Our day started early. Actually it just never ended. We were set to leave Dublin on a 1:20 am flight. The night started off fine - we easily killed time at the airport. We landed in Riga at 6:10 am, and this is where the wheels fell off. Baris and I were hungry and thirsty. And the Riga airport is the worst place to be at 6 am and the most boring place to have a five-hour layover. The one café was closed, the vending machines only accepted Euro coins and we had none left. We somehow managed to survive the next couple hours sleeping on the uncomfortable metal chairs. The café opened at 9 and we finally got a drink. Luckily the flight was not fully booked so we had a little extra space to stretch out.
And finally, after about 14 hours, we arrived in Istanbul. Getting out of the airport was a breeze: there was no line for the visa, no line for passport control, no questioning by security, no wait for my bag. The airport appeared to be a well-oiled machine.
The gang was waiting when we exited the airport. Baris's mother, Suheyla, her husband, Mustafa, and his daughter, Ipek, jumped out of the car to give us hugs and kisses. I instantly felt welcome. I'd met Suheyla a few times in Ottawa, but it was strange to be seeing her here. We headed home for a quick bite and a long shower. As tired as I was, there was no way I could have fallen asleep in the car. I'm pretty sure I stared out the window, mouth gaping, the whole way home.
Dinner was amazing. This is no doubt one of the most enjoyable moments of my trip. Baris's aunt Nur, uncle Bülent, cousin Ocan and his girlfriend Agathe came over to visit and for supper. The food was beyond delicious. We were delighted to eat so many vegetables after a week of pub food. The company was delightful. The whole family was very welcoming and friendly. We discussed traveling, life in Turkey and family and friends. Although I was exhausted, I took a few moments at various points to sit and appreciate how fortunate I am to meet so many kind and generous people. The evening reminded me of the truly great moments in life. :-)
I headed to bed in a happy daze, ready for tomorrow, my first big day in the big city.
Tuesday, July 31, 2012
Monday, July 23, 2012
Day 16: Random Russian musings
Kim left at about 7 am this morning (July 23), which means I have a few hours to kill on my own before my long journey to Belfast. I honestly don't have the energy to tourist it up, and I wouldn't even know where to go as we've pretty much covered all of the highlights. So, for some me time, I headed to the nearby coffee shop to work on my presentation for tomorrow (ack!) and catch up on my blogging. I've been making a list of all the random topics I've yet to cover and today seems like the perfect day. But oh where to begin?
1. Food and drink
This seems like a good place to start as I'm now having my last beer and meal in Russia right now. At T.G.I.Friday's at the airport. I can see Andrea rolling her eyes. :-) Kim and I were pleasantly surprised with the Russian food. We were a little nervous we wouldn't enjoy much, but I think I speak for both of us when I say that most of what we had was good, even tasty. A couple meals stick out in particular: obviously the one cooked by our Russian hostess (see Suzdal blog), our first experience with pelmeni (meat or mushroom filled dumplings, a little like tortellini), the Georgian meal was a win for me, and also a random encounter with chiburekki (a fried turnover filled with veggies and/or cheese or meat, a national dish of the Crimean Tartars). I also had various beet and borscht soups, hot and cold. Yum. I've discovered a love for beets. Sorry I wouldn't eat them when I was younger, Mom! Another favourite of mine was beef stroganoff (it is quite popular). Kim was a fan of the blini, small thin crepes. We both were addicted to a pelmeni restaurant in SPb, we must've gone at least 3 times. I will admit we had one failed attempt to eat at McDonald's; our plan was thwarted by the mass of tourists in the Kremlin area who had the same idea. :-(
Dessert usually left something to be desired, but we were happy with ice cream bars and drumsticks. Kim enjoyed the occasional pistachio drumstick while I stuck to a more standard vanilla-ice cream-on-a-stick-covered-with-chocolate treat. Kim made a point of trying what we've been calling "Societ ice cream", basically a jam packed ice cream cone (photo below).
And beer. Nothing was particularly amazing, but if you bought it at the store the price was right. About $1.25 for a tall can of strong beer. My standard was Baltika 7. Most of the time I was just happy with something cold. As I'm sure you know, Russia is not famous for its beer, but rather it's vodka. I did indulge a few times, once in particular when our waitress strong-armed us into not one but two bottles.
One minor annoyance was the tap water....which we couldn't drink. Some of our hotels had free drinking water, but we did have to buy a fair bit of bottled water. Reminds me that I take a lot for granted in lovely Canada!
Overall, Russia passes in the sustenance department, solid and liquid. :-)
2. Washrooms
It's only logical this topic come next. Kim and I saw it all. The nice toilet, the hole in the ground, the toilet bus (yes, an actual bus), the port-a-potty (and even chicken in a potty on one menu). We only had to pay a couple of times, and it was cheap - about $0.75. The only thing I had a hard time with was remembering to not flush the toilet paper, but to throw it in the garbage can. And now that's enough on this topic.
3. Russian museum ladies
If you ever meet a Russian woman over the age of 40, from Moscow or SPb, you should ask her if she works at a museum. The answer is probably yes. I think half of the women in the country work at museums. And these ladies are tough! Who needs security when you have a frightening woman to yell at you in Russian for misbehaving. They sit in and patrol every room in the museum, making sure you have paid for photos, making sure you're not touching anything, telling you to get off your phone. We only had a couple run-ins with these tough brods. One was deserved as I foolishly touched a sculpture (it was an instinct). Kim got smacked by one in a church, but we have no idea why. She was minding her own business. The highlight was definitely seeing one flip out at a tourist in the Hermitage for touching a large egg suspended from the ceiling. Awesome. We did get harassed a couple of times for taking photos, but we just showed our pass and everything was ok.
The moral of the story? Mind your Ps and Qs and you'll be fine. :-)
4. Making change and buying things in general
Kim and I never mastered the subtle art of exchanging money in Russia. They seem quite particular about what kinds of bills and coins customers use to purchase goods. It's a little ridiculous. For example, Kim tried to buy a bottle of water that cost about $1.50 with a bill worth just over $3 and the lady refused. Somehow we managed, but it wasn't always easy.
5. Random and unattended metal detectors
This is another interesting mystery. We walked through a lot of metal detectors, in stores, the metro, train stations. Each time they beeped and nobody did anything. Hmmmm...what's the point of having them if they're not patrolled?
6. Wacky translations
There are a few examples below of the *many* funny translations we saw. I appreciate the effort of restaurants and tourist venues, but the results were quite often disastrous. This was an almost bottomless source of entertainment, especially for the translator in me. :-)
7. The "sexy" photo pose
And finally the sexy photo pose. Not sure that this is particularly Russian, but it sure was common. Girls everywhere were putting on their sexy expressions and striking their suggestive poses for the camera. And this was happening in the strangest places. I couldn't leave without one of these photos of myself, so Kim humoured me and took a photo of me in a (not-at-all) sexy pose in the Red Square on our last day.
Photos below:
Sbarro: creating tasty emotions? What does that even mean?
Live beer (draft beer, I presume)
Pelmeni at a place we frequented in SPb
Pelmeni on our first day. We were so hungry and it was so delicious.
The metro map
See the latte description for milk scum
Russian McDonald's
Mmmm beer
Beef stroganoff. Another delicious meal.
No touching. Or no high fives or low fives as Kim and I liked to joke.
Kim and Soviet ice cream
Random burnt out car
My sexy pose
Delicious beet soup
Clean up your dishes
At a coffee shop called Nice People
Chiburekki
The infamous Chicken Tobacco (no tobacco involved)
A typical washroom sign
That's it for Russia! Now begins the long journey to Belfast....
