Loving Life

Long time, no blog! Last weekend, I traveled to Novgorod with a few friends. This trip was much more involved than the others I have planned because it is four hours away from St. Petersburg. Because our passports haven’t been returned to us yet, we were unable to stay overnight (one needs a passport to stay in a hotel here). So, we woke up bright and early at 5:30am and arrived back in the city at 10:30pm. We took the eletrichka (commuter train) on the way there and the bus back (Side note: I fell asleep on the train for a few minutes and woke up to three men taking my picture. When Russians see a foreigner, they do not even try to mask their curiosity. At first I found this extremely disconcerting, but I have learned, especially on the metro, to either completely ignore or stare back with the blankest of expressions. Apparently, it's ok for them to stare, but, if I stare back, it is considered very rude). Novgorod is one of the oldest cities in Russia (I believe it was founded in the 9^th century) and a beautiful, historical place. We spent most of the day wandering around the Kremlin and the Volhov River and exploring the churches.

Here is a view of the Kremlin with the Volhov River in the background from the top of one of the towers.

I was able to capture the two most famous sites inside the Kremlin in one shot. The first is the Memorial to 1000 years of Russia (erected in 1862). This monument contains sculptures of famous Russians all along its base.  Behind it is the famous St. Sophia Cathedral (one of my absolute favorite churches in Russia so far).

Here is a quick glimpse of just a few of the churches in Novogorod. A lot of them have frescos painted by famous iconographers (e.g. Feofan Grek) dating back to the 10^th century. I also loved Novogorod because I finally felt like I was in RUSSIA. The people were so welcoming and helpful! We found a local café and ate lunch for less than $2, which is unheard of in St. Pete’s. 

Yesterday, I hit the halfway point: two months down, two to go. The time has gone by so fast; I don’t like it at all! I have kept myself very busy with school, working, and exploring the city. Volunteering at the Hermitage has been a great experience! The past few times I have been assisting in the Archeology Department. The pieces I am working with are from an underwater excavation in the Smolensk region. Sometimes, I work at the entrance to the museum assisting with tickets and security. As tedious as the work is sometimes, it provides the perfect and much-needed opportunity for practicing my Russian conversation skills! I also finally got my official Hermitage Volunteer Badge. On my first day, they asked me which languages I am studying. I answered in Russian that I am studying Russian, Latin, and VERY old Greek (I didn't know the word древный/ancient). 

They clearly did not understand what I meant because, as you can see, my badge has three flags. The third flag is definitely not Ancient Greece!

I also started teaching English at an English Club. Teaching English has always been a dream of mine, so I was very excited but nervous that I wouldn’t do so well. I had five wonderful students ranging from ages 25 to 40.  It became more of a friendly conversation than a lesson, and soon we were all enjoying an interesting discussion on the differences between American and Russian lifestyles. I really can’t wait to do it again!

I have been taking advantage of my stay in this cultural Mecca that is St. Petersburg and have treated myself to a few ballets and operas. A few weeks ago I saw Yevgeni Onegin at the Marinsky Theater, which was an incredible performance. Though there were English subtitles, I was able to understand some of the Russian phrases on my own. 

Here is a shot of the inside of the theater.

I loved the Marinsky!

I was fortunate enough to see Sleeping Beauty at the Hermitage Theater. As beautiful as the ballet was, it was a very strange experience because this theater is very popular among foreigners. I heard English all around me and found myself staring at people walking by me. I think it was a first taste as to what reverse culture shock will be like. This past weekend I saw a play at Alexandrovsky Theater with a few of my new Russian friends and have tickets to Swan Lake tomorrow at the Mihaelovksy. I am becoming a cultured Petersburgian and loving it!

On Thursday, I am going by train with my program to Moscow and Kiev for a week. I will have much to blog about when I return!

Edit: Forgot to mention that it SNOWED last week. Yes, in the middle of October, it has already snowed.

Here I am celebrating the first snow of the year!

Which palace?

As I mentioned in my last post, I have been trying to see a different suburban town every weekend.  In addition to the excursions our program arranges, a few of us have braved the marshrutka system to get outside of the city. First, we attempted to see the Fountain Ceremony at Peterhof, a week before our excursion there as a group. Every year, there is a ceremonial opening and closing of the fountains, and thousands of people come to celebrate. We hopped on a marshrutka, but, by the time we got there, the ticket booths had closed. After a few minutes, we realized that the police weren’t letting anyone in. Locals with tickets weren’t even able to enter (except, of course, if they knew the officer and had a thick wad of rubles)! Everyone outside the gates was frustrated, and one extremely inebriated woman was wailing and singing sad songs because she couldn’t see the fountains. 

However, about forty-five minutes later, the celebration ended with a stunning firework show. 

Then, crowds of people leaving the celebration pushed by us. In all the chaos, we were able to sneak through the crowds and catch a quick glimpse of the fountains before running back to the marshrutka stop. 

