So, as I left off from the last post, we were waiting around in the hostel when Samwise came back. He told us about his adventures as he made his way back through that damn wind back to the Apple Hostel. We started talking with Alex some more and found out that he was planning on going out to a club with his friend Diana (the St. Petersburg friend). he asked if we wanted to go and, while I'd never been to a club before, I figured it would be a good learning experience.
First we went down to Кофе Хауз to have a drink and figure out where we were going to go. Diana told us that none of the clubs are really going to be open until 11 o'clock, so we went to a bar to pass the time. We stayed there until a little bit after midnight, and then the fun part started. We left the bar and basically started wandering, because even Diana didn't know where we were going exactly. Nathan and Alex took the point for some reason and started going in one direction, with the rest of us trailing. After a little while, Diana asked someone where the club's street is, and as it turns out, we needed to turn right about three blocks back.
Diana let the front guys know their error, and so we started back until we found that street, which was a pretty scary, dark, kind of run down road. In fact, that's something I've noticed about Russia - Moscow in particular - that is, that looks can be deceiving. What looks like a scary ass murder hold-in-the-wall could turn out to be a really classy 5-star restaurant. It's weird.
So eventually we found the club (it was called like L7 or something, I couldn't really read the sign) and got in this like, waiting square with chains around it. Anyway, once we got in, we checked our coats, and the game was on I guess. Nathan and Alex started trying to talk to some girls. They were talking with a couple of girls within a few minutes, that is until Diana's friend at the club walked up to them and explained that "That girl is my friend's girlfriend, and that girl is my other friend's girlfriend." They took the hint.
Meanwhile, Samwise got into the thick of things pretty quickly. I did not anticipate that kid being that confident on the dance floor. Whether he should have, I don't know, but that didn't really matter, since he had a dance partner for the night about an hour into the excursion and was making friends with random Russian dudes. At one point he even got on stage and yelled along with the songs...including the Russian ones (hint: Samwise doesn't know Russian THAT well).
And in the midst of all of this was my sitting in my corner nice and quiet. I'm an extremely shy person in public, so naturally a club would be about the least comfortable place for me (well, maybe a nudist convention would be a little more uncomfortable...oh man, a nudist club...ergh). Anyway, Nate Dogg and Alex kept trying to get me to come out on the dance floor, to which I politely said no effing way.
Eventually we got a couple of couches, so I sat down and started to get a little more comfortable and bob my head a little as songs that I knew started to come on. The closest I came to really going out and dancing was when Ride Wit Me came on, but I pretty much just dance to that one in my seat. That's kind of how the night went, but it was definitely a good experience, even though not a whole lot happened on my end. First time's always the toughest I guess.
Note: We went to another bar/club place yesterday, and I guess I kind of came out of my shell a little more. I will consider retelling that story as well, with pictures and video this time (at least, that's if I can get the videos from my friend).
Anyway, that was the last of the interesting things that happened at St. Petersburg. the entirety of day 3 was spent either relaxing or going to check out this big, expensive mall. My ankle was really screwed up from my boots and wearing two pairs of socks, so I couldn't walk far. I just wanted to relax, waste, time and get back to Moscow. I think that it was largely because of the weather at the time, but I strongly prefer Moscow to St. Petersburg. I'm sure the summer in St. Pete is great, but this sure as hell ain't summer.
However, even though I can't retell anymore good stories, I can talk a little bit about our living situation - that is, the hostel itself. Now, like the majority of Americans, my only experience with the word had to do with a particularly gruesome and terrifying (if you're staying in one) movie involving a lot of murder and pain. Naturally, our experience wasn't quite like the movie Hostel.
In fact, my favorite part of St. Pete (after the Hermitage and stuff) was the people we met. Of course I've already talked about Alex, but pretty much everyone we met there was very friendly and open to chat. We met a Canadian guy who speaks Ukrainian and his girlfriend (who argued with him ALL THE TIME over incredibly minor things. Even if she wasn't really disagreeing with him, she still disagreed. "No, well, yeah, but no!") We talked with a couple of Russian girls from Moscow who spoke almost no English. We watched part of the Russia/Czechoslovakia Olympic Hockey match (though I didn't get to see Ovechkin crush Jagr live, unfortunately).
The attendants were also very helpful (not to mention that a couple of the female ones were extremely attractive. Hey...they were). Whenever we needed help finding a place, they were happy to help. They chatted with us, and they let us hang around and leave our stuff there on Day 3 even though we weren't going to be staying that night.
Overall, it was a pretty good, but not great experience, though I think I would have enjoyed it about 10x more if it was warmer.
Sunday, February 28, 2010
St. Petersburg Day 2
Day one in St. Petersburg wasn't too bad - we saw a bunch of cool art and we found a famous statue - so I figured that day two would be just as good. Not so much.
