Novgorod
Wednesday morning we boarded a bus to Novgorod, the medieval capital of northern Russia. When we got there, we toured the Kremlin and St. Sophia's cathedral. One thing I definitely didn't realize about Russia beforing going there is that there is more than one Kremlin (though the one in Moscow is THE Kremlin I think)...and that the Kremlin isn't one building. It's more like a fortress with several buildings meant for government use and then churches. Here's the outside wall of Novgorod's Kremlin and St. Sophia's church:
In the afternoon we visited a monastery where Jon's friend Father Dimitry is a monk. This was the most fascinating part of our visit. Jon translated for him because he speaks little English, but he was still so articulate and had great metaphors. He said that at the end of all our lives, we have to pass an exam- an exam with God I think. And the exam consists of one question that is different for every person. Father Dimitry was trained as a mechanical engineer before he became a monk, so there's an extremely interesting combination of science and religion in his life. The monastery is situated around a lake that looked icy and crisp. It was a pretty setting and very peaceful.
Wednesday night marked my first experience on an overnight train. We took one from Novgorod to Moscow. The compartments we slept in are probably the size of a walk in closet, with four beds and a tiny table. There isn't a lot to do on an overnight train, especially with our limited space. We did make an excursion to the restaurant car, where we encountered the Russian "Shrek" hooker waitress I talked about in my previous post. After that, we'd seen enough, and went to get ready for bed. Going to sleep was actually a pretty pleasant experience because we had the window open, which allowed for fresh air and created nice white noise with the sound of the wind against the moving train. You could see all the stars since we were in the countryside. I popped in my headphones and listened to Midnight Train to Georgia and everything felt great...until we had to wake up at 5:15.
Moscow
When we arrived in Moscow, we went straight to our hotel and back to bed for a couple hours. When we awoke, it was time for a bus tour around the city. It took us an hour to get to Red Square because Moscow traffic is so bad. Red Square is a large open space surrounded by the Kremlin, a huge department store, St. Basil's cathedral, a museum, and the mausoleum where Lenin's body is on display. Even though most people (or most Americans) probably think of Red Scare when they hear Red Square, Red in old Russian actually means beautiful.
Straight ahead you see St. Basil's, on the left is the department store, and on the right is the Kremlin.
Once we were in the square, we went into the mausoleum to see Lenin's body. It was awesome. We were told not to speak at all as we descended down these really dark marble steps with (really cute) Russian guards every five feet motioning you which way to go...even though there was only one way to go. I found the perceived seriousness of the situation, along with the dark lighting, attractive but completely devoid of emotion guards, and the fact that we were going to see the preserved body of the dictator who first ruled the Soviet Union all very funny, and had to try very hard not to laugh as I walked through the mausoleum. We weren't allowed to actually stop and look at his body, we had to keep moving. So I only got a glimpse of Lenin, but he's not that big of a guy. Kind of short. Plus he's behind a glass box and you can really only see from his chest up.
Afterwards, we got back on the bus and went to a lookout point by Moscow State University where you can see the whole city. The view was a little hazy, but here it is at night:
Can't see a lot but the lights look cool.
Then we went to the cemetery where Yeltsin and Kruschev are buried. Then dinner, which was a very interesting experience. We split into groups and were paired with other Russian students who took us around the city and cooked us dinner. I was with another American and three Russians: Nadia, Max, and Vadim. We walked around for two hours before we made dinner, which was a little annoying only because we had been up since 5:15 and had already been touring all day. I was tired and hungry. But we eventually made our way to Nadia's house where we made dinner. We had vodka and chased it with pickles and salted/pickled tomatoes. Sounds weird, but it's actually not that bad. The salt kind of negates the liquor's taste. We talked throughout dinner and played charades. Then we got in Nadia's car and drove to the lookout point by the university again (which is why I have a picture of it at night) and then a monastery with a park and walking path around it. At this point though, I was really ready to get back to the hotel and go to bed. We finally did get back around 1 in the morning.
Funny anecdote: When we were getting lunch on Thursday, a kid on my trip was trying to go to the bathroom but he needed a code or something to unlock the door. Some people who spoke English were trying to help him figure it out and one of them said "Everything in Russia is under control, even the bathrooms." He said it as a joke, but it's so true! Russia is such a backwards country from what most people are used to, and it's based on obedience and control. I can't remember if I said this already, but before we got on the train to Moscow, or before we would enter a big building as a group, Jon would tell us to look serious and not talk so that our behavior wouldn't overwhelm the Russians and be more like what they're used to. So bizarre.
Friday was our last day in Moscow and it was very relaxing and fun. In the morning we toured the Kremlin, which isn't as cool as you'd expect it to be. Just a bunch of buildings you can't go into because they're for government use, and some churches. But at this point in the trip we'd seen about a million churches. We had the rest of the day off though and a group of us headed back towards the hotel to go to the outdoor market nearby it. From the outside it almost looked like a Russian Disneyland or something because it's a cluster of colorful castle-like houses and cottages. Here's a picture:
We wandered around, got kabobs, bought souvenirs. The weather was great- nice and sunny. We even met an American family visiting their son who is studying abroad in Moscow. Then we got ice cream and parted ways to relax before the farewell dinner in the city.
The dinner was so much fun. Wine and vodka were abundant and a bunch of the Russians people had met the night before showed up later in the night, which called for even more vodka and wine. The next morning I woke up an hour late and a little dizzy, but otherwise felt fine. The Moscow airport was definitely an experience to remember. You have to go through security just to enter the airport at all. Then you have to go through security again with all your luggage. THEN you check in to your flight, drop off your luggage, and get your boarding pass. On to passport control, and finally regular security where you walk through the metal detectators and only have your carry on items. It was a process. Plus the bathrooms were foul. And Russia hasn't outlawed smoking inside. So airports, restaurants, you name it, are fair game. GROSS. The airport was also very poorly laid out-very small and narrow. Needless to say, it felt so good to touch back down in civilization and be welcomed by the hard-wood floors and Hugo Boss of Copenhagen airport. Going to Russia was an amazing experience that I'll probably won't get again, so I'm really glad I took advantage of it. But it is a country still tainted by its communist and Soviet history, and has a lot of catching up to do in terms of modernization.
I spent the next 24 hours relaxing, doing laundry, and re-packing for my flight to Geneva on Sunday. Next blog installment: my week with Cherin!
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