TTFN
1. Food and drink
This seems like a good place to start as I'm now having my last beer and meal in Russia right now. At T.G.I.Friday's at the airport. I can see Andrea rolling her eyes. :-) Kim and I were pleasantly surprised with the Russian food. We were a little nervous we wouldn't enjoy much, but I think I speak for both of us when I say that most of what we had was good, even tasty. A couple meals stick out in particular: obviously the one cooked by our Russian hostess (see Suzdal blog), our first experience with pelmeni (meat or mushroom filled dumplings, a little like tortellini), the Georgian meal was a win for me, and also a random encounter with chiburekki (a fried turnover filled with veggies and/or cheese or meat, a national dish of the Crimean Tartars). I also had various beet and borscht soups, hot and cold. Yum. I've discovered a love for beets. Sorry I wouldn't eat them when I was younger, Mom! Another favourite of mine was beef stroganoff (it is quite popular). Kim was a fan of the blini, small thin crepes. We both were addicted to a pelmeni restaurant in SPb, we must've gone at least 3 times. I will admit we had one failed attempt to eat at McDonald's; our plan was thwarted by the mass of tourists in the Kremlin area who had the same idea. :-(
Dessert usually left something to be desired, but we were happy with ice cream bars and drumsticks. Kim enjoyed the occasional pistachio drumstick while I stuck to a more standard vanilla-ice cream-on-a-stick-covered-with-chocolate treat. Kim made a point of trying what we've been calling "Societ ice cream", basically a jam packed ice cream cone (photo below).
And beer. Nothing was particularly amazing, but if you bought it at the store the price was right. About $1.25 for a tall can of strong beer. My standard was Baltika 7. Most of the time I was just happy with something cold. As I'm sure you know, Russia is not famous for its beer, but rather it's vodka. I did indulge a few times, once in particular when our waitress strong-armed us into not one but two bottles.
One minor annoyance was the tap water....which we couldn't drink. Some of our hotels had free drinking water, but we did have to buy a fair bit of bottled water. Reminds me that I take a lot for granted in lovely Canada!
Overall, Russia passes in the sustenance department, solid and liquid. :-)
2. Washrooms
It's only logical this topic come next. Kim and I saw it all. The nice toilet, the hole in the ground, the toilet bus (yes, an actual bus), the port-a-potty (and even chicken in a potty on one menu). We only had to pay a couple of times, and it was cheap - about $0.75. The only thing I had a hard time with was remembering to not flush the toilet paper, but to throw it in the garbage can. And now that's enough on this topic.
3. Russian museum ladies
If you ever meet a Russian woman over the age of 40, from Moscow or SPb, you should ask her if she works at a museum. The answer is probably yes. I think half of the women in the country work at museums. And these ladies are tough! Who needs security when you have a frightening woman to yell at you in Russian for misbehaving. They sit in and patrol every room in the museum, making sure you have paid for photos, making sure you're not touching anything, telling you to get off your phone. We only had a couple run-ins with these tough brods. One was deserved as I foolishly touched a sculpture (it was an instinct). Kim got smacked by one in a church, but we have no idea why. She was minding her own business. The highlight was definitely seeing one flip out at a tourist in the Hermitage for touching a large egg suspended from the ceiling. Awesome. We did get harassed a couple of times for taking photos, but we just showed our pass and everything was ok.
The moral of the story? Mind your Ps and Qs and you'll be fine. :-)
4. Making change and buying things in general
Kim and I never mastered the subtle art of exchanging money in Russia. They seem quite particular about what kinds of bills and coins customers use to purchase goods. It's a little ridiculous. For example, Kim tried to buy a bottle of water that cost about $1.50 with a bill worth just over $3 and the lady refused. Somehow we managed, but it wasn't always easy.
5. Random and unattended metal detectors
This is another interesting mystery. We walked through a lot of metal detectors, in stores, the metro, train stations. Each time they beeped and nobody did anything. Hmmmm...what's the point of having them if they're not patrolled?
6. Wacky translations
There are a few examples below of the *many* funny translations we saw. I appreciate the effort of restaurants and tourist venues, but the results were quite often disastrous. This was an almost bottomless source of entertainment, especially for the translator in me. :-)
7. The "sexy" photo pose
And finally the sexy photo pose. Not sure that this is particularly Russian, but it sure was common. Girls everywhere were putting on their sexy expressions and striking their suggestive poses for the camera. And this was happening in the strangest places. I couldn't leave without one of these photos of myself, so Kim humoured me and took a photo of me in a (not-at-all) sexy pose in the Red Square on our last day.
Photos below:
Sbarro: creating tasty emotions? What does that even mean?
Live beer (draft beer, I presume)
Pelmeni at a place we frequented in SPb
Pelmeni on our first day. We were so hungry and it was so delicious.
The metro map
See the latte description for milk scum
Russian McDonald's
Mmmm beer
Beef stroganoff. Another delicious meal.
No touching. Or no high fives or low fives as Kim and I liked to joke.
Kim and Soviet ice cream
Random burnt out car
My sexy pose
Delicious beet soup
Clean up your dishes
At a coffee shop called Nice People
Chiburekki
The infamous Chicken Tobacco (no tobacco involved)
A typical washroom sign
That's it for Russia! Now begins the long journey to Belfast....
TTFN
Sunday, July 22, 2012
Day 12, SPb: Odds and ends
Our last day in SPb! We started the day off by heading to St. Issac's, yet another church. We had been admiring it since we arrived and were looking forward to climbing the tower to get some amazing panoramas of the city. And St. Issac's did not let us down. The 200-stair climb paid off. The interior was obviously impressive as well. This was the last sight on our "must do" list, so we had lots of time to peruse the secondary list and take it easy.
I had realized in SPb that I maybe wasn't well prepared for the rainier and cooler climate I could expect in Belfast and Dublin. I had decent rain gear, but my "conference wardrobe" was potentially inadequate. Kim also had a few items she wanted to pick up, so we headed to the H&M for a little shopping Russian-style. I found some pants and a cardigan, but not without frustration. I thought clothing sizes in Canada were annoying. Here it's a whole other story. First off, the corresponding North American sizes were not useful. And secondly, I must be larger than the average Russian and shaped quite differently, as it was a nightmare to find a pair of pants. After this I was definitely ready to be a plain old tourist again.
Kim was a good sport and accompanied me to the Arctic and Antarctic museum. Unfortunately everything was only in Russian, so we just enjoyed looking at the artifacts, photos, paintings, and maps and forgot about trying to decipher the write-ups.
Then we made our way over to a couple of parks we hadn't seen yet. Most impressive was the Summer Garden, a former garden of the Russian monarchs. It was full of statues and fountains.
After taking a break at a nice little cafe, we were on our way to the Museum of Erotica. This made the list for the humour factor and because apparently you can see Rasputin's penis. (Oh and it was free.) Except we didn't find the museum. Or at least not really. We found a sign and an alley, but no real entrance. And because the museum is actually part of a VD clinic, we weren't too keen on investigating further. We admitted defeat and will have to leave without this experience. Neither of us are too torn up.
On the looooong slow stroll back to the hotel, we walked by a very interesting building, one that looked quite out of place. It was square and regular concrete coloured and had an eerie feel to it. Kim remembered right away reading about the Bolshoy Dom, the former KGB headquarters, and how it was architecturally unique (and not necessarily in the beautiful kind of way). This building is a little like the ugly duckling of SPb. Happening upon it like this was a stroke of luck, as we'd crossed it off our list that morning thinking we wouldn't have time. Point! You'd almost think we knew what we were doing. :-)
That evening we took the overnight train to Moscow, departing at 12 am and arriving at 8 am. We killed time in the train station by playing 20 questions, then headed to the platform to hop aboard the Red Arrow, the most well known Moscow-SPb train. We'd sprung for the first class tickets for our solo train journey, and we instantly felt like we'd fallen into the lap of luxury compared to our previous overnight train experience. The attendants were waiting by the doors, done up in fancy grey suits and red felt hats. The inside of the train had red and cream curtains and rugs. Our compartment was bigger than before, the beds a little softer (or less hard, I should say), and of course it was just the two of us in the cabin. (The washrooms weren't much nicer. The smell of urine was still overwhelming.) We tried to stay awake and enjoy the train and the sights out our window, but fatigue got the best of us. I slept quite well, especially compared to last time. We arrived in Moscow, took the metro back to Godzillas, dropped our bags and prepared to redo Moscow.