But before I get into the meat of the day, we had a new roommate in our hostel room. We got acquainted a little bit before we decided to do anything. His name was Alex and he was visiting his friend in St. Petersburg for a few days from London. He was 18 years old, so he was younger than any of us, but that didn't stop him from being a really cool dude.
So after got all got to know each other a little bit, we invited Alex to come with us to the Peter and Paul Fortress - a large enclosed area on a sort of island in the middle of the Neva river. So once we got ready, we set off and learned very quickly that today was going to be a little bit colder than the day before. Like, a lot colder. See, the thing isn't so much that the base temperature is that much colder than in Moscow, there's just so much damn wind. But even given the wind, it wasn't excruciatingly bad walking...yet.
I say yet because, of course, by the time we got to the bridges that lead to the fortress, it felt like someone was taking knives to my face it was so cold. We fought our way to a souvenir shop to warm up and then continued our journey. Eventually we reached the fortress, but we couldn't figure out how to get in. There was a fork in the road, we went right. About 13 minutes later we came back and went left.
Once we figured out how to get in, we wander around in the freezing courtyard until we found the ticket office. Nathan and I showed out student cards, which allowed us to get our tickets to 5 of the museums/places in the fortress for free. Samwise forgot his student card, so he had to pay. Nathan and I teased him about it and and then headed across the street to the Peter and Paul Cathedral, where Czar Nicholas II and his family are buried.
The actual room containing the Czar and his family. You're not allowed in there.
But before I get into the meat of the day, we had a new roommate in our hostel room. We got acquainted a little bit before we decided to do anything. His name was Alex and he was visiting his friend in St. Petersburg for a few days from London. He was 18 years old, so he was younger than any of us, but that didn't stop him from being a really cool dude.
So after got all got to know each other a little bit, we invited Alex to come with us to the Peter and Paul Fortress - a large enclosed area on a sort of island in the middle of the Neva river. So once we got ready, we set off and learned very quickly that today was going to be a little bit colder than the day before. Like, a lot colder. See, the thing isn't so much that the base temperature is that much colder than in Moscow, there's just so much damn wind. But even given the wind, it wasn't excruciatingly bad walking...yet.
I say yet because, of course, by the time we got to the bridges that lead to the fortress, it felt like someone was taking knives to my face it was so cold. We fought our way to a souvenir shop to warm up and then continued our journey. Eventually we reached the fortress, but we couldn't figure out how to get in. There was a fork in the road, we went right. About 13 minutes later we came back and went left.
Once we figured out how to get in, we wander around in the freezing courtyard until we found the ticket office. Nathan and I showed out student cards, which allowed us to get our tickets to 5 of the museums/places in the fortress for free. Samwise forgot his student card, so he had to pay. Nathan and I teased him about it and and then headed across the street to the Peter and Paul Cathedral, where Czar Nicholas II and his family are buried.
The actual room containing the Czar and his family. You're not allowed in there.After we exitted the cathedral we wandered around aimlessly (seriously, the little signposts do not help AT ALL when it comes to finding the next important place - "Yeah, it's in that general direction...") for a little while and found a statue of a man sitting who had very strage proportions, if the statue is to be believed as accurate.
Seriously, that's one tiny ass head for a guy that big.
Seriously, that's one tiny ass head for a guy that big.Eventually we found another one of the five places we had tickets for (after the cathedral it was all museums). After lookign through and then checking out a nearby souvenir shop (where I bought a St. Petersburg stein), Alex told us that he had to leave to meet his St. Pete friend. Samwise, Nathan, and I continued to the third building, after which Samwise told us that he forgot his camera.
Just a couple of museum pictures.
Of course, Nathan and I continued to the next museum. Once we finished up in there, we realized that we had absolutely no idea where Samwise was. We went back to the last museum, where the little old lady at the coatroom said that he cameback, found his camera and left to who knows where.
We knew that he wanted to see the space museum here, so we headed there next. While we did see some cool space shuttle replicas and a little section dedicated to Yuri Gagarin (a Russian hero - he was actually the very first person in space. Wonder why we don't hear much bout that in America...), we didn't find Samwise, so we decided to walk around the entirety of the courtyard to see if we could find him. Twenty minutes later, nothing.
A space dog and a space suit.
At that point we were tired and figured that Samwise would find his own way back, so we left via a direct bridge (DAMNIT! Wish we'd known about that when we were trying to get in) and (eventually) found the metro, which we took to a stop near the hostel.
We were settled in drinking tea when, about half an hour later, Samwise walks in. Apparently he went to a mosque that he wanted to see and than walked the entire hour+ back to the hostel.
Samwise's mosque (we'd gone there to look for him, too).
