Tuesday, August 18, 2009

Dancing in Tallinn

I made my way back to the mainland today and all the way to my last stop, Tallinn. Tallinn has a reputation from some of being the most beautiful of the three Baltic capitals. I think that all three are actually very different, although Tallinn is pretty remarkable. It has about 2 km of its original Medieval Walls. It also has northern Europe's oldest town hall. It really is a pretty amazing place. Lots of churches and lots of history. It was a bit more Russified then the other capitals as well. I spent the rainy day exploring some of the sights, seeing some cool churches and visiting some shops. I had planned to go to some of the museums today, but alas, it appears in Estonia, museums are closed on Tuesdays, not Mondays (like in most other cities).

Tallinn is in the middle of a dance festival right now and there are free events from noted choreographers from around the city. Today I think I saw the weirdest dance/performance art that I have ever witnessed. In the main square, in front of all the cafes and the old 800 year old Town Hall, there was a back hoe. It was there all day and I figured that there must be some sort of construction happening. Well, actually it was a character in this dance. Apparently the male dancer, fell in love with the backhoe, drama ensued and then one of them died. I am not really a good interpreter of dance really, but to be honest, it was the weirdest thing imaginable. At one point he kissed the shovel of the back hoe for a while! He swung from it, stood on it, you can't beleive it. All set to opera. At the end, there was a rousing applause and the guy (and back hoe driver) seemed very very pleased. I can't wait to see what is on for tomorrow!

No comments: