo, Smuul raised a noble gaze in the air, finger up: ‘As soon as we get to the hotel, I’ll open a bottle of wine and cut myself such a nice little piece of lamb.'” Then to Venice. In Italy, people sing as much as anywhere else in the world, only more beautifully and naturally. Two butcher’s assistants behind the Rialto Bridge were chopping meat off the carcass and singing in harmony. True singing must be a men’s thing. The girls were only interested in dance music. Juhan: “The Estonian consul Torulondi lived in this castle in the 17th century.” It was quite cold in Northern Italy.
During the Christmas holidays, Juhan and Debora were in Rome, where Juhan sang Christmas carols and attended midnight mass at S Maria del Fiore church. Before that, they watched “West Side Story” at the cinema, which left a strong impression. In Rome, they also visited nightclubs, and Debora wondered what the Orissaare constable would think of such an Italian night. In Naples and Pompeii, they also saw the blue sky of Italy. The bottle of Chianti they brought with them broke in the bag. They returned via Paris and, of course, Moscow. The postcard was written on December 27th, but they wanted to be back in Tallinn by January 1st.
In 1964, after finishing the book, Juhan traveled to Ukraine with Debora for the first time. On June 16th, they planned a tour of Estonia with other writers, and on Midsummer’s Day, they were invited to perform in Võrumaa.
On May 6th, while performing in Värska, he was amazed by the large crowd (it’s like the Orissaare fair). May 6th was Seto St. George’s Day and the cemetery holiday. He told the Seto girls, “You are as rich as the conquerors of Sigtuna.” Paul Haavaoksa’s father offered the guest the best dish: jellied pike. Juhan said, “For us, in Muhu, pike is pig and junk fish.” He promised to provide a pike when he came to Koguva: “Pike for the festive table!” (P. Haavaoksa KjaE 4/1973). In Võru, they stayed at the “Aleksandria” guesthouse – “Your time stays by your side, and you yourself feel as if you are holding onto the tail of time”.
On February 17, 1965, Juhan was in Alupka, Crimea, where he was in a sanatorium. The conditions were very good for Soviet times: a private room with a balcony, a coffee pot, and an electric stove. On a postcard sent on February 25th, he mentioned that he had been there for already 10 days, but it wasn’t very spring-like yet, although it was sunny, and Juhan promised to start sleeping with the balcony window open. At the end of March, Debora traveled to Yalta, where the writers’ house was located. Unfortunately, Debora had bad luck with the weather, as it was chilly for three weeks, and in the last week, it rained every day. However, they still traveled around Crimea, and Juhan stayed there until May 15th. During this time, Tõnise Mihkel, whom Juhan refers to as a good neighbor, passed away.
In early September 1965, they were already in Romania, where they spent three weeks, just at the beginning of Ceausescu’s rise to power. A telegram arrived during their stay, while they were in Muhu, putting a new thatched roof on their house and cladding the front side. The end of August was cold and rainy, as were all recent summers. They filmed “Letters from the Village of the Mad” (“Kirju Sõgedate Külast”). Due to a storm, the ferry didn’t operate, and they had to wait a whole day. Four of them went: Juhan, Debora, Grigori Baklanov, and the Romanian consultant Dolgõševa DV. Out of the yard and gate. In Bucharest, in September, it was hot, and they had big daily allowances, but they spent them on food and coffee. When Baklanov left, Juhan remained to represent the Soviet Union. The Frozen Book and the Sea of Japan had already been published in Romanian. Debora and Juhan’s relationship with Romania became extremely warm on the beach of Mamaia. They also visited the Murfatlar winery and vineyard.
On May 13, 1966, a postcard was sent from Helsinki. Juhan was there as the head of the Soviet Writers’ Union delegation, and his time was spent in official meetings giving speeches. Debora had time to look around and stayed longer in Finland.
In June (from the 8th?), Juhan spent two weeks in Hungary at a meeting but hoped to return to Estonia by Midsummer’s Day.
In November 1966, Juhan was again in Kiev at the Writers’ Congress.
In the summer of 1967, he planned to go to Hungary and in the autumn to England.
In January and early February 1968, Juhan was in Berlin with Debora, where “Kihnu Jõnn” was staged, premiering on February 1, 1968. Imbi Riemann from Elva, who was married to ADN employee Klaus-Ulrich, whose help the theater used in learning “Kihnu Jõnn”. They dined in a typical German pub “White Deer,” ate sausages, and admired the self-service food and industrial goods stores.
In March 1968, he was in Poland during the unrest. Initially, he was supposed to stay there for a month, but because Poland was in a tumultuous time, and the conditions were not as promised, he wanted to leave earlier, but he writes that he felt like a prisoner in Warsaw and couldn’t find a way to leave. He was there completely alone, without a translator.