Later that night, we went to a club (first time in my life), but since day three was pretty darn boring, I'll talk about that in the next entry.
Just a couple of museum pictures.Of course, Nathan and I continued to the next museum. Once we finished up in there, we realized that we had absolutely no idea where Samwise was. We went back to the last museum, where the little old lady at the coatroom said that he cameback, found his camera and left to who knows where.
We knew that he wanted to see the space museum here, so we headed there next. While we did see some cool space shuttle replicas and a little section dedicated to Yuri Gagarin (a Russian hero - he was actually the very first person in space. Wonder why we don't hear much bout that in America...), we didn't find Samwise, so we decided to walk around the entirety of the courtyard to see if we could find him. Twenty minutes later, nothing.
A space dog and a space suit.At that point we were tired and figured that Samwise would find his own way back, so we left via a direct bridge (DAMNIT! Wish we'd known about that when we were trying to get in) and (eventually) found the metro, which we took to a stop near the hostel.
We were settled in drinking tea when, about half an hour later, Samwise walks in. Apparently he went to a mosque that he wanted to see and than walked the entire hour+ back to the hostel.
Samwise's mosque (we'd gone there to look for him, too).Later that night, we went to a club (first time in my life), but since day three was pretty darn boring, I'll talk about that in the next entry.
Saturday, February 20, 2010
St. Petersburg Day 1
Right now, Russia is enjoying a 4 day weekend that lasts until February 23, which is Defenders of the Motherland Day (Men's day). I decided, along with Nathan and Sam(wise), to go to St. Petersburg for the long weekend.
The waiting room at the Moscow train station.
Our train left on the 19th at around 12:30 at night, so we were able to sleep through the majority of the ride. And sleep I did. I woke up at around 7:30, got ready with Nathan (we got bunks right next to each other, and got my backpack ready to exit the train. Once the train arrived, we headed for exit, expecting to see Sam along the way. As it turned out, Sam somehow slept right through all of the announcements and music that went on at the end of the ride, meaning that we had to wake him up and wait for him to get ready.
We eventually exited the train and got our first experience of St. Petersburg. It didn't look all that good. And it was pretty cold.
We wandered around for a while, looking for the Apple Hostel, which would be our residence for the next three days. After 20 minutes (that becomes worse when you realize that the hostel is about one block from the train station), we found the big, green sign and made our way up the stairs to our new abode.
After getting set up and asking the attendant what some good sites are in the city, we set out for the Hermitage. Now, the distance looked must smaller on the map. It took up about an hour to walk from our hostel to the Hermitage, but eventually we found it (it's kind of impossible to miss, being bright green and yellow and gigantic). We made our way in, found the ticket window, and got our free tickets (it's nice to be a student sometimes).
I also bought a ticket that allowed me to take photos, and boy did I ever. My sim card can hold about 870 pictures when empty. By the time Nathan and I (because we lost Sam about 10 minutes into the ordeal) made our way through the whole museum - which tookd 2 1/2 hours - I had taken something in the neighborhood of 300+ photos. Yes, there is really THAT MUCH stuff there. Here's just a taste.
After the Hermitage (in which we were unable to find Sam), Nathan and I headed back to the hostel, where we waited about 5 minutes before Sam walked in. After drinking some free tea, we checked in and set off again to find the Bronze Horseman - the statue of Peter the Great made legendary by a Puskin poem, in which the Horseman comes to life and chases a man through St. Petersburg.
The Bronze Horseman.
We made it there without much issue, though the cold was starting to be an issue. After a few pictures and stumbles, we spotted a church across the street and decided that we would check it out. BAD IDEA.
The area around the seemed to be a catalyst for insane winds and so we were pelted by snow and had our faces almost burned off by the wind. We fought our way around the church, trying to find the ticket counter, at which point we just decided that it's not worth it and headed back to our warm rooms. The wind didn't subside too much and we suffered for the entire hour.
I never thought I'd wish for the divine warmth of Moscow, but boy do I ever. Only two more days.
The waiting room at the Moscow train station.Our train left on the 19th at around 12:30 at night, so we were able to sleep through the majority of the ride. And sleep I did. I woke up at around 7:30, got ready with Nathan (we got bunks right next to each other, and got my backpack ready to exit the train. Once the train arrived, we headed for exit, expecting to see Sam along the way. As it turned out, Sam somehow slept right through all of the announcements and music that went on at the end of the ride, meaning that we had to wake him up and wait for him to get ready.
We eventually exited the train and got our first experience of St. Petersburg. It didn't look all that good. And it was pretty cold.
We wandered around for a while, looking for the Apple Hostel, which would be our residence for the next three days. After 20 minutes (that becomes worse when you realize that the hostel is about one block from the train station), we found the big, green sign and made our way up the stairs to our new abode.