Photos below are:
Me by the Neva
I love Russia (complete with umbrella)
Me and Kim at St. Issac's
Two of me and Kim at the polar museum
Me at the Summer Garden
Up next - our last days in Russia.
TTFN
I had realized in SPb that I maybe wasn't well prepared for the rainier and cooler climate I could expect in Belfast and Dublin. I had decent rain gear, but my "conference wardrobe" was potentially inadequate. Kim also had a few items she wanted to pick up, so we headed to the H&M for a little shopping Russian-style. I found some pants and a cardigan, but not without frustration. I thought clothing sizes in Canada were annoying. Here it's a whole other story. First off, the corresponding North American sizes were not useful. And secondly, I must be larger than the average Russian and shaped quite differently, as it was a nightmare to find a pair of pants. After this I was definitely ready to be a plain old tourist again.
Kim was a good sport and accompanied me to the Arctic and Antarctic museum. Unfortunately everything was only in Russian, so we just enjoyed looking at the artifacts, photos, paintings, and maps and forgot about trying to decipher the write-ups.
Then we made our way over to a couple of parks we hadn't seen yet. Most impressive was the Summer Garden, a former garden of the Russian monarchs. It was full of statues and fountains.
After taking a break at a nice little cafe, we were on our way to the Museum of Erotica. This made the list for the humour factor and because apparently you can see Rasputin's penis. (Oh and it was free.) Except we didn't find the museum. Or at least not really. We found a sign and an alley, but no real entrance. And because the museum is actually part of a VD clinic, we weren't too keen on investigating further. We admitted defeat and will have to leave without this experience. Neither of us are too torn up.
On the looooong slow stroll back to the hotel, we walked by a very interesting building, one that looked quite out of place. It was square and regular concrete coloured and had an eerie feel to it. Kim remembered right away reading about the Bolshoy Dom, the former KGB headquarters, and how it was architecturally unique (and not necessarily in the beautiful kind of way). This building is a little like the ugly duckling of SPb. Happening upon it like this was a stroke of luck, as we'd crossed it off our list that morning thinking we wouldn't have time. Point! You'd almost think we knew what we were doing. :-)
That evening we took the overnight train to Moscow, departing at 12 am and arriving at 8 am. We killed time in the train station by playing 20 questions, then headed to the platform to hop aboard the Red Arrow, the most well known Moscow-SPb train. We'd sprung for the first class tickets for our solo train journey, and we instantly felt like we'd fallen into the lap of luxury compared to our previous overnight train experience. The attendants were waiting by the doors, done up in fancy grey suits and red felt hats. The inside of the train had red and cream curtains and rugs. Our compartment was bigger than before, the beds a little softer (or less hard, I should say), and of course it was just the two of us in the cabin. (The washrooms weren't much nicer. The smell of urine was still overwhelming.) We tried to stay awake and enjoy the train and the sights out our window, but fatigue got the best of us. I slept quite well, especially compared to last time. We arrived in Moscow, took the metro back to Godzillas, dropped our bags and prepared to redo Moscow.
Photos below are:
Me by the Neva
I love Russia (complete with umbrella)
Me and Kim at St. Issac's
Two of me and Kim at the polar museum
Me at the Summer Garden
Up next - our last days in Russia.
TTFN
Thursday, July 19, 2012
Days 10 & 11, SPb: Palatial and majestic
Kim and I left two of the biggies for these two days. On Tuesday (July 17) we took the boat to Peterhof. Peterhof is a palace built by Peter the Great and further expanded and renovated by his successors, in particular by Catherine the Great. It is often called the Versailles of Russia. Peterhof is best known for the gardens and fountains. Kim and I hit a meteorological sweet spot on this excursion; the normally rainy SPb was actually sunny! We had a lovely stroll through the grounds. There were many interesting fountains and amazing views of the Neva River. (These are apparently "gravity fountains", yet another backwards idea if you ask me...how can gravity make water go up?) A little history about Peterhof: during WWII, Hitler was planning on having a party and had fancy invitations made. Rather than allowing his enemy to celebrate at this historic Russian site, Stalin had Peterhof bombed...and there was no party. Hmmm...the things we do to thwart our enemies' plans. We took the hydrofoil boat back to the city; it was a little pricier than the bus but more enjoyable.
Next we headed to the Peter and Paul Fortress. We decided we needed to pack in as much of the outdoor stuff as possible while the weather was working in our favour. The fortress was built in the 1700s by, of course, Peter the Great. It was the city's main fortress or citadel (no Kremlin here, folks!) and later served as a prison for really bad high-ranking and political prisoners (including Peter's son who died in prison while his father was hesitating to sign the execution papers). We walked along the top of the wall and enjoyed the amazing view of the city across the river. We made the long walked home and lazed in front of the TV. Unfortunately there were no English channels, but we did find the Euro Sports channel which was showing a track and field event. That we could understand without the commentary! I was fast asleep before my head hit the pillow.
We were up and at it early the next day as the Hermitage was the main event. The gates didn't open until 10 and the cashiers until 10:30 so we had to wait in line for about an hour and a half. Kim and I walked practically every inch of this amazing art museum. We had a map of the 300+ rooms and we diligently crossed each room off as we went. (I will admit we blew through some of the "ancient" stuff, except for my long glance at a 1000 year old corpse.) We saw paintings by da Vinci, Matisse, Raphael, Kandinsky, Manet, Monet, and van Gogh. We were getting a little silly by the end. (See the photo of Kim and a lion and the two of us imitating the "Head of the Dead Patroclus" sculpture. We couldn't stop laughing long enough to pretend to be decapitated heads.) In addition to the artwork we also saw the rooms of the Winter Palace, the official residence of the Russian monarchs from the early 1700s until the revolution in 1917. These interiors were mind-blowingly ornate. I kept imagining myself throwing grand parties here with men in fancy suits and women in beautiful gowns. (Kim just rolled her eyes at me about this idea. I think it brought back memories about me torturing her when we were young by making her play 'modeling agency'...). I really wanted to step back in time and be a rich duchess or countess. So determined were Kim and I to complete the rounds in the Hermitage that we practically shut the place down. We spent a solid 8 hours enjoying this famous sight. Whew.
And because we hadn't had enough for one day, we headed to the tip of a nearby island to watch a "dancing fountain" described in the guide book. (Kim was quite excited about said fountain.) It was apparently midway between two islands (in the river I guess?), and the fountains did their thing set to classical music. The show was to start at 8. Kim and I were early, and of course it was raining. We wandered around looking for where this fountain could actually be located, trying to manage our extreme anticipation. Sure enough, at 8 o'clock, nothing happened. We had hung out in the rain for about 45 minutes for no reason. Later Kim found a YouTube video of the fountain. It was in the middle of the river and the show was pretty cool. Guess they scrapped this tourist trap for some reason. Just another unsolved mystery in Russia. We went home to our hotel, watched a little of Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade in Russian and slept our last night in SPb.
Photos below (which are in no particular order, unfortunately) are:
The outside of the Hermitage
Me at P&P Fortress
Me and Kim at Peterhof
Me and Kim in the Hermitage
The Heads of Dead Patroclus
The outside of the Hermitage
Me at Peterhof
Me imitating a Michelangelo sculpture
Kim and a lion at the Hermitage
The line at the Hermitage
The Grand Cascade at Peterhof
Next post will cover our final day in SPb and some commentary on the abundance of scary Russian museum ladies.
