I spent last week in Estonia presenting the paper Dexter and I wrote, Relational Semantics for Higher-Order Programs, at Mathematics of Program Construction (MPC) 2006. I had a really good time and regret the fact that I could only spend a few days there. The country is probably one of the nicest places I have ever visited; the area is beautiful and the people are friendly. If you are planning a European vacation, I recommend you spend a few days in Estonia. Take a look at my photos from the trip.
One of the disadvantages of living on the west coast for the summer is that travel time to Europe has increased by about six hours. Luckily, the flights all went smoothly. The two times I have now flown out of SFO have been quick and stress-free. After the three flights to get to Estonia, I had to take a four-hour bus trip from Tallinn, the capital, to the town of Kuressaare on the largest island of Estonia. As with all my international travel, I end up playing the stupid American. In this case, the stupid American tried to use the public restroom at the bus station without paying for it. I don’t think I’m going to bother expensing the $0.40 I had to spend to use it.
The bus ride was nice and included a ferry ride to the island of Saaremaa. I was surprised to discover that the ferry trip was around the time of sunset: 10:00 in the evening. Unfortunately, the sun didn’t set until after we had gotten off the ferry and back into the bus. Judging by the view from the bus, it would have been quite breathtaking to have seen the sunset on the ship. Nevertheless, I got some good pictures on the ferry.
Having my new DSLR camera has some interesting side effects. I had a number of people during the trip ask me if I was a professional photographer. I truthfully told them that I am not, but have always wanted a nice camera. Nevertheless, I realized that with a camera like this, I can blatantly take pictures of people I don’t even know; they don’t seem to mind at all. I certainly didn’t mind, either, as there are some very nice looking people in Estonia.
Anyway, back on the bus in a “do it before I lose my nerve” moment, I had a chat with the lovely Mailis, who walked me to my hotel. Hopefully, it won’t be the last time I get to talk to or see her.
The conference itself was pretty straightforward. There were a number of interesting papers. Highlights included Clare Martin and Sharon Curtis’ Nondeterministic Folds and William L. Harrison’s The Essence of Multitasking. I have to admit that some of the work presented went right over my head. My knowledge of category theory is a bit weak, which is a distinct disadvantage at such a conference. My presentation went well enough. I’m hoping it leads to some collaborations with a couple people who expressed interest in the work.
After presentations on Monday, we went to the Kuressaare Episcopal Castle for a tour and reception. It is one beautiful building of which to take pictures, inside and out. The mayor of Kuressaare came to welcome our group to the town and say a few words about the significance of a technological conference being held there. I get the impression the town and country as a whole are devoted to bringing tourists and conferences. I can’t say I’d object to another conference there.
After the reception, Dexter and I took a walk down the main street of Kuressaare and relaxed outside a bar. Shortly after we sat down, a slightly tipsy gentleman sits down at our table and says, “I have a question for you: where are you from?” We proceed to have a rather long conversation with Vootele and his friend, both Estonian natives. Vootele gave me his email address and I fully intend to contact him soon. He has expressed an interest in visiting America, so I’ll have to tell him all there is to see.
On Tuesday night, we had a barbecue in Tehumardi. The weather was perfect for some outdoor grilling (actually, the weather was perfect for the entire conference). Of course, we had to watch the time as many wanted to return to the hotel to make sure they caught the Germany/Italy World Cup Soccer match. Dexter and I also went back and watched the match. I have to say it was a little boring, minus the last few minutes.
After the last day of the conference, Dexter and I took the bus back to Tallinn. We spent the evening in the old town, which was just phenomenal. The old town has a very European flair to it. We went to dinner and then watched–you guessed it: World Cup Soccer. The crowd was definitely into it, although I imagine there were just as many tourists as natives.
After only two hours of sleep, I got up to return to California. The two hours was actually planned so that I could adjust to the return to Pacific Daylight Time, a difference of 10 hours and 15 hours of travel. The readjustment went pretty well, although I am glad I returned on a Thursday and only had to go to work for one day before the weekend. I might have to plan another trip to Estonia when I can and see all I missed.