After getting set up and asking the attendant what some good sites are in the city, we set out for the Hermitage. Now, the distance looked must smaller on the map. It took up about an hour to walk from our hostel to the Hermitage, but eventually we found it (it's kind of impossible to miss, being bright green and yellow and gigantic). We made our way in, found the ticket window, and got our free tickets (it's nice to be a student sometimes).
I also bought a ticket that allowed me to take photos, and boy did I ever. My sim card can hold about 870 pictures when empty. By the time Nathan and I (because we lost Sam about 10 minutes into the ordeal) made our way through the whole museum - which tookd 2 1/2 hours - I had taken something in the neighborhood of 300+ photos. Yes, there is really THAT MUCH stuff there. Here's just a taste.
After the Hermitage (in which we were unable to find Sam), Nathan and I headed back to the hostel, where we waited about 5 minutes before Sam walked in. After drinking some free tea, we checked in and set off again to find the Bronze Horseman - the statue of Peter the Great made legendary by a Puskin poem, in which the Horseman comes to life and chases a man through St. Petersburg.
The Bronze Horseman.We made it there without much issue, though the cold was starting to be an issue. After a few pictures and stumbles, we spotted a church across the street and decided that we would check it out. BAD IDEA.
The area around the seemed to be a catalyst for insane winds and so we were pelted by snow and had our faces almost burned off by the wind. We fought our way around the church, trying to find the ticket counter, at which point we just decided that it's not worth it and headed back to our warm rooms. The wind didn't subside too much and we suffered for the entire hour.
I never thought I'd wish for the divine warmth of Moscow, but boy do I ever. Only two more days.
Stalin's Bunker
Wonder who that is?It was a little bit colder than usual, and since we were meeting at the school, we were going be experiencing the cold as a group. We got together at 3 o'clock in the afternoon and set off for the metro. We went to the station about Ismailovo, crossed some streets and got to some run-down alley that ended with a big iron gate. Through the gate was a large snowy area with three tanks on a ridge.
Some war uniforms near the beginning of the bunker.We walked down some stairs up to a door and Lena talked with a guy who looked a hell of a lot like Vladimir Putin himself. We went in, put our hats and coats up, and started to wader around the entrance hall. At the end of the hall was a large, circular table, with a good 30 or so chairs. In the middle is a circle area where someone would speak (the acoustics in the middle are incredible - it sounds like you're in one of those trippy 70s music videos.
Putin gave us a quick history lecture, which would turn out to be my favorite part of the whole thing. Why? Because he told us some stuff about WW2 from Russia's perspective. I'd always been told that the reason for Germany's defeat in Russia was simply the incredible cold. Wrong. As it turns out, Russia knew that Japan was focusing its forces on China and on the United States. With this information, Russian took a gamble and moved all of the troops from Siberia to Moscow. When the Germans got to Moscow, they met a force much, much larger than they could have possibly expected. Hence, their defeat. Of course the cold played a role, but it was about the third most important factor.
After that, Putin led us into Stalin's personal office, in which there was, of course, a large bust of the man himself, as well as a desk (with a revolving bookshelf next to the desk), a large map detailing the current WW2 situation, and a big chess-like game for four people.
Stalin's like...chess-like game. Each piece is a kind of vehicle.
"I can't keep the people from loving me."The last room we got to see (there is much more to the bunker, but Putin said that the majority of it is dark and wet) was a bar-type room. There were barrels lining the room and Georgian banners (Stalin was Georgian) along the ceiling. In cases along the wall closest to the door was all kinds of Stalin stuff.
Stalin stuff.
The replica of the victory medal. Apparently the real ones were all platinum with diamonds and stuff.It was only after we left that I learned that Nathan had gone around picking things up and going into rooms he wasn't supposed to when Putin wasn't looking. He's got a picture of himself in a WW2 helmet with an AK-47 in his hands that I'm sure our guide wouldn't like. Oh well. Maybe some day I'll go back and see a soccer game in the stadium that was build to disguise the bunker. Maybe.
Nathan's equipmentSunday, February 14, 2010
Maslenitsa: Pt. Deux
First off, I decided that I am going to go with some other people here to St. Petersburg for next weekend, so I should have some good stuff to talk about when I get back. Anyways, back to the butter week...
Today we went on another Maslenitsa-based excursion. This one was much bigger (like WAYYYYYY bigger), but it was also much, much less enjoyable. I won't have a whole ton to say about it, because we had to leave early...but ANYWAY...
I left a little bit later than everyone else did (except for Nathan, of course, who is always a good 15 minutes late). I left at about 1:10 (needed to get to Pushkinskaya by 2). I got there just on time, met up Lena, Jenson and Margaret (yeah, you don't know who they are - they're a couple more students at GRINT). We waited for about 12 minutes more for Nathan to show up and we left the metro.
