During our stay in Saint Petersburg we saw some many wonderful things. We got up early and met in the lobby. Today was going to be really exciting. We were meeting a students from a school in St. Petersburg and they were going to take us around the city. I was very excited to meet my two new friends, Anton and Aras (I am not sure how to spell his name :( ). We walk for so long but I saw some really beautiful buildings around the city and learned so many things about St. Petersburg. We walked for three hours and I think we covered the whole historic district of the city. There was a lot that we saw so here are the big things.
First, we headed to culture square in the center of which there is a large statue of Alexander Pushkin. Behind the statue was the Russian Museum, and surrounding the small park there were several concert halls and dance and music schools Then we went to the the Church on Spilled Blood, which was so beautiful! The sun was shining and the way the light reflected off the domes was magnificent!. From there we walked to the Mikhaylov Palace and the Mars Gardens. In these gardens was an eternal flame dedicated to those who fell during World War II. Next ,we made our way to St. Isaac’s Cathedral. It is one of the largest churches I have ever seen! You can go up the the top of the church under the dome, the catch is you have to climb a spiral staircase with 280 STAIRS!! Oh My Goodness … my legs were killing me by the time we reached the top, I had to force myself to finish the last ten or fifteen stairs. The view at the top however was so worth it! You could just see forever! This was toward the end of our trip so we could see just how far we had walked that day. It was pretty impressive.
After that had to rush a little bit, because the guys wanted to show me to this place that serves Russian pancakes. It was really neat because they had a huge variety of pancake choices. First, I have to tell you something about Russian pancakes. They are super delicious, and you can literally put anything on them. They are not sweet and fluffy like American pancakes, they are similar to crepes then and they have a neutral flavor. So I got one with honey, Anton got the Italiano with salami, basil and mozzarella on it and Aras got a ham and cheese one. Mine was really delicious, I am definitely going to have to learn how to make them!
From there we raced to meet Elena at the Hermitage Museum. Here we had to say good-bye to most of our hosts because they had other obligations. I was very glad for their help and company during the morning. My feet were already killing me and Elena told us that the Hermitage is the largest museum in Russia.... my feet tried to run away but couldn't detach from my legs.
From there we raced to meet Elena at the Hermitage Museum. Here we had to say good-bye to most of our hosts because they had other obligations. I was very glad for their help and company during the morning. My feet were already killing me and Elena told us that the Hermitage is the largest museum in Russia.... my feet tried to run away but couldn't detach from my legs.
. | The art and the building itself were so impressive. The building is actually the Winter Palace so it was very beautiful. It had Di Vinci, one Michelangelo, Monet Van Gogh and so many others! Some of the painting took up the whole wall and... this wall was in a palace remember so the painting had to have been at least fifteen to twenty feet tall and even longer across There were paintings, statues, mosaics, art was directly on the walls and on tables on the floor. It was just amazing! Elena told us that even if we spent only six seconds at every piece we would have to stay at the museum for three and a half weeks! We only spent about three hours there. It was truly extraordinary! There really is nothing like art to give you perspective. When you look at are you have this chance to actually see through someone else s mind and eyes. It is an interesting sensation when you are able to stand looking at these paintings and wonder what the artist was thinking and feeling as they completed this masterpiece. | . |
Then we caught a bite to eat at a cafe. It was a simple a la carte cafe, I got to check off another food off my “to-try-in-Russia” list. It was also great, it was like a yeast roll with cabbage and mushrooms baked into the center. I loved it. After our stomachs were full we headed to our last activity of the evening, which was a show at the Clown Theater called old school. The show was great in my opinion, it was a pantomime parody about the school system and the harshness of the outcome of the exams. There were other jokes but they were a little harder to understand with knowing the politics and the language. I thought it was a great show and I thought it was appropriate given the fact that we are all aspiring teachers.
After everything we did today my feet wanted to fall off and I was tired but I enjoyed the day none-the-less. It would seem that Russian people really put great emphasis on their culture. When you walk the city you see so much historical landmarks and entertainment wise you don't see as many movie theaters or malls, they are there but not as obvious or prominent as in the US. I think that in Russia social issues and history are part of everyday conversation and people would rather talk (or joke) about real and relevant topic rather than avoid them like it has become so easy to do in the States now-a-days. Music is also a big source of entertainment here. I think it is a good thing because it kind of made me feel more connected to the human aspect of the city. I feel that I really could see what was important to the people who live here. Of course, I realize that this was a lot in a very touristy part of the city so it may be targeting those feelings, but still all these museums are right in the middle of this big city... it would certainly seem to be an important aspect that they want to show the world!