Two cities, two operas,

two boats. Sometimes we go to operas. The local opera house plays maybe 7 or 8 different operas every season. We've seen pretty much all the classics they play this season. The last one we watched was Tannhäuser in mid-November. As much as I could tell they played pretty much by the book with the exception of having the leading lady sing two roles (those of Elisabeth and Venus). The events had been brought to more modern era so the activities took place aboard a cruise ship.

A month later we wanted to see Don Giovanni, an opera written by a composer Mike likes(Mozart, that is). To see the opera, we had to take a pre-Christmas trip to Riga, Latvia. And seeing it, we were presented yet another version of a classic opera updated and set to take place... - aboard a cruise ship!

Riga's opera house is perhaps not so imposing on the outside but quite so on the inside. Its main hall has two floors of balconies on three sides, the seats are single chairs covered with red velvet, and golden accents are used lavishly in decorating the ceiling and the walls. It could have been just this piece we saw but it made me just a tiny bit envious seeing how the parts of young lovers were sung by young singers. Also, I might be mistaken but perhaps there are more younger people going to the shows in Riga than in Tallinn. Here I often feel like Mike and I could be among the youngest in the audience; not so in Latvia. Part of the reason for that could be that even though both theaters seem to get viewers from their respective neighboring country up north, Finnish visitors of retirement age traveling to Estonia seem to have it made easier for them than their Estonian peers going to Latvia.

I would also have liked to add to the post's title the phrase “two Christmas markets” but I couldn't do it. Turned out whereas Tallinn has only one such a place then Riga had several, perhaps 4 or 5 that we saw. To Mike's eyes the goods were pretty much the same but I would argue there was some diversity: if not in the methods of crafting then in the outcomes accomplished. Between the goods sold in Tallinn and Riga markets there were differences in mitten patterns and cutting board shapes for sure.

Advent

is something most Estonians observe and cherish. Advent is not celebrated by going to houses of worship to listen to sermons and readings since majority of the citizens are not Christian. Advent is celebrated in homes and its purpose seems to be to count down Sundays till Christmas and to stretch the holiday cheer. The main symbol of advent here is a candle. You start with one candle on your table or window and add another at each consecutive Sunday. You may keep your candles on a simple plate or candle holder, you may have a special set of candle holders, or you may incorporate your candles into a centerpiece. Sometimes, if you are especially excited about lighting candles or if you don't care for live fire as much as you do for Christmas spirit, you might switch on an electric candelabra on a window. Actually, I believe more than half, perhaps even three quarters of households have those lights at least on one window at Christmastime. I might be mistaken but I suspect those electric candelabras are fashioned after the menorah, or more likely the orthodox candelabra. Yet, let me remind you again, majority of the folks here want nothing to do with religion.

Majority of children, I'm sure, want everything to do with another aspect of advent – the elves. The elves look like miniature, younger, slimmer versions of Santa Claus. They are Santa's helpers; it's their job to find out and report to The Old Man which kids have been good and which haven't. Well, parents say that elves keep their eyes on the children all year round but children know that the elves really come out in December so that is the time to behave one's best. You gotta watch yourself at school and at home in the evenings. You have to keep in mind that even though the elves are very hard to see - since they are tiny and tend to move fast - they are very likely to be around. To prove that to yourself, your friends, and especially parents – those non-believers – you can leave one of your slippers on a window sill for the night. In the morning you'll find the treat that the elves have brought in your slipper. As I said this only works if you've been a good kid all day. If not, you might want to try bribing the elves by leaving them a piece of candy or a cookie.

The annual Christmas Market

is open once again. I took a stroll around it on Sunday. I don't think much is different from the past years. The tree is set up in the middle of the Square. It has hundreds of yards of lights strung around it, the kids' wishes on cards will most likely soon appear and the mayor will make his appearance next Sunday to switch on the lights. You can't tell the bottom branches of the tree have been re-attached by professionals after they were supposedly removed by some jealous neighbors of the owner of the tree. You really can't.

The stage is where it's always been: off tho the side that gets the most sun during these short days. The reindeer are kept in their pen for the curious to see and the merry-go-rounds seem forlorn, waiting for the children. The cabins for merchants are probably the same in number as they were last year and not much has changed in the goods being offered. Visitors could still get the woolen socks and sweaters, the welt hats and vests, the linen totes and runners, the wooden coasters and iron hooks. Or candles, rag dolls, and amber jewelry if they liked those more. Perhaps there are a few less sellers dealing in mulled wine and sauerkraut but none so far tempting passersby with corn dogs or bubble tea.

Are you a vegetarian vegetarian?

was what the waitress asked Mike after he had put in his order. You see, he wanted to get a veggie burger in an American inspired local restaurant belonging to a small chain. And she thought she recognized a real vegetarian so she just had to make sure not to get him the usual side dish of beans with bacon bits. Instead, she came up with a salad of fresh greens. Kuddos to her for understanding a vegetarian diet. Oftentimes it seems that servers in restaurants do not fathom that dishes like cauliflower soup or sauerkraut or potato-barley mash aren't necessarily vegetarian.

Toady

was the new word I learned this morning. We were talking about politics and the local government elections we had yesterday. The word just slipped in. We couldn't help it.

Did you know that by the law the candidates have until June of the election year to make up their mind regarding where they want to run and then register as living in that district? So sometimes a little help is needed from friends or supporters vouching that the candidate lives in their dwelling. Foreigners, however, can be trusted to vote only if they've lived in their neighborhood for five years by the start of the election year. I guess we have to wait another three years now for our chance to change things in town.

The other morning

I went out to welcome the sun. It waited for me at the sea and later shone its light onto the rooftops of the Old Town.