TTFN
Next we headed to the Peter and Paul Fortress. We decided we needed to pack in as much of the outdoor stuff as possible while the weather was working in our favour. The fortress was built in the 1700s by, of course, Peter the Great. It was the city's main fortress or citadel (no Kremlin here, folks!) and later served as a prison for really bad high-ranking and political prisoners (including Peter's son who died in prison while his father was hesitating to sign the execution papers). We walked along the top of the wall and enjoyed the amazing view of the city across the river. We made the long walked home and lazed in front of the TV. Unfortunately there were no English channels, but we did find the Euro Sports channel which was showing a track and field event. That we could understand without the commentary! I was fast asleep before my head hit the pillow.
We were up and at it early the next day as the Hermitage was the main event. The gates didn't open until 10 and the cashiers until 10:30 so we had to wait in line for about an hour and a half. Kim and I walked practically every inch of this amazing art museum. We had a map of the 300+ rooms and we diligently crossed each room off as we went. (I will admit we blew through some of the "ancient" stuff, except for my long glance at a 1000 year old corpse.) We saw paintings by da Vinci, Matisse, Raphael, Kandinsky, Manet, Monet, and van Gogh. We were getting a little silly by the end. (See the photo of Kim and a lion and the two of us imitating the "Head of the Dead Patroclus" sculpture. We couldn't stop laughing long enough to pretend to be decapitated heads.) In addition to the artwork we also saw the rooms of the Winter Palace, the official residence of the Russian monarchs from the early 1700s until the revolution in 1917. These interiors were mind-blowingly ornate. I kept imagining myself throwing grand parties here with men in fancy suits and women in beautiful gowns. (Kim just rolled her eyes at me about this idea. I think it brought back memories about me torturing her when we were young by making her play 'modeling agency'...). I really wanted to step back in time and be a rich duchess or countess. So determined were Kim and I to complete the rounds in the Hermitage that we practically shut the place down. We spent a solid 8 hours enjoying this famous sight. Whew.
And because we hadn't had enough for one day, we headed to the tip of a nearby island to watch a "dancing fountain" described in the guide book. (Kim was quite excited about said fountain.) It was apparently midway between two islands (in the river I guess?), and the fountains did their thing set to classical music. The show was to start at 8. Kim and I were early, and of course it was raining. We wandered around looking for where this fountain could actually be located, trying to manage our extreme anticipation. Sure enough, at 8 o'clock, nothing happened. We had hung out in the rain for about 45 minutes for no reason. Later Kim found a YouTube video of the fountain. It was in the middle of the river and the show was pretty cool. Guess they scrapped this tourist trap for some reason. Just another unsolved mystery in Russia. We went home to our hotel, watched a little of Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade in Russian and slept our last night in SPb.
Photos below (which are in no particular order, unfortunately) are:
The outside of the Hermitage
Me at P&P Fortress
Me and Kim at Peterhof
Me and Kim in the Hermitage
The Heads of Dead Patroclus
The outside of the Hermitage
Me at Peterhof
Me imitating a Michelangelo sculpture
Kim and a lion at the Hermitage
The line at the Hermitage
The Grand Cascade at Peterhof
Next post will cover our final day in SPb and some commentary on the abundance of scary Russian museum ladies.
TTFN
Wednesday, July 18, 2012
SPb, Days 7, 8 & 9: Whirlwind
Ack! So much to catch up on. I knew that Kim and I had been busy since arriving in SPb, but I didn't realize just how busy until I started making a list of things to cover in this post. We have been dutiful and diligent tourists!
We took the train from Novgorod to SPb first thing the morning of the 14th. It was a four hour ride and we arrived in SPb at lunch time. The whole group headed out to eat some delicious Russian food, and then we went our separate ways.
Already I could tell that SPb is quite different from Moscow. First off, there were tourists everywhere. There were many moments in Moscow where I felt like the only tourist around, but that feeling would be impossible here. Also, the buildings were very different. In Moscow many of the buildings looked dilapidated, with paint peeling and stone crumbling away. A lot of them were very boring architecturally: drab concrete rectangles. Compared to this, and compared to most cities around the world I'm guessing, SPb looks like it's right out of a fairy tale. All of the buildings in the old part of the city were constructed in the same time period so there's a certain uniformity. They're grand and majestic. The hundreds of canals around also add to the beauty. (Even after four days I'm still in awe.)
Kim and I spent the afternoon walking around an old monastery and a few very old cemeteries. The gravestones were all works of art, each a little different. The main reason we headed here was to see the graves of a couple famous Russians: Dostoyevsky and Tchaikovsky, in particular. The photo below is of me and Kim at Dostoyevsky's grave. They were a little difficult to find as we are still not masters of Cyrillic and the engraving on the tombstones is in fancy scripts. We saw the graves of another couple famous composers; of course Kim knew who they were but I didn't. I took photos anyway. :-) In most museums you have to pay extra to take pictures, but not in a graveyard so I snapped away!
Next up was our last organized "local interaction" outing. This time we were off to the home of a Russian family in a "condo" building in the city. I'm calling it a "condo" building as the families own their flats, but share services. This is not like at home where you share a pool or gym or garbage chute with your fellow condo-ers; here they share the kitchen and bathroom. In about the 60s, housing was a huge problem in Soviet Russia. Khrushchev promised that each family would have a home. This was accomplished by taking larger apartments or flats and dividing them into four or five smaller spaces (like the size of a one bedroom apartment or smaller) and making the kitchen and bathroom shared. To hear it is one thing, but to see it is another.
Our hostess, Svetlana, was very welcoming and cheerful as she led us down the unlit hallway to her family's home. The flat was basically one large rectangular room with very high ceilings and a couple smaller spaces sectioned off for bedrooms. She had a long table set beautifully for the 13 of us - and we all fit around it! Svetlana must have slaved away making pancakes (blinis) for us as there were at least 50 prepared. Blinis are similar to crepes, just a little smaller. You can eat them with anything: sugar, jam, condensed milk, cheese, ham, etc. this time we had them with jam, sugar, condensed milk and sour cream. She had also prepared tea with fresh herbs, which she diluted with hot water from her samovar. (Side note: The samovar is a fixture in the typical Russian home. It's like a coffee urn used to hold hot water, tea, or coffee. And, interestingly, it's forbidden to leave the country with one. Huh.) While we pigged out we chatted about many things. Svetlana told us about her dacha, or summer house. It seems she, her husband, and their daughter spend almost all summer and the spring/fall weekends there. It was very interesting to get to see inside a "typical" Russian urban home. There are two photos of our meal below: Svetlana serving and me and Kim on the couch relaxing.
That evening I went out with the gang for some drinks - vodka of course. And we ended up at a small Russian club that I'm pretty sure we only got into because we were tourists. (Backwards again...I thought they would want to keep the tourists out?) It was light again before we got back to the hotel and I had just a couple hours before hitting the pavement again...
The next day was full of sights! We cruised down the main drag and visited the Kazan Cathedral, walked around a bookstore that used to be the headquarters of the Singer sewing machine company, and took in the overwhelming gourmet store. They sold everything from cakes to cheese to $700 tins of black caviar. I could spend a fortune and gain a ton in this store. We behaved and left empty-handed.
Then we were off to drool at the beauty of the exterior of the Church of the Saviour on Spilled Blood. This amazing church was modeled after St. Basil's in Moscow, but it looks quite different. It got its name because it was built on the spot where Czar Alexander II was assassinated. It was originally closed to the pubic as it was meant to be a private place of mourning. The Bolsheviks opened the church to the public; however, as it wasn't built to withstand the traffic, the interior quickly deteriorated. After all churches in Russia were closed in the 1930s (thanks Stalin), it was used to store potatoes and theater sets (weird). Restoration began in the 1980s...it took 24 years to build the church and 27 years to restore it. How lucky we are it has been restored because it is one of the most beautiful things I have ever seen - inside and out. (You'll have to wait for pictures until after I get back.) Kim and I left the inside until the next day as we didn't have our church-going attire (i.e. pants and scarves for our heads).