Lena wasn't sure when the parade for Maslenitsa would be - as it turns out, it took place about 15-25 minutes before we left the metro...so when I got there. When we got to the street, there was a surprising amount of nothing. That doesn't sound interesting, but when Tverskaya (the main road in Moscow) is devoid of cars, that's something. What I could see, though, was a ton of small groups of people all making their way to the Red Square, all hungering for the fresh taste of free blini.
That was just a taste of what I was going to see, though. As we got closer to the entrance to Red Square, I could see an insane number of people trying to get to the blini. Mind you, this is just the entrance to the Red Square - the blini are on the OTHER SIDE of Red Square, near St. Basil's.
Yeah, that black stuff is people.
Me in front of a Maslenitsa doll, with my new hat.
People were trying to get blini from any tent they could get to. In fact, Nathan went as soon as we got there to get some blini, and actually was the victim of some discrimination. Apparently, he got on line and worked his way to the front relatively quickly, but the lady serving heard him talking to an English woman while he was on line and when he came up to order, she would look at him with a glare and then move on the the person behind him. He said that he was ready to leave after she did this a few times, but a couple of Russians held him and yelled at the lady to serve him (seriously, I don't know what this crap about Russians being mean is - I've had nothing but good experiences with the average Russian; they just look mean). And so he wound up getting his $6 ham and cheese blini and a story to tell everyone back home.
Poor Nathan (right in the middle of the picture - black coat and black hat with gray fur) - he never knew what hit him.
Today we went on another Maslenitsa-based excursion. This one was much bigger (like WAYYYYYY bigger), but it was also much, much less enjoyable. I won't have a whole ton to say about it, because we had to leave early...but ANYWAY...
I left a little bit later than everyone else did (except for Nathan, of course, who is always a good 15 minutes late). I left at about 1:10 (needed to get to Pushkinskaya by 2). I got there just on time, met up Lena, Jenson and Margaret (yeah, you don't know who they are - they're a couple more students at GRINT). We waited for about 12 minutes more for Nathan to show up and we left the metro.
Lena wasn't sure when the parade for Maslenitsa would be - as it turns out, it took place about 15-25 minutes before we left the metro...so when I got there. When we got to the street, there was a surprising amount of nothing. That doesn't sound interesting, but when Tverskaya (the main road in Moscow) is devoid of cars, that's something. What I could see, though, was a ton of small groups of people all making their way to the Red Square, all hungering for the fresh taste of free blini.
That was just a taste of what I was going to see, though. As we got closer to the entrance to Red Square, I could see an insane number of people trying to get to the blini. Mind you, this is just the entrance to the Red Square - the blini are on the OTHER SIDE of Red Square, near St. Basil's.
Yeah, that black stuff is people.
Me in front of a Maslenitsa doll, with my new hat.We didn't really know where to go, so we just followed the river of people wherever they went: first down the street next to St. Basil's, then around a barricade back up the street, then around a corner, then around another corner, then around one more corner, back to the end of that street we came down the first time to a barricade of metal detectors. We went through and found an absurd number of people (probably around 4000 or so) crowding around tents, kiosks, and a stage. Speaking of the stage, there was a cool band playing that looked like they were out of the czar-era:
People were trying to get blini from any tent they could get to. In fact, Nathan went as soon as we got there to get some blini, and actually was the victim of some discrimination. Apparently, he got on line and worked his way to the front relatively quickly, but the lady serving heard him talking to an English woman while he was on line and when he came up to order, she would look at him with a glare and then move on the the person behind him. He said that he was ready to leave after she did this a few times, but a couple of Russians held him and yelled at the lady to serve him (seriously, I don't know what this crap about Russians being mean is - I've had nothing but good experiences with the average Russian; they just look mean). And so he wound up getting his $6 ham and cheese blini and a story to tell everyone back home.
Poor Nathan (right in the middle of the picture - black coat and black hat with gray fur) - he never knew what hit him.At that point, (George) Jenson and I had seen pretty much everything, so we were ready to get on out of there. So we did. But we learned that Russians get REALLY REALLY excited about Maslenitsa and free pancakes.
Some other nice little images from the festival:
Russian kids are so adorable all bundled up. This kid was swinging his maslenitsa balloon around for a good 3 or 4 minutes.
POLAR BEAR DRUMMER!!!
Free soup. Jenson and I gave up pretty early - they really wanted some soup.
And finally, a cute Russian girl (who actually isn't looking at me despite the way the picture looks) taking a picture with the most Russian of characters - Piglet and the big blue guy from Monsters inc.
