Kohviks and Kultuur

Greetings. Barbara's mentioned our occasional sojourns to local coffee cafes, and I include two photos here to illustrate: the pastry case at Reval Kohvik (cafe) on our block (many coffee cafes, in addition to serving light meals, specialize in all sorts of pastries and cakes, often with a chocolate theme much beloved by local folks). In the other photo, Barbara is happily working on her laptop at Mamo, another favorite, light and airy with whimsical artwork on the walls and the almost-standard wi-fi. Such places are nourishing places to spend an hour or two, and an enjoyable place to people-watch among other pursuits.

But we've also been enjoying cultural traditions, in addition to foods. We've been to the ballet (with full orchestra), seeing "Swan Lake" in a rather dizzying juxtapositon with the film "Black Swan," and will soon attend the opera a short walk from our apartment.

There is also in this part of the world (but perhaps especially here in Estonia) a strong choral tradition in the form of all sorts of non-professional choirs, coming together in song festivals every couple of years which can involve over a quarter of the entire population of Estonia (more about that another time, as it was an essential part of Estonia's struggle for independence from the Soviet Union twenty years ago). We recently enjoyed a concert by a local girls' choir (teen-agers) at the national library, and were amazed and impressed by it; see the photo to the lower right. The music seems to draw on both traditional "folk" sources as well as modern works.

A significant minority of Estonia's population is ethnic Russian in origin, and another part of local culture are Slavic folk traditions (in song, dance, and faith). The photo to the lower left is a small Slavic women's group that performed at a celebration of Slavic cultures, wonderfully lively and energetic.

A small part of the celebrations for the annual Independence Day celebration on February 24th (the independence gained from Russia in 1918) was a performance by girls from a local ballet school, and I conclude this post with the photo above. Song, music, and dance, in both their "folk" and "classical" varieties, have their distinctive expression and energy here in Estonia, and remind us that we are someplace a little different at this point in our lives.