We were finally in Saint Petersburg, rested and ready to explore! The weekend was jam-packed with fun and interesting adventures. On the first day that we were in the city Elena and Nastia took us to Catherine’s Palace. The drive there was interesting. The driver seemed to go fairly fast and passed many cars along the way. Apparently, it is not uncommon to play chicken on the highway!! During this drive Elena told us of the famous Russian Poet who wrote beautiful poetry and fairy tales, Alexander Pushkin. He is a very famous writer here in Russia. With his popularity here, I was surprised that we had never heard of him in the United States. The question that is most often asked is, “Do you know any Russian artist or Writers” and my answer is almost always no. Even the one Russian writer that I did know, I did not even know that he was Russian. This is Tolstoy who wrote “War and Peace.” It makes me want to, first, go back and actually read Tolstoy, and second explore other creators from this part of the world!
What an introduction to Russian culture?! It was absolutely amazing, the opulence could not be captured by any photograph. The feeling that over takes you as you walk into each room is indescribable. The building and room inside were all of the Baroque or classical style and the colors were bright and vibrant. The massive murals on the walls and ceilings were beautiful and breath-taking. On our tour, we saw pictures of the destruction that had ravaged the palace during World War II, Elena pointed out the talent of the restorers and how they had managed to restore the paintings very close their original splendor! The talent of not only the original creators but also those charged with repairing and maintaining such amazing works of art is, indeed, something to be admired. Walking through the palace really gave you an impression of how the Imperial family tried to compete with the glamor of other European royalty of the time. Also, you can understand why their indulgences may have contributed to the revolution and the appeal of Communist ideas. The luxury of this palace was just amazing. It's almost like walking through a door to the past! It gives you a greater appreciation for culture and history. There are few places in the States where you are able to go and be so close to the past.
After Catherine's Palace we went to lunch at a very beautiful restaurant. The building itself was closer to a log cabin, and had in fact been made out of a house. The meal was ordered in advance and their were about five courses. Boy, was the food delicious! Of course the added bonus was they offered endless water, wine and vodka (I may have indulged a little bit here... maybe :D)!! We started with appetizers, there was pickled vegetables, tomato halves with a cream cheese spread on top, and bread with a beef and sour cream dip. The pickled veggies interesting, of course they had pickles, but also there was pickled tomatoes, garlic and something similar to scallions in the bowl. I tried a bit of everything except the tomatoes, the garlic was not so bad it had a bit of a kick and I would definitely be able to fend of any vamps that came my way. The scallion like veggies were VERY strong I wasn't really prepared for the taste. I can't even describe the taste... maybe like eating very potent scallions while taking a swig of straight vinegar. Not my favorite, to say the least! The beef dish, called Julienne, had mushrooms, fresh cranberries, sour cream and dill in it. It was quite delicious! You could eat it by itself or on bread. Next came the Borscht it was so tasty. It's a very simple dish with broth, pickled beets and some other seasonings.Generally, it has beef in it but this time ours didn't, because Edward is a vegetarian. Its taste is not harsh or strong like some might suggest. I liked it a lot. I would even go so far as to say that this was the highlight of the meal for me! The main course was cabbage rolls, that reminded me of meatloaf wrapped in boiled cabbage. It tastes better than it sounds I swear! To finish the meal off we a Russian pancake, which is similar to a crepe, filled with cranberry and accompanied by vanilla ice cream and drizzled with honey.
What an experience, the food was delectable and the atmosphere was impressive. It was a long day and I think by the time dinner rolled around not many of us were hungry. That's when we realized that in order to get any food, we would have to test out our Russian. All day, I had experienced the difficulties of not speaking the language. Luckily, our guide was exceptionally helpful and I didn't have the need to speak to many other people but even just the general communication using things like: please and thank you or excuse me were difficult because those automatic reactions are in English and now I had to think about how to say those phases in Russian. It definitely pushed me out of my comfort zone. It was especially difficult because of my fear of being in correct.
The first day was not so bad we saw a lot of beauty and ate a lot of great food. I decided I should work harder on my attempts to speak Russian. Tomorrow will be another busy day, I am still very excited about the days to come. I love to travel and this is such a wonderful experience!
The first day was not so bad we saw a lot of beauty and ate a lot of great food. I decided I should work harder on my attempts to speak Russian. Tomorrow will be another busy day, I am still very excited about the days to come. I love to travel and this is such a wonderful experience!