Instead we made our way to the Russian Museum (creative name, eh?). This museum was labelled as a "must see" by my guide book, and we were both glad we took the time to visit it. Again, the building itself was beautiful, and it houses a massive collection of Russian art, from medieval church icons to contemporary pieces. We are proud to report we visited all 85 rooms! And even better is we were ready for more...
Our last stop (or my last stop, as I went home for a nap and Kim carried on...) was a house in which Dostoyevsky lived. It was a small museum but really interesting. They had decorated the flat as it would have been when he lived there. There were many of his personal items on display, including his hat, cigarette box, a spoon, and a clock that was stopped the time and date of his death. The "literary" part of the museum was only in Russian so we didn't get much out of it.
That evening we met up with the group for our final dinner. Our guide had made a reservation at a Georgian restaurant and it was delicious. A lovely end to the tour. But my favourite part was yet to come...
A midnight boat ride (that actually started at 1 am)! We weaved our way through the canals of the city out into the Neva River. The city looked amazing lit up. Every night (spring to fall) between 1:30 and 2:30 the big bridges over the Neva are raised to let the ships pass to and from the Gulf of Finland. The bridges are all lit up and this makes for quite the sight. To top it off we had some bubbly, chocolate and classical music playing in the background. It's a good thing we stayed close to home the night before; otherwise we could have been stuck on one of the islands. The ships pass in one direction from about 2:30-3:30 and the other direction from 3:30-4:30. The bridges don't get lowered until about 5 am. I wish I'd had it in me to stay up one night to see what kinds of ships passed through, but I'm not much of a night owl these days. We were half-asleep by the time we got home from our cruise but it was definitely worth it.
The next day was jam packed, and most of it we did in the rain. Our first stop was the Bronze Horseman, a symbolic SPb monument of Peter the Great, the mastermind behind the city. The Bronze Horseman was made famous in a poem by Pushkin. While there is some controversy surrounding the importance of the statue, it is said to represent the spirit of SPb.
Next we headed to the park to frolic with the Buddy Bears who are currently visiting SPb. The United Buddy Bears are life-size decorated bears that represent peace, understanding, and tolerance. More than 140 countries participated by painting a bear. The bears have been on tour around the world since 2006. We managed to find the bear for each of the countries we are visiting (except Iceland?). Kim and I were slightly disappointed with the Canadian bear, but I suppose he represents our vast lands and waters.
Finally it was time to enter the Church of our Saviour on Spilled Blood. We were just as amazed by the interior as the exterior. It was a true explosion of colour, blues and reds and golds. I wish I could attend church in such a beautiful place (although I prefer the sitting tradition of the Protestants versus standing for services as the Russian Orthodox believers do).
Of course we had to tour the metro. The SPb stations are not as impressive as the Moscow ones, but they still put our boring and usually ugly North American stations to shame. Kim and I were very happy to be warm, out of the rain, and sitting down at this point.
We finished the day by getting lost. Ha. It took us forever to find our last sight of the day, Nikolski Cathedral. This Cathedral was different from most we have seen and we were glad to have finally found our way. After stopping to grab a couple geocaches we trudged back to the hotel, soaking wet and ready for bed.
Three more days in SPb (July 17-19) before heading back to the capital!
Photos below are: the gourmet shop, me and Kim with the Canadian buddy bear, me and Kim at Dostoyevsky's grave, me outside Spilled Blood, the gourmet shop again, me and Kim on our way to Spilled Blood, and two of our evening at Svetlana's.
TTFN
We took the train from Novgorod to SPb first thing the morning of the 14th. It was a four hour ride and we arrived in SPb at lunch time. The whole group headed out to eat some delicious Russian food, and then we went our separate ways.
Already I could tell that SPb is quite different from Moscow. First off, there were tourists everywhere. There were many moments in Moscow where I felt like the only tourist around, but that feeling would be impossible here. Also, the buildings were very different. In Moscow many of the buildings looked dilapidated, with paint peeling and stone crumbling away. A lot of them were very boring architecturally: drab concrete rectangles. Compared to this, and compared to most cities around the world I'm guessing, SPb looks like it's right out of a fairy tale. All of the buildings in the old part of the city were constructed in the same time period so there's a certain uniformity. They're grand and majestic. The hundreds of canals around also add to the beauty. (Even after four days I'm still in awe.)
Kim and I spent the afternoon walking around an old monastery and a few very old cemeteries. The gravestones were all works of art, each a little different. The main reason we headed here was to see the graves of a couple famous Russians: Dostoyevsky and Tchaikovsky, in particular. The photo below is of me and Kim at Dostoyevsky's grave. They were a little difficult to find as we are still not masters of Cyrillic and the engraving on the tombstones is in fancy scripts. We saw the graves of another couple famous composers; of course Kim knew who they were but I didn't. I took photos anyway. :-) In most museums you have to pay extra to take pictures, but not in a graveyard so I snapped away!
Next up was our last organized "local interaction" outing. This time we were off to the home of a Russian family in a "condo" building in the city. I'm calling it a "condo" building as the families own their flats, but share services. This is not like at home where you share a pool or gym or garbage chute with your fellow condo-ers; here they share the kitchen and bathroom. In about the 60s, housing was a huge problem in Soviet Russia. Khrushchev promised that each family would have a home. This was accomplished by taking larger apartments or flats and dividing them into four or five smaller spaces (like the size of a one bedroom apartment or smaller) and making the kitchen and bathroom shared. To hear it is one thing, but to see it is another.
Our hostess, Svetlana, was very welcoming and cheerful as she led us down the unlit hallway to her family's home. The flat was basically one large rectangular room with very high ceilings and a couple smaller spaces sectioned off for bedrooms. She had a long table set beautifully for the 13 of us - and we all fit around it! Svetlana must have slaved away making pancakes (blinis) for us as there were at least 50 prepared. Blinis are similar to crepes, just a little smaller. You can eat them with anything: sugar, jam, condensed milk, cheese, ham, etc. this time we had them with jam, sugar, condensed milk and sour cream. She had also prepared tea with fresh herbs, which she diluted with hot water from her samovar. (Side note: The samovar is a fixture in the typical Russian home. It's like a coffee urn used to hold hot water, tea, or coffee. And, interestingly, it's forbidden to leave the country with one. Huh.) While we pigged out we chatted about many things. Svetlana told us about her dacha, or summer house. It seems she, her husband, and their daughter spend almost all summer and the spring/fall weekends there. It was very interesting to get to see inside a "typical" Russian urban home. There are two photos of our meal below: Svetlana serving and me and Kim on the couch relaxing.
That evening I went out with the gang for some drinks - vodka of course. And we ended up at a small Russian club that I'm pretty sure we only got into because we were tourists. (Backwards again...I thought they would want to keep the tourists out?) It was light again before we got back to the hotel and I had just a couple hours before hitting the pavement again...
The next day was full of sights! We cruised down the main drag and visited the Kazan Cathedral, walked around a bookstore that used to be the headquarters of the Singer sewing machine company, and took in the overwhelming gourmet store. They sold everything from cakes to cheese to $700 tins of black caviar. I could spend a fortune and gain a ton in this store. We behaved and left empty-handed.
Then we were off to drool at the beauty of the exterior of the Church of the Saviour on Spilled Blood. This amazing church was modeled after St. Basil's in Moscow, but it looks quite different. It got its name because it was built on the spot where Czar Alexander II was assassinated. It was originally closed to the pubic as it was meant to be a private place of mourning. The Bolsheviks opened the church to the public; however, as it wasn't built to withstand the traffic, the interior quickly deteriorated. After all churches in Russia were closed in the 1930s (thanks Stalin), it was used to store potatoes and theater sets (weird). Restoration began in the 1980s...it took 24 years to build the church and 27 years to restore it. How lucky we are it has been restored because it is one of the most beautiful things I have ever seen - inside and out. (You'll have to wait for pictures until after I get back.) Kim and I left the inside until the next day as we didn't have our church-going attire (i.e. pants and scarves for our heads).
