From Russia, with Lo...ts of Dolls

During our second day in Russia we went to a market where we were inundated with thousands of fur hats, faberge eggs and of course, Russian nesting dolls. When I first saw these dolls I'm not gonna lie, I thought they were a bit gaudy and frankly just ugly. So I bought a cute happy Santa one instead to satisfy the craving. Five days later though, they were starting to grow on me but I told myself I wouldn't buy one unless it spoke to me. And then I saw her. She's me as a Russian doll! So of course I whipped out my bargaining skills and got down to business. I was pretty enamored though and didn't need much convincing.

I tell you this lovely story not to brag about my Russian purchases but to use this doll as a bit of a corny metaphor. Bear with me. When you first get to Russia, it's a bit overwhelming. Nothing says welcome like the death glare of a Russian customs official. When you find out that the city you're in is twice the size of the country you're living in, there's minor cause for alarm. Not to mention the realization that some of the most incredible and turbulent moments in history took place right where you're standing. By the end of the trip, I had learned to have a certain respect for this ridiculously massive country and oddly, a bizarre fondness. 

Now for a nice picture story. PS. I fixed comment settings so it should be easier to comment now!

Statue of Peter the Great

 After arriving in Saint Petersburg and dropping our stuff off at the hotel, we embarked on the first of many walking tours. Our professor gave us all earbuds to wear and he talked in them as we walked which was awesome. He knows basically everything, he was our tour guide for everything. What wasn't amazing was that it was freezing and raining. After a few hours of walking we went inside a Russian Orthodox church which was really incredible. Service was going on and maybe it's that we had to wear headscarves or maybe it was watching people wait in a massive line to kiss an ancient relic or perhaps even the singing but it was really incredible to be there. Then we walked to our "welcome dinner" where we got our first Russian vodka shot courtesy of our profesor. 

The second day was absolutely beautiful! Apparently we really lucked out with Saint Petersburg weather because it was sunny and crispy and fall-y. We took a boat along the many canals (Saint Petersburg is one of the many European countries to refer to itself as the "Venice of the North").

 The boat dropped us off on the other side of a main river and we saw the main fortress of the city. Here is where Peter the Great built a very European looking church (spire and all) where, after him, the Tsars would be buried. The picture on the right is where Peter the Great and Catherine the Great are buried and to the left is where the last of the Romonovs are. Anastasia is on the far right. As you can imagine, my little history nerd heart was fluttering like crazy.



Hey mom, remember that time we spent hours editing a paper I wrote about Peter the Great's garden? Yup, well here it is! Look how he proves his absolute authority with his incredible control of nature. Okay, I'm done. It was very pretty, I promise. And there was a Russian bride taking wedding pictures. We saw quite a lot of wedding dresses that would make Say Yes to the Dress fans cringe.


 After that, we saw the Church of Spilled blood for the first time, ate some Borscht and had our first encounter with Russian Dolls. I also tried some beef tongue for dinner. (I went by a "When in Russia" motto when it came to the whole vegetarian thing - I refuse to miss out on cultural adventures!)

I still don't quite understand the whole paint important buildings in ridiculous colors thing but here's the Winter Palace which, combined with the Hermitage (a massive collection of European art), took up most of the morning. We saw some Van Gogh, some Da Vinci and Monet. You know, just another average day. Oh, and I held a monkey! Definitely a Russia highlight. After all that walking I was pretty exhausted but the monkey-high definitely got my through the day.

 After the opulence of the Winter Palace, our professor organized a tour he called "Beyond the Facade" where we saw a completely different part of the city. A Russian local took us to the remnants of the post-revolution communal living. Apartments that clearly were beautiful when they housed rich nobility are now falling apart. We went into one apartment that had seven rooms and 11 people. There is definitely no "community" feeling and one of the residents said he rarely knew the other people's names. I really can't imagine.

After that, we walked to a farmers market where I bought pickles! I also got pickled eggplant which was surprisingly amazing. (Meanwhile everyone else on my tour was buying candy). Plus the Pickle lady was so nice! She gave me an extra pickle for free! Our final destination was then revealed to us - another bar where in the middle of the day DIS bought us another vodka shot. Apparently it is normal to chase shots with pickles in this country. Ummm...I think I found a country that understands me. This was definitely a turning point in my relationship with Russia. (In spite of the fact that I was already fairly pickled out at this point in the tour. But ecstatic nonetheless).

 That night, to come full circle, we attended the Russian Ballet at the palace. (How cool is that!)

Catherine's Summer Palace

The next day it was time to wake up very early to go on another walking tour of the city, this time a Dostoyevsky walk to see the major Crime and Punishment landmarks of the city. (This probably would have been a lot cooler if I'd gotten to where I was supposed to in the book...oh well.) Then off the Catherine's Summer Palace in Pushkin which was by far one of the highlights of my trip. The palace was beautiful and very gold but the best part was the grounds. The weather was perfect, the leaves were amazing and the time of day just before dusk made everything that much more incredible.

We then took a super Soviet-looking train to Moscow. I felt a bit like Anastasia taking a night train across Russia. It was great. As a sidenote: you know you're in Russia when you can use the adjective "Soviet" to describe everything from towels to bathrooms to pillows.

 Before we arrived in Moscow I asked on of our teachers what she thought about it. She had lived in Russia for a few years and after thinking about it, she told me that as soon as you get to Moscow, you know you're in the center of an empire. And now I completely know what she meant. It's massive in every sense of the word. Here are some pictures of the Red Square. (Still can't believe I was there!)

Our first night in Russia, our professor organized us to split up and meet Russian students. They made us delicious food and were very friendly! One was an artist and unbelievably talented. Then the next morning we had a meeting with Putin supporters and got to ask some questions. Here's the link from our visit on their website! http://mger2020.ru/nextday/2012/10/05/39167  Then we met with a journalist from the completely other side of the spectrum who talked to us about his own views - which very much opposed the ones we had been told earlier that day. Then a tour of the Kremlin later that day where our professor purposely asked for a tour guide that only spoke Russian so he could translate and filter himself what he wanted us to know. 

Church where the PussyRiot controversy all started - a hot
topic during our discussion with the nationalist group

See! I could totally be a Russian! They say that once you've lived in New York City, you can survive anywhere. I dare any New Yorker to live in Moscow. I personally don't think I can handle it. Especially after being pushed onto the metro and packed together like Sardines. It's like the T on New Years Eve...but every morning. Insanity. Russia is a weird place. It's definitely a place of contrasts. It's European but not, modern but with definitely remnants of the past, and extreme poverty beside incredible wealth. Overall, it was an incredible trip. I loved the other people on my trip, my professors were great and Russia is awesome.

When we arrived in Copenhagen, there was a rainbow outside. How adorable is that? Home sweet home again.