Since we were able to figure out the marshrutka system quite easily at Peterhof, we decided to wing our second adventure (bad decision). We wanted to go to Pushkin and see Catherine’s Palace/царское село. We asked a marshrutka driver (водитель), “Does this marshrutka go to Catherine’s palace?”. He assured us it went to the palace, so we paid and sat down. Almost two hours later, we stopped in a tiny village with a pretty, but rather shabby palace. The driver told us everyone had to get off the bus by an old train station. After a frustrating attempt at a conversation with the driver, we both realized there was a misunderstanding as to WHICH palace we wanted. Apparently, we were in Gatchina, or, as referred to it at the time, the absolute middle of nowhere! After convincing the driver to give us our money back, we franticly found a marshrutka to St. Petersburg and started the process all over again. Six hours later, we arrived in Pushkin, but unfortunately the palaces were closed. In retrospect, I am glad we took the wrong marshrutka because I got to enjoy some of the beautiful Russian countryside and a quaint town (once I knew where I was) that I wouldn’t have been able to see otherwise. 

Having learned my lesson, I am very proud that we did not get lost or get on the wrong marshrutka to our last solo adventure-Kronstadt. Kronstadt is a town on the island of Kotlin, 48 km west of St. Petersburg. It was closed to civilians for many years when it acted as a navy military base. It was just reopened in 1996! It is still the major seaport of St. Petersburg. St. John of Kronstadt also resided there for most of his life, so I was very interested to see where he lived etc. For a while, I wasn’t able to find anything particularly about him in the town until I met a really sweet elderly gentleman by a church. He gave us a full tour of the church and then directed us to St. John’s apartment. It was amazing being able to see where and how he lived!

This plaque says "commemorative museum/ apartment of the holy righteous St. John of Kronstadt". It is located right outside the apartment of St. John. I wasn't allowed to take pictures inside but seeing how he lived and his belongings was incredible.

Outside of the apartment was a small garden with a statue in honor of St. John.

There were anchors EVERYWHERE. Here I am standing by an anchor with the St. Nicholas Naval Cathedral in the background. The cupola even had anchors on it!

The port had a spectacular view of the Gulf of Finland. (Note the lunch bag packed with love by my host mom)

Also, on the way back from Kronstadt, I saw Russia’s version of an emergency exit. Instead of an emergency handle or window, this bus had an emergency hammer.

 In case of emergency, one is to break the glass with the hammer and climb through it. I giggled quietly to myself after realizing what it was and snapped a quick picture. I received yet another deadly Russian glare, but it was worth it. Tomorrow, I am attempting to go to Pushkin again (hopefully with more success) on a local bus. At least I know where the emergency exit is now!

Just another palace...

 I absolutely love weekends in Russia! Every weekend so far, we have gone on an excursion outside of the city either with our program or independently. Last weekend we went to what is now one of my favorite places in the entire world (I keep saying that, don’t I?): Pavlovsk, a small town near St. Petersburg. It holds a palace built by Peter I that is surrounded by the most beautiful park I have ever seen. We took a train to the town and walked through the park to the palace. I was so in love that I took over 700 pictures. Oops. Here are a few that sum up the day.

Here is a quick shot of the magnificent palace.

The scenery was stunning. I didn't want to leave!

Some people rented rowboats and enjoyed the park from the water. 

I also really enjoyed posing with the statues. 

Our next excursion as a group was to Peterhof, yet another palace. As you can probably guess, it was also built by Peter the Great and is often referred to as the "Russian Versailles". Instead of touring the palace as per usual, we toured the grounds. Peterhof is most famous for its fountains; there are over 150 of them! In 1941, Peterhof was captured and used as a military base by German soldiers. Many of the treasures were destroyed, and they attempted to bury and destroy the fountains (thankfully without much success). A good portion of Peterhof was reconstructed after the war, but we were able to see the original brick from the palace!

This is the main fountain of Samson with the palace in the background.

We took a tour under the palace to see how the water was supplied to the fountains. Our guide explained that the water flow is all natural, and no pumps are involved. After that, we were allowed to stand under the main fountain and look out on the park.

Peter the Great also apparently had a sense of humor because he had many "trick" fountains scattered around the park. For example, there is one table at the palace with a basket of fruit. When you reach your hand to grab an apple, guess what happens?

Peter strategically picked the location for the palace, and the view from the grounds is spectacular. From the edge of the park on the Gulf of Finland, one can see the island of Kronstadt to the far left and St. Petersburg to the right. 

I really enjoyed the view and the unusual sunny weather! 

Though I have only been here a month, I have already learned a lot about myself. One of the things I have noticed is how much I enjoy being outside of the city in the fresh air and countryside. It is so refreshing. As much as I adore St. Petersburg and many American cities, it is obvious that I am most definitely a country girl!