Instead we made our way to the Russian Museum (creative name, eh?). This museum was labelled as a "must see" by my guide book, and we were both glad we took the time to visit it. Again, the building itself was beautiful, and it houses a massive collection of Russian art, from medieval church icons to contemporary pieces. We are proud to report we visited all 85 rooms! And even better is we were ready for more...
Our last stop (or my last stop, as I went home for a nap and Kim carried on...) was a house in which Dostoyevsky lived. It was a small museum but really interesting. They had decorated the flat as it would have been when he lived there. There were many of his personal items on display, including his hat, cigarette box, a spoon, and a clock that was stopped the time and date of his death. The "literary" part of the museum was only in Russian so we didn't get much out of it.
That evening we met up with the group for our final dinner. Our guide had made a reservation at a Georgian restaurant and it was delicious. A lovely end to the tour. But my favourite part was yet to come...
A midnight boat ride (that actually started at 1 am)! We weaved our way through the canals of the city out into the Neva River. The city looked amazing lit up. Every night (spring to fall) between 1:30 and 2:30 the big bridges over the Neva are raised to let the ships pass to and from the Gulf of Finland. The bridges are all lit up and this makes for quite the sight. To top it off we had some bubbly, chocolate and classical music playing in the background. It's a good thing we stayed close to home the night before; otherwise we could have been stuck on one of the islands. The ships pass in one direction from about 2:30-3:30 and the other direction from 3:30-4:30. The bridges don't get lowered until about 5 am. I wish I'd had it in me to stay up one night to see what kinds of ships passed through, but I'm not much of a night owl these days. We were half-asleep by the time we got home from our cruise but it was definitely worth it.
The next day was jam packed, and most of it we did in the rain. Our first stop was the Bronze Horseman, a symbolic SPb monument of Peter the Great, the mastermind behind the city. The Bronze Horseman was made famous in a poem by Pushkin. While there is some controversy surrounding the importance of the statue, it is said to represent the spirit of SPb.
Next we headed to the park to frolic with the Buddy Bears who are currently visiting SPb. The United Buddy Bears are life-size decorated bears that represent peace, understanding, and tolerance. More than 140 countries participated by painting a bear. The bears have been on tour around the world since 2006. We managed to find the bear for each of the countries we are visiting (except Iceland?). Kim and I were slightly disappointed with the Canadian bear, but I suppose he represents our vast lands and waters.
Finally it was time to enter the Church of our Saviour on Spilled Blood. We were just as amazed by the interior as the exterior. It was a true explosion of colour, blues and reds and golds. I wish I could attend church in such a beautiful place (although I prefer the sitting tradition of the Protestants versus standing for services as the Russian Orthodox believers do).
Of course we had to tour the metro. The SPb stations are not as impressive as the Moscow ones, but they still put our boring and usually ugly North American stations to shame. Kim and I were very happy to be warm, out of the rain, and sitting down at this point.
We finished the day by getting lost. Ha. It took us forever to find our last sight of the day, Nikolski Cathedral. This Cathedral was different from most we have seen and we were glad to have finally found our way. After stopping to grab a couple geocaches we trudged back to the hotel, soaking wet and ready for bed.
Three more days in SPb (July 17-19) before heading back to the capital!
Photos below are: the gourmet shop, me and Kim with the Canadian buddy bear, me and Kim at Dostoyevsky's grave, me outside Spilled Blood, the gourmet shop again, me and Kim on our way to Spilled Blood, and two of our evening at Svetlana's.
TTFN
Day 6, Novgorod: Soggy
(This is actually my second attempt as I somehow managed to delete what I'd written previously. Ugh.)
So, the overnight train (not soggy). I think the overnight train is quite popular in Russia, at least between Moscow and Saint Petersburg. This time, traveling with our tour group, we were in 2nd class. Kim and I were quite glad to have a "guided" train ride with our tour before having to manage on our own (although we splurged for the 1st class tickets for our solo ride). In 2nd class, there are four bunks per compartment, two upper and two lower. Because of the way the bookings worked out, Kim and I were in a different car (you can easily travel between cars) and we shared with a Russian couple. They didn't speak English, so needless to say conversation was sparse. I volunteered to take the top bunk, only fair considering my years of experience with ladder-climbing and bunk-bed-sleeping. :-) We got ourselves organized and then headed over to the next car to have a drink with the gang. Afterwards it was straight to bed.
The train ride was quite smooth, but it didn't help us sleep any better. I managed to doze off, but each time the train stopped I woke up. Also, it was really hot and the air conditioning only works when the train is moving, so I was cold with the AC on and sweating when it was off. We arrived in Novgorod at about 6:30 am, headed to the hotel for a shower and some food, then met our local guide for a walking tour of the city.
Of course, after a week of beautiful weather we were in for some rain...and rain it did. Although we spent the entire day in the rain, we didn't let it dampen our spirits. :-)
Novgorod is a very old city and quite an important one in the history of Russia. It was a main target for the Nazis and one of the first cities to be rebuilt after the war. The city was the first settlement of the Norsemen and has been around since at least 862. Things like this always remind me of how young Canada is. In the summer there is usually an archeological dig taking place, and to do any new construction in the old part of the city, one must first pay for an archeological survey as the soil is rich with artifacts. Novgorod is built on a marsh (very soggy), a feature that helps to preserve the wooden, metal, and even fabric treasures underground. (I would have thought it would be the opposite, but I'll have to trust the guide on this.)
The first stop on our tour was Yaroslav's Court, the old market place in Novgorod. Nearby are five very plain stone churches. At one point many years ago, the traders in the market place were trying to prevent the regular ruin of their stalls and goods by fires and asked the priest if they could build stone warehouses. At this time, stone could only be used to build churches. The priest denied the request, so the tricky men built "churches" and used them as warehouses. Five of these still exist today, although they look like they are sinking. They seem to have been built one story into the ground but it's actually the ground that has been growing up around the churches. (In fact, our guide told us that Novgorod is still growing up like this and the city has measures in place to protect its history.) These buildings are now true churches. Novgorod has over 40 churches and a population of about 200,000. That's a lot, but not as many as Suzdal per capita. One of these churches is particularly interesting. Apparently, in the olden days, if a girl was having trouble finding a husband, she could run around the church three times, counter clockwise of course (?), and soon enough she'd be married. While many of us on the tour joked about this, no one actually made a run for it. I was slightly afraid of what kind of husband I might end up with. :-)
And, true to Russia, no tour is complete without visiting a Kremlin. So off we traipsed in the rain, across the foot bridge to see the Kremlin. The two highlights of this stop were the Millennium of Russia Monument and the Cathedral of St Sophia. The monument was constructed in 1862 to mark the 1000th anniversary of Novgorod. It is shaped like a bell and features many of Russia's important historical figures (except Ivan the Terrible who razed the town and killed thousands in his quest to convert the citizens from their heathen pagan ways to the Orthodox church). The cathedral is one of the oldest buildings in Russia, dating from the 11th century. Some parts have been reconstructed; however, part of the original structure remains.
Finally it was time to take a break, warm up, and dry off. We had the afternoon free to explore, so Kim and I ventured back into the soggy marsh of Novgorod in the soggy drizzle and....who would've guessed....went geocaching!! We took tour friend Gary along who was delighted to find his first geocache (or geocan as another tour member called it). After the quick find we headed back to the Kremlin to check out a big ol' bell tower. Finally home to dry off, nap, and head out again.
