Max and Esme

During our short Autumn break (October) we decided to head to Tallinn for a day trip. Which naturally means that I have to publish a month late blogpost about it.  The journey is extremely popular with Finns, who take advantage of the low liquor taxes of Estonian waters. Multiple ferries (small cruise ships in size) take the 2 hour trip across the Baltic, and one of the departure terminals is only three tram stops down the road, so it made for a convenient trip. The Old City was a short walk from the cruise ship terminal, and offers well-preserved medieval architecture, complete with winding alleys, fortress walls, and a beautiful town square. It's an excellent city to get lost in and walk around. Signs are helpfully stationed around the area, and most sites in this city core can be seen in a day or two. I'll be glad to return and see the inside of many of the churches and castles we saw.  Alexander Nevsky Cathedral, the most prominent building in the city. An orthodox church ...

We had two events in October that I'd count as "cultural"... Choral Concerto: Nine, by Tan Dun :  A performance of this new work by the Bard Conservatory Orchestra and Chorus at Lincoln Center; performed in repetoire with Beethoven's Symphony No. 9. as it was written to be. Truly novel, Dun deploys voices and instruments in unique ways but not so much that your reaction is "wow, that's wierd." It was so powerful I was crying at the end. It's not often you hear a piece that makes Beethoven's Ode to Joy feel kind of meh. Bonus, our friend Nate Valsania, is in the graduate program at Bard for percussion and was in the performance.  Mrs. Warren's Profession : National Theatre Live recorded broadcast of a West End stage production of George Bernard Shaw's play. A morality story about economics and class centered on a mother who is a brothel owner and her independent daughter who discovers her secret. This version starred Imelda Staunton and he...