Reikop finds Canada unlike anything he expected

Estonian television host Marko Reikop said Canada was very different from what he had imagined, ERR’s Ringvaade reported after he discussed his summer travels in North America.

At the beginning of the summer, Reikop visited the United States, where he fulfilled a long-held ambition by attending a performance at the Metropolitan Opera in New York.

He said the set design for Turandot received applause before any singer had appeared on stage. Reikop described the production’s golden Chinese temples as exceptionally impressive and said the performance felt believable and authentic. He also watched La traviata.

Reikop said the opera chorus included 150 people, compared with around 40 in large choirs in Estonia. He added that the singers did not perform their arias in an artificial manner, making him feel as though he had entered real life.

In Philadelphia, about 150 kilometres from New York, Reikop visited Independence Hall, the building where US independence was declared on July 4, 1776. He said the building was also notable as the first UNESCO World Heritage site in the United States.

Reikop said he had never previously wanted to visit Canada, but decided it was time to go and included Niagara Falls in his plans. He had imagined the waterfall as a remote natural attraction in a forest, difficult to reach and viewed by only a small number of people from a dangerous edge.

Instead, he found Niagara Falls in the middle of a city, accessible by bus and even visible from the windows of some high-rise buildings. He was also surprised to learn that the site consists of three waterfalls rather than one. The United States lies on the opposite bank, while Reikop said the view from the Canadian side was better.

In Toronto, Canada’s largest city, Reikop attended a symphony concert. He said the concert hall had the world’s most comfortable seats, describing them as soft and spacious.

In total, Reikop said he had visited 179 UNESCO World Heritage sites as part of a competition with a friend to see who could visit more. He said an app had helped him keep track of them.