The last item on the agenda for the day was a trip to the local bath house, or banya. Typically Russians visit the banya a couple of times a week and stay for a few hours each time. I was a little nervous about this instance of "local interaction", but we had our guide Natalia to hold our hands (or beat us with birch whips as it turned out). The baths are divided by gender and nakedness is required. (A couple girls from our group tried to get in with suits on but were strongly encouraged to go nude by the very forceful banya employee.) Once inside what I will call the wash room, we each filled a plastic basin with warm water and used it and our own soap to wash off. We rinsed and repeated. Next it was into the sauna, which I found to be much hotter than a typical North American sauna. We sat inside until we couldn't stand the heat any longer. Back in the wash room we scrubbed ourselves down again and had a quick rinse under a very cold shower. At this point I was feeling really relaxed and content. It was so nice to be warm after a day out in the cold rain. Into the sauna again we went, but this time we brought the whips with us. It's customary at the banya to smack yourself or your fellow bather with hand-picked bunches of birch branches. They use the ends of the branches with the leaves still on. The bound end of the bundle is about one or two inches in diameter and the whole bundle is about 1.5-2 feet long. Natalia assured us that it didn't hurt and thankfully she was right. It was more of a pleasant sting. We took turns swatting ourselves and each other until we were out of breath and spent. It's quite exhausting to do this in the extreme heat of the sauna. We exited the sauna, rinsed off, and took a break in the much cooler change room. Once our body temperature had returned to normal, we ventured back into the heat for round two of the birch beating. Finally we showered, got dressed, and waited for the boys. Their stories were a bit different from ours; it seems the men hit a little harder and even bust out the nettles for maximum effect. And of course drink beer while doing so. They tried to get some details out of us about our side, but as the saying goes, what happens in the banya stays in the banya. :-) I will say that it should not be the scene of any man's fantasy. Despite feeling nervous about the whole thing, I really enjoyed the experience and felt refreshed and tranquil afterwards. I can see the Russian version of myself making the trip to the banya regularly.
We cabbed back to the hotel to change and regroup and then head out for supper. Walking home after dinner, we were all thrown off by the amount of daylight at 11 pm. This change is hard to get used to!
Off to Saint Petersburg (SPb) in the morning (July 14). More to come from the Gulf of Finland. :-)
Photos below are: me in front of St
Sophia's, me in the market place, and me and Kim on the footbridge in the rain.
TTFN
So, the overnight train (not soggy). I think the overnight train is quite popular in Russia, at least between Moscow and Saint Petersburg. This time, traveling with our tour group, we were in 2nd class. Kim and I were quite glad to have a "guided" train ride with our tour before having to manage on our own (although we splurged for the 1st class tickets for our solo ride). In 2nd class, there are four bunks per compartment, two upper and two lower. Because of the way the bookings worked out, Kim and I were in a different car (you can easily travel between cars) and we shared with a Russian couple. They didn't speak English, so needless to say conversation was sparse. I volunteered to take the top bunk, only fair considering my years of experience with ladder-climbing and bunk-bed-sleeping. :-) We got ourselves organized and then headed over to the next car to have a drink with the gang. Afterwards it was straight to bed.
The train ride was quite smooth, but it didn't help us sleep any better. I managed to doze off, but each time the train stopped I woke up. Also, it was really hot and the air conditioning only works when the train is moving, so I was cold with the AC on and sweating when it was off. We arrived in Novgorod at about 6:30 am, headed to the hotel for a shower and some food, then met our local guide for a walking tour of the city.
Of course, after a week of beautiful weather we were in for some rain...and rain it did. Although we spent the entire day in the rain, we didn't let it dampen our spirits. :-)
Novgorod is a very old city and quite an important one in the history of Russia. It was a main target for the Nazis and one of the first cities to be rebuilt after the war. The city was the first settlement of the Norsemen and has been around since at least 862. Things like this always remind me of how young Canada is. In the summer there is usually an archeological dig taking place, and to do any new construction in the old part of the city, one must first pay for an archeological survey as the soil is rich with artifacts. Novgorod is built on a marsh (very soggy), a feature that helps to preserve the wooden, metal, and even fabric treasures underground. (I would have thought it would be the opposite, but I'll have to trust the guide on this.)
The first stop on our tour was Yaroslav's Court, the old market place in Novgorod. Nearby are five very plain stone churches. At one point many years ago, the traders in the market place were trying to prevent the regular ruin of their stalls and goods by fires and asked the priest if they could build stone warehouses. At this time, stone could only be used to build churches. The priest denied the request, so the tricky men built "churches" and used them as warehouses. Five of these still exist today, although they look like they are sinking. They seem to have been built one story into the ground but it's actually the ground that has been growing up around the churches. (In fact, our guide told us that Novgorod is still growing up like this and the city has measures in place to protect its history.) These buildings are now true churches. Novgorod has over 40 churches and a population of about 200,000. That's a lot, but not as many as Suzdal per capita. One of these churches is particularly interesting. Apparently, in the olden days, if a girl was having trouble finding a husband, she could run around the church three times, counter clockwise of course (?), and soon enough she'd be married. While many of us on the tour joked about this, no one actually made a run for it. I was slightly afraid of what kind of husband I might end up with. :-)
And, true to Russia, no tour is complete without visiting a Kremlin. So off we traipsed in the rain, across the foot bridge to see the Kremlin. The two highlights of this stop were the Millennium of Russia Monument and the Cathedral of St Sophia. The monument was constructed in 1862 to mark the 1000th anniversary of Novgorod. It is shaped like a bell and features many of Russia's important historical figures (except Ivan the Terrible who razed the town and killed thousands in his quest to convert the citizens from their heathen pagan ways to the Orthodox church). The cathedral is one of the oldest buildings in Russia, dating from the 11th century. Some parts have been reconstructed; however, part of the original structure remains.
Finally it was time to take a break, warm up, and dry off. We had the afternoon free to explore, so Kim and I ventured back into the soggy marsh of Novgorod in the soggy drizzle and....who would've guessed....went geocaching!! We took tour friend Gary along who was delighted to find his first geocache (or geocan as another tour member called it). After the quick find we headed back to the Kremlin to check out a big ol' bell tower. Finally home to dry off, nap, and head out again.
The last item on the agenda for the day was a trip to the local bath house, or banya. Typically Russians visit the banya a couple of times a week and stay for a few hours each time. I was a little nervous about this instance of "local interaction", but we had our guide Natalia to hold our hands (or beat us with birch whips as it turned out). The baths are divided by gender and nakedness is required. (A couple girls from our group tried to get in with suits on but were strongly encouraged to go nude by the very forceful banya employee.) Once inside what I will call the wash room, we each filled a plastic basin with warm water and used it and our own soap to wash off. We rinsed and repeated. Next it was into the sauna, which I found to be much hotter than a typical North American sauna. We sat inside until we couldn't stand the heat any longer. Back in the wash room we scrubbed ourselves down again and had a quick rinse under a very cold shower. At this point I was feeling really relaxed and content. It was so nice to be warm after a day out in the cold rain. Into the sauna again we went, but this time we brought the whips with us. It's customary at the banya to smack yourself or your fellow bather with hand-picked bunches of birch branches. They use the ends of the branches with the leaves still on. The bound end of the bundle is about one or two inches in diameter and the whole bundle is about 1.5-2 feet long. Natalia assured us that it didn't hurt and thankfully she was right. It was more of a pleasant sting. We took turns swatting ourselves and each other until we were out of breath and spent. It's quite exhausting to do this in the extreme heat of the sauna. We exited the sauna, rinsed off, and took a break in the much cooler change room. Once our body temperature had returned to normal, we ventured back into the heat for round two of the birch beating. Finally we showered, got dressed, and waited for the boys. Their stories were a bit different from ours; it seems the men hit a little harder and even bust out the nettles for maximum effect. And of course drink beer while doing so. They tried to get some details out of us about our side, but as the saying goes, what happens in the banya stays in the banya. :-) I will say that it should not be the scene of any man's fantasy. Despite feeling nervous about the whole thing, I really enjoyed the experience and felt refreshed and tranquil afterwards. I can see the Russian version of myself making the trip to the banya regularly.