Some other nice little images from the festival:
Russian kids are so adorable all bundled up. This kid was swinging his maslenitsa balloon around for a good 3 or 4 minutes.
POLAR BEAR DRUMMER!!!
Free soup. Jenson and I gave up pretty early - they really wanted some soup.
And finally, a cute Russian girl (who actually isn't looking at me despite the way the picture looks) taking a picture with the most Russian of characters - Piglet and the big blue guy from Monsters inc.Maslenitsa: Pt. 1
EDIT: I fixed the video (for anyone who already read the post). I guess I linked the same video for both Maslenitsa posts. Now you can actually see my incredible battle.
This past week was an important holiday week in Russia, Масленица (Maslenitsa), which began on Monday.
Maslenitsa literally means "butter week," and that's what you eat a lot of during the course of the week. Well, you eat a lot of stuff made with butter, anyway - namely, блини (blini) or pancakes. Maslenitsa is the week during which Russians say goodbye to winter and welcome spring. Blini are the perfect food for such an occasion due to the pancake's sun-like appearance.
Anyway, to commemorate this holiday week, we had two excursions - one on Wednesday, which took us to the Ismailova Kremlin for a first-hand explanation of Maslenitsa, and one today, where we went to the Red Square for the larger conclusion ceremony to the week. The first one would turn out to be much better, but I'll get to that soon.
On Wednesday, we met at the GRINT building and set off for the metro. We made our way to the Partizanskaya station (formerly Izmailovsky Park), got out, and walked to the Izmailovo market (a place with which I am very familiar at this point). Instead of going in, we turned left and headed for the Izmailovo Kremlin.
A building in the Kremlin courtyard.
Me inside the Kremlin.
Lena told us that they had arranged for us to have our own private session with...a clown?
That's our Maslenitsa guide.
She explained (through Lena) that there is a different activity/game for each day of Maslenitsa. The first one, for Monday, is kind of like...ring around the rosie I think? Our clown empress stood in the middle of a circle formed by our group of foreign students, yelling kiddie gibberish and pointing to a body part. Now, whatever body part she pointed to, we had to grab on the person to our right and continue to walk in a circle. That wasn't so bad when she pointed to the hand or the elbow, but then she moved to the nose...the butt...the shoe...the horror...
Other games were far less unique - like a tug of war between team Winter and team Spring (team Winter won! WOO!) and a race between two teams on one pair of skis each. Those were far less fun and interesting.
This is right before I fell on my face. Pro tip: Long jumps in the snow is not a sound strategy
However, one game that came up (which was my favorite) was a game where two males have to stand on one leg with both arms at their sides in a kind of Superman pose. Once in this position they have to duel and try and knock the other person to the ground without deviating from this stance (at least not too much). If I remember correctly, the winner gets to choose a woman to be his wife (or like, that's what you used to do, something like that).
Anyway, I took part in two battles - both with Sam(wise). The first duel was unexceptional. I misjudged how much grip my shoes could get on the snow, charged him when the match started and quickly lost my footing and fell. However, the Maslenitsa spirits heard my plea for a rematch, and I got my wish. The following footage depicts that second match.
I won.
After that the clown took us to a metal tree that looked a lot like the metal trees on a bridge in Moscow, on which newlyweds attach a lock to symbolize their love. This was a tree for making wishes, the clown explained. She said that we could all put our hands on the tree and make a wish. I wished for a good hat. (I'll explain why when I talk about Izmailovo).
The wish tree thing.
After that we went into the blini building, had some delicious blini and tea, and chatted with our clown.
And so our first Maslenitsa excursion was over, but...like, like I said, there was another one.
This past week was an important holiday week in Russia, Масленица (Maslenitsa), which began on Monday.
Maslenitsa literally means "butter week," and that's what you eat a lot of during the course of the week. Well, you eat a lot of stuff made with butter, anyway - namely, блини (blini) or pancakes. Maslenitsa is the week during which Russians say goodbye to winter and welcome spring. Blini are the perfect food for such an occasion due to the pancake's sun-like appearance.
Anyway, to commemorate this holiday week, we had two excursions - one on Wednesday, which took us to the Ismailova Kremlin for a first-hand explanation of Maslenitsa, and one today, where we went to the Red Square for the larger conclusion ceremony to the week. The first one would turn out to be much better, but I'll get to that soon.
On Wednesday, we met at the GRINT building and set off for the metro. We made our way to the Partizanskaya station (formerly Izmailovsky Park), got out, and walked to the Izmailovo market (a place with which I am very familiar at this point). Instead of going in, we turned left and headed for the Izmailovo Kremlin.
A building in the Kremlin courtyard.
Me inside the Kremlin.
