thitherward

Daria on Sanct Peterburg, Russia (Saint Petersburg):

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Daria was born and raised in “Piter” as the locals fondly call their city. Here is Egor, Daria’s boyfriend, on Piter after moving there:

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I met many new people while in St. Petersburg. Here is Galina’s insight:

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And Evgeny’s enthusiastic view on his city:

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Marina, about Moscow:

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St. Petersburg, fondly referred to as “Piter” by locals, was my last stop in Russia. It didn’t fail to impress me with just how different it is than other Russian cities and yet how still very distinctly Russian it is (though maybe more imperial Russia). At first, I was actually a little put out by how much the city caters to tourists and western/capitalistic trends like coffeeshops, large franchises, and advertising. This frightening version of Tchaikovsky (I think that’s what it was supposed to be) was emanating from the bells on top of St. Peter and Paul’s cathedral.

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However, I learned the true magic of St. Petersburg during the never-ending dusk of its summer white nights when the lights and shadows play with the architecture of the city.

To me, this city is about the arts.

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I saw the opera, Eugene Onegin, written by one of Russia’s most famous writers and set to Tchaikovsky’s music. I also saw the most amazing puppet theater show and was taken backstage to the props shop (thanks to a couchsurfer).

And to fully enjoy the artistic culture in this city, you need people to share it with. I met plenty of locals through couchsurfing and am amazed by the diversity of people I’ve met on my trip.

Dinner with Daria and Egor…
and their furless Donskoy Sphynx cat.

One day in Peter’s loft apartment (sleeping with his cat on the storage shelf).
Oh, and the old elevator in his building. He says seven people fit into this elevator this past new year’s eve. ?? I’m standing in the corner in this picture.

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A theater show and tea with Galina, difficult to describe in a few words but an amazingly free spirit.
I met up with Dunia (from Samara) again also.

Evgeny, whom Dunia and I met for coffee/tea.

See all the St. Petersburg pictures here on Flickr.

From the moment I landed in Russia, it has been about the people that I’ve met, more so than the places and history. Most of these people have wanted to leave their city or their country and travel/live elsewhere because of limitations in career paths or options for family growth and education. I can fully understand that desire as I, myself, emigrated to the United States in search of more opportunities and growth. Where every they end up, I believe that the Russia that they have lived in is a part of who they are now and, hopefully, they will be able to take this heritage with them.

The lazy pace of slow trains and sleepy Russian towns ended in Samara. It’s been a whirlwind of overnight trains and bigger cities with lots to see and do so I haven’t had time to upload pictures and put together a proper post. (Well, I did spend a full day on the internet while in Kazan because I missed my train and was too put out by it to do anything else in the city. I did manage to redo my City Soundscapes audio page so it links to the audio clips from a world map.)

It is a different Russia than what I’ve experienced in the past 2 months. I will write more about it… later. In the meantime, enjoy this picture of one of St. Petersburg’s bridges taken at 1:25am today, when they open the bridges of St. Petersburg every day to let larger ships pass through.

Cobalt sky with broken reflections coating choppy water. -Liz

Yes, it is possible to travel cheaply. I calculated that I averaged $45/day in the 4 days that I was in Moscow, and that includes the train trip to Moscow, all food, museums, and other random costs. Of course, I was staying with couchsurfers (though I did make a bountiful fruit salad on one evening) and didn’t buy any souvenirs. I visited 3 museums (saw the Christian Dior exhibit in one of them), walked the pedestrian walkways in the middle of Red Square (it struck me as funny that there was a crosswalk in the middle of a pedestrian square), and walked… a lot.

I decided to spend my first 3 hours in Moscow underneath the ground so I went straight from the train station to the Moscow Metro and toured the station architectures.
Coincidentally, I was doing this during rush hour on a Monday evening when everyone was trying to go home from work. Note that I waited for the platforms to clear before taking my pictures because I didn’t want to get killed by people not wanting their picture taken. This was the first time that I actually experienced the so-called Russian coldness and rudeness. I guess I can’t blame them when they live in Moscow and have to contend with 7 million other Metro commuters. The stations are remarkably clean and decorated but I don’t recommend doing this tour during rush hour.

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I also spent a lot of time looking up. I snuck a recording of some performers in one of the cathedrals.

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Here are some views from my perspective. Note the hideous sculpture of Peter the Great atop a tower of ships. I heard that this monument was originally intended to have Christopher Columbus on top of the ships but the American government refused the statue so Peter’s head was place on top of the statue person.

I saw morning drunks, pictured here passed out in front of the Russian State Library, one of the great institutions of Russian culture.

I ran into the Mouse again, though it was appropriate in this sculpture exhibit by Mihail Chemiakin about the vices of adults.

Thankfully, my couchsurfer host lived in a suburb of Moscow and spring/summer was in full bloom in their garden. It made the daily commute worth it just to get away from the business and pace of Moscow.

See all my Moscow pictures here on Flickr.

It was bound to happen at some point. However, with all the uncontrollable factors that surround traveling in foreign lands (dependence on public transportation, train/flight delays, unknown traffic patterns), it was something that was completely in my control that made me one minute late for my train. I was running to the platform as I saw the train pulling away. The thing that made me late was my Kazan couchsurf host’s gathering of multicultural, musically-gifted, and intellectual conversationalists. We represented Russia, Scotland, Israel, Switzerland, and America. I just didn’t want to leave their house too early! That and a combination of not knowing the bus schedule and not being able to walk quickly with my backpack.

Here’s a sample of the music