We cabbed back to the hotel to change and regroup and then head out for supper. Walking home after dinner, we were all thrown off by the amount of daylight at 11 pm. This change is hard to get used to!
Off to Saint Petersburg (SPb) in the morning (July 14). More to come from the Gulf of Finland. :-)
Photos below are: me in front of St
Sophia's, me in the market place, and me and Kim on the footbridge in the rain.
TTFN
Monday, July 16, 2012
Days 4 & 5, Suzdal: Peace and quiet
Today (July 11) we hit the road and headed to the small town of Suzdal for a two-day stay. As the bus wound and bumped its way out of Moscow, the scenery changed from urban sprawl to smaller towns and lots of forests. The types of cars on the road changed too - no longer were we seeing big fancy black SUVs. It was about a four-hour ride on a major highway, but there were many stop lights and the speed limit was only about 70. It was interesting to watch what was going on on the shoulders of the road; if they're not being used as additional lanes it's because there's at least one broken-down car blocking the way. There must've been at least 2 cars pulled over with the hood up every 10 kilometers. Most of the group was able to fall asleep despite the erratic movements of the bus.
We arrived at our guest house, dropped our bags and hit the streets. Suzdal is a small historic city within the Golden Ring, a ring of ancient cities northeast of Moscow. Suzdal is known for its churches: there are 33 churches for a population of about 10,000.
Our first priority was getting a bite to eat and some mead, or honey beer. I very much enjoyed my small flavorful glass, but I'm not so sure I could drink more than a little bit at a time as it is quite sweet and thick (and not that cold). Suzdal is known for mead and there are vendors selling it in the market place and on street corners.
Next we headed to Resurrection Church. We were unable to enter the actual church (no shorts allowed and women must cover their heads), but for a small fee we were able to climb a very steep staircase and enjoy the view from the top of bell tower. It was perfect timing as there was a lady in the tower at that moment ringing the bells. There were many bells, each rigged with a string, wire or foot pedal and she performed quite the choreographed dance in order to produce a beautiful melody. We wandered through the market place, bought some fresh blueberries, strawberries, goose berries and red currants from the babushkas (old ladies/grandmothers) then made the long walk home to enjoy our snack.
That evening we went to the home of a Russian woman and her husband for a real feast of traditional Russian food. Our hostess was quite delighted to stuff all 11 of our faces full with soup, crab and vegetable salad, delicious buns with egg and herbs inside, chicken cutlets, rice, lightly pickled cucumbers, sweet dessert buns, tea, and....vodka, of course. :-) She was so thrilled to have us in her home and we were equally happy to have the opportunity to interact with the locals and pig out on yummy Russian food. We booked our tour through a company called Intrepid, and these are the types of unique activities the company is known for. This was definitely one of the highlights of the trip. After dinner we strolled through their large garden, complete with a guided tour (by her shirtless husband) of the fruits, vegetables, and herbs. It was a slow crawl back to the guesthouse.
The next day began with a walking tour of the town. We met our local guide at the Saviour Monastery of St. Euthymius which was founded in the 14th century. Again we arrived just in time to hear a bell beautiful concert. Other highlights included a view of the monastery prison used to detain religious dissidents and the lovely and very organized and well labelled garden. The monastery grounds were immaculate and quite colorfully decorated with marigolds, petunias, geraniums, and other annuals.
From here we hopped onto a crowded local bus, where we were the object of many a curious stare. You'd think the locals would be used to this considering tourism is the #1 industry. We got off at the Museum of Wooden Architecture and Peasant Life. It's an open air museum, with old wooden buildings done up as they were centuries ago. Kim and I both instantly started singing songs from Fiddler on the Roof in our heads. This attraction wasn't at the top of my list, but it was interesting to see the poor peasant home and the wealthy man's home. It was a big step back in history, as are all of the things done on this trip. I still find 1000 year old sights difficult to wrap my mind around. It reminds me how young Canada is.
Our last stop on the walking tour was the Kremlin in Suzdal. This Kremlin didn't have a stone wall, but rather a dirt embankment to protect the city. It was a wonderfully relaxed day in Suzdal, but then it was time to hop back on the bus to Moscow to get an overnight train to our next destination, Novgorod.
We had some time to kill at the station, so we grabbed a beer and guarded our bags while taking turns going for food.
Photos below are me with my honey beer, our quiet street in Suzdal, a view of the convent in Suzdal, and me and Gary (a fellow tour member) with our Baltika 7s at the train station. We only got told once by the police to hide our beers.
More about our train experience and a day in ancient Novgorod in the next post.
TTFN
We arrived at our guest house, dropped our bags and hit the streets. Suzdal is a small historic city within the Golden Ring, a ring of ancient cities northeast of Moscow. Suzdal is known for its churches: there are 33 churches for a population of about 10,000.
Our first priority was getting a bite to eat and some mead, or honey beer. I very much enjoyed my small flavorful glass, but I'm not so sure I could drink more than a little bit at a time as it is quite sweet and thick (and not that cold). Suzdal is known for mead and there are vendors selling it in the market place and on street corners.
Next we headed to Resurrection Church. We were unable to enter the actual church (no shorts allowed and women must cover their heads), but for a small fee we were able to climb a very steep staircase and enjoy the view from the top of bell tower. It was perfect timing as there was a lady in the tower at that moment ringing the bells. There were many bells, each rigged with a string, wire or foot pedal and she performed quite the choreographed dance in order to produce a beautiful melody. We wandered through the market place, bought some fresh blueberries, strawberries, goose berries and red currants from the babushkas (old ladies/grandmothers) then made the long walk home to enjoy our snack.
That evening we went to the home of a Russian woman and her husband for a real feast of traditional Russian food. Our hostess was quite delighted to stuff all 11 of our faces full with soup, crab and vegetable salad, delicious buns with egg and herbs inside, chicken cutlets, rice, lightly pickled cucumbers, sweet dessert buns, tea, and....vodka, of course. :-) She was so thrilled to have us in her home and we were equally happy to have the opportunity to interact with the locals and pig out on yummy Russian food. We booked our tour through a company called Intrepid, and these are the types of unique activities the company is known for. This was definitely one of the highlights of the trip. After dinner we strolled through their large garden, complete with a guided tour (by her shirtless husband) of the fruits, vegetables, and herbs. It was a slow crawl back to the guesthouse.
The next day began with a walking tour of the town. We met our local guide at the Saviour Monastery of St. Euthymius which was founded in the 14th century. Again we arrived just in time to hear a bell beautiful concert. Other highlights included a view of the monastery prison used to detain religious dissidents and the lovely and very organized and well labelled garden. The monastery grounds were immaculate and quite colorfully decorated with marigolds, petunias, geraniums, and other annuals.
From here we hopped onto a crowded local bus, where we were the object of many a curious stare. You'd think the locals would be used to this considering tourism is the #1 industry. We got off at the Museum of Wooden Architecture and Peasant Life. It's an open air museum, with old wooden buildings done up as they were centuries ago. Kim and I both instantly started singing songs from Fiddler on the Roof in our heads. This attraction wasn't at the top of my list, but it was interesting to see the poor peasant home and the wealthy man's home. It was a big step back in history, as are all of the things done on this trip. I still find 1000 year old sights difficult to wrap my mind around. It reminds me how young Canada is.
Our last stop on the walking tour was the Kremlin in Suzdal. This Kremlin didn't have a stone wall, but rather a dirt embankment to protect the city. It was a wonderfully relaxed day in Suzdal, but then it was time to hop back on the bus to Moscow to get an overnight train to our next destination, Novgorod.
We had some time to kill at the station, so we grabbed a beer and guarded our bags while taking turns going for food.
Photos below are me with my honey beer, our quiet street in Suzdal, a view of the convent in Suzdal, and me and Gary (a fellow tour member) with our Baltika 7s at the train station. We only got told once by the police to hide our beers.
More about our train experience and a day in ancient Novgorod in the next post.
TTFN
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