That's our Maslenitsa guide.She explained (through Lena) that there is a different activity/game for each day of Maslenitsa. The first one, for Monday, is kind of like...ring around the rosie I think? Our clown empress stood in the middle of a circle formed by our group of foreign students, yelling kiddie gibberish and pointing to a body part. Now, whatever body part she pointed to, we had to grab on the person to our right and continue to walk in a circle. That wasn't so bad when she pointed to the hand or the elbow, but then she moved to the nose...the butt...the shoe...the horror...
Other games were far less unique - like a tug of war between team Winter and team Spring (team Winter won! WOO!) and a race between two teams on one pair of skis each. Those were far less fun and interesting.
This is right before I fell on my face. Pro tip: Long jumps in the snow is not a sound strategyHowever, one game that came up (which was my favorite) was a game where two males have to stand on one leg with both arms at their sides in a kind of Superman pose. Once in this position they have to duel and try and knock the other person to the ground without deviating from this stance (at least not too much). If I remember correctly, the winner gets to choose a woman to be his wife (or like, that's what you used to do, something like that).
Anyway, I took part in two battles - both with Sam(wise). The first duel was unexceptional. I misjudged how much grip my shoes could get on the snow, charged him when the match started and quickly lost my footing and fell. However, the Maslenitsa spirits heard my plea for a rematch, and I got my wish. The following footage depicts that second match.
I won.
After that the clown took us to a metal tree that looked a lot like the metal trees on a bridge in Moscow, on which newlyweds attach a lock to symbolize their love. This was a tree for making wishes, the clown explained. She said that we could all put our hands on the tree and make a wish. I wished for a good hat. (I'll explain why when I talk about Izmailovo).
The wish tree thing.And so our first Maslenitsa excursion was over, but...like, like I said, there was another one.
Sunday, February 7, 2010
THE place to have your corpse buried in Moscow...
...other than the Kremlin, of course, is the Новодевичье кладбище (Novodeviche cemetery).
One Saturday a couple of weeks ago, Nathan and I decided while everyone slept, that we wanted to do something and not sleep all day. I looked through my rough guide and the notes from my good подруга, Hannah, and told him that we should check out the Novodeviche cemetery - it's supposed to be huge and quite the sight.
So we set off, on our way to what we thought was the right metro station. We got off and looked at a map near the street, hoping to get our bearings and find out exactly where we needed to go to find the graveyard. After looking at the map and doing a few of those hand-in-front-of-your-chest-while-rotating-your-hips-and-looking-at-the-ground things, we set off down the road.
We kept walking straight for a while, and for the first few streets, it seemed like we were on the right track. That is, until we got to a point where there wasn't a street directly in front of us, as should have been the case based on the map. We decided to head down an alley, which curved and weaved, eventually leading to a large, multi-lane street. That certainly didn't seem right, so we turned left and headed down the road, hoping to catch a glimpse of some gold or something - anything that could help us find our way to the church.
After about 20 minutes of walking straight, seeing absolutely nothing that looked like a church or a graveyard, we gave up and headed back to the metro. We decided to try the next stop down from the one we had previously attempted. The map looked a little simpler since it should have taken us only a few turns to get to the church instead of walking straight for an undefined distance and then turn.
So we set off from the new metro, following our devised plan of motion. Ultimately we saw the all brick walls that signified the Novodeviche convent, meaning that the cemetery should be just behind the churches.
The Novodeviche convent.
We followed the red bricks until we found a gate and entered the somber field of monuments.
I knew from seeing some pictures that there were going to be some pretty elaborate monuments in the cemetery, but man...Russians put some major effort into their headstones. What is most interesting is that some of the most intricate and interesting tombs don't belong to those internationally known people. I'm sure some of them are famous in Russia, but some of the most impressive graves I saw bore names that I'd never seen in my life.
But anyway, before I get to those lesser-knowns, here is the first wave of pictures - these are those big names:
Just as you pass the first few rows of graves, you see one massive hunk of color off on it's own. That'd be Boris Yeltsin's grave. Yes, it IS a massive Russian flag, made to look like it's waving. It's pretty bad.
I guess it was supposed to be patriotic?
Speaking of former Soviet politicians, father back in the yard is the marker that represents Nikita Krushchev's final resting place.
The head sitting there sans body is kind of intimidating, no?
Anton Chekhov. Contemporary of Tolstoy and pretty influential in the world of theater.
Nikolai Gogol. He's that guy whose name seems to come up once you get past the Tolstoys, Pushkins and Dostoevskys in terms of the great Russian writers (At least as far as I've heard...need to get some of his stuff). Also had an awesome hair/mustache combo.
Probably the most recognizable statue in the cemetery. I forget whose grave it is.
