Posts from the Road…
March 21, 2001 – St. Petersburg, Russia
Alive and well. The train ride from Helsinki, despite being way too early, was fine. There was a lot of attention during the border crossing and checking through people’s bags. My guess is that they were looking for meat products in reaction to the hoof and mouth scare currently raging in Europe.
The media and our media-skeptical relatives each paint a curiously similar unpleasant picture of Russia. All I can say is what I have seen. Upon arrival, we experienced cracked and uneven pavement, Bangkok rules of traffic crossing, gaping holes in the road, a broken tram blocking three lanes of traffic flavored with the pervasive aroma of exhaust. And that was just after two blocks. But, Russia has made up for less than positive first impressions. There are a world of things that need to be addressed, but to the visitor things are not as bad as one is led to believe at least on our experience so far. Watch this space. Opinions subject to dramatic changes.
It is still cold here. As cold as Helsinki, but I must have adapted as my tolerance for the cold has improved somewhat.
Wandered the city after we got in yesterday to get our bearings. Went down Nevsky Prospekt (Winter Palace to Moscow Station is a LONG way on foot), past the church of the Spilt Blood, got our tickets for the trip to Moscow. There is a lot to see here.
Today was the Hermitage museum. We will need about three more trips to see everything we had hoped to see. The building itself is as impressive (and with as much history) as the art it contains. The layout can best be described as dynamic, the maps, audio guides, and staff are frequently in conflict as to what rooms are open and what they contain. The only certainty was the Kolyvanskaya vase which was so huge they built the display room around it to reduce the desire to ever move it again.
Olga, thank you for your help with Russian. We are far from fluent, but even knowing the Cyrillic alphabet and how to sound things out is a godsend! Made the metro system MUCH easier.
The metro stations are quite nice here. I am looking forward to Moscow, where they are legendary.
Thank you for the postings! We read them at every chance we have.
March 21, 2001 (Day 14): Hotel St. Petersburg, St. Petersburg – 11pm
Health: Good. Collapsed into bed last night. I did not even change out of my clothes. Safe to say that I needed the sleep.
The day started with a solid breakfast of meats, cheese, pate, pickles, and oatmeal at the hotel. The perfect way to prepare for the harsh weather outside. The hotel restaurant where we have breakfast – only half of which is in use – contains a small pond and a large cage filled with singing birds. If all of the coffee in this country is indicative of what came out of the decanter at breakfast, I am sticking with the tea while I am here.
Glad that we had the foresight to take some Russian language lessons before the trip. I make no pretense as to our ability to communicate, but understanding the Cyrillic alphabet is a boon. It demystifies many things, not the least of which public transportation. Being able to sound things out helps some but does not equate to comprehension. I guess that I expect Russian to be English but in code.
Despite our difficulty in getting moving this morning, we managed to tour the Hermitage. It will take us another two trips to see everything – we spend the better part of the day there and we did not even make it to the third floor. We purchased the audio guide to supplement the visit although the route it sent up often led through rooms closed for renovation or chambers that exist only in the imagination.
The Hermitage is a gorgeous, opulent building brightly painted in white and pastels, accented with gold. It is a rare mix in a museum where I often had to refocus my attention from the features of the room itself or from the historical significance of the room towards the art contained within. One of my favorite rooms housed the Kolyvanskaya (or Kolyvan Vase). It took 11 years to make and 154 horses to haul it to the port to ship it to St. Petersburg. Once here, they enclosed the walls of the palace around it, presumably to liberate them from the need to ever have to move it again. We were fortunate to be able to see the clockwork peacock clock in action. The peacock’s head moved in such a lifelike way, there was an audible gasp from those watching.
The adventure of the Hermitage is that the audio guides, maps, and staff are locked in conflict as to what exhibits are open and where they are located. The pieces that I had hoped to see, the ‘Lost Treasures’ looted after the Second World War, were available for viewing only in the minds of some of the docents. The gravity contained in the gaze of the guards convinced me that these rooms were really closed to the public and that it was not in my best interest to continue trying to open this particular door. Perhaps next time.
One of the people from our bank at home has family in St. Petersburg. We tried to phone them today without success. It would have been great to have some local expertise. [Note: when we returned home, we spoke to our bank person who also expressed a challenge in contacting his family – they often have the dial-up internet on all evening.]
We must look enough like locals. Anna had a couple experiences today of people coming up to her and conversing in Russian.
Watching TV is a treat. There is a great 7UP commercial inspired by Goldeneye with a tuxedo-garbed kid driving a tank through a wall in order to retrieve his stolen soda. At the other extreme, there is the news story with a graphic showing only a Ford Ka and a moose. I am forced to use my imagination to infer the meaning behind this story – a rather dangerous circumstance.
Excerpts from Anna’s journal included.
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