The rest are simply graves that I found to be of particular interest. I didn't know who any of them were, but the level of detail in some of the graves makes me wish I did.
These pictures also give you some level of knowledge of just how much Russians love honoring the dead, be it at statues of poets or writers or others. I know we do such things in America as well, but it just seems like it's on another level in Russia.
This next picture in particular struck me. I have no idea who this is, but the amount of flowers, scarves and such was simply astounding.
We stayed for about an hour or so and saw maybe 20% of the graves there (that might be a generous estimate). Granted, many of them are more boring, but really, the place is humongous and filled with many, many, many more impressive monuments. I figure I'll be going back soon. Other than Yeltsin's grave, the level of respect for the dead there is fascinating to see.
The only question I had in leaving was - if one were to go in the summer, when the snow has thawed...would it detract from the experience or add to it or simply be a different experience altogether?
One Saturday a couple of weeks ago, Nathan and I decided while everyone slept, that we wanted to do something and not sleep all day. I looked through my rough guide and the notes from my good подруга, Hannah, and told him that we should check out the Novodeviche cemetery - it's supposed to be huge and quite the sight.
So we set off, on our way to what we thought was the right metro station. We got off and looked at a map near the street, hoping to get our bearings and find out exactly where we needed to go to find the graveyard. After looking at the map and doing a few of those hand-in-front-of-your-chest-while-rotating-your-hips-and-looking-at-the-ground things, we set off down the road.
We kept walking straight for a while, and for the first few streets, it seemed like we were on the right track. That is, until we got to a point where there wasn't a street directly in front of us, as should have been the case based on the map. We decided to head down an alley, which curved and weaved, eventually leading to a large, multi-lane street. That certainly didn't seem right, so we turned left and headed down the road, hoping to catch a glimpse of some gold or something - anything that could help us find our way to the church.
After about 20 minutes of walking straight, seeing absolutely nothing that looked like a church or a graveyard, we gave up and headed back to the metro. We decided to try the next stop down from the one we had previously attempted. The map looked a little simpler since it should have taken us only a few turns to get to the church instead of walking straight for an undefined distance and then turn.
So we set off from the new metro, following our devised plan of motion. Ultimately we saw the all brick walls that signified the Novodeviche convent, meaning that the cemetery should be just behind the churches.
The Novodeviche convent.
I knew from seeing some pictures that there were going to be some pretty elaborate monuments in the cemetery, but man...Russians put some major effort into their headstones. What is most interesting is that some of the most intricate and interesting tombs don't belong to those internationally known people. I'm sure some of them are famous in Russia, but some of the most impressive graves I saw bore names that I'd never seen in my life.
But anyway, before I get to those lesser-knowns, here is the first wave of pictures - these are those big names:
Just as you pass the first few rows of graves, you see one massive hunk of color off on it's own. That'd be Boris Yeltsin's grave. Yes, it IS a massive Russian flag, made to look like it's waving. It's pretty bad.
I guess it was supposed to be patriotic?Speaking of former Soviet politicians, father back in the yard is the marker that represents Nikita Krushchev's final resting place.
The head sitting there sans body is kind of intimidating, no?Then, of course, any large gathering of Russians (even if they're dead) requires the presence of some world-famous writers.
Mikhail Bulgakov - writer of The Master and Margarita. Damn good book. Damn weird book. Book that I can't seem to make myself read except when I'm on the metro.
Mikhail Bulgakov - writer of The Master and Margarita. Damn good book. Damn weird book. Book that I can't seem to make myself read except when I'm on the metro.
Anton Chekhov. Contemporary of Tolstoy and pretty influential in the world of theater.
Nikolai Gogol. He's that guy whose name seems to come up once you get past the Tolstoys, Pushkins and Dostoevskys in terms of the great Russian writers (At least as far as I've heard...need to get some of his stuff). Also had an awesome hair/mustache combo.
Probably the most recognizable statue in the cemetery. I forget whose grave it is.The rest are simply graves that I found to be of particular interest. I didn't know who any of them were, but the level of detail in some of the graves makes me wish I did.
These pictures also give you some level of knowledge of just how much Russians love honoring the dead, be it at statues of poets or writers or others. I know we do such things in America as well, but it just seems like it's on another level in Russia.
This next picture in particular struck me. I have no idea who this is, but the amount of flowers, scarves and such was simply astounding.
We stayed for about an hour or so and saw maybe 20% of the graves there (that might be a generous estimate). Granted, many of them are more boring, but really, the place is humongous and filled with many, many, many more impressive monuments. I figure I'll be going back soon. Other than Yeltsin's grave, the level of respect for the dead there is fascinating to see.
The only question I had in leaving was - if one were to go in the summer, when the snow has thawed...would it detract from the experience or add to it or simply be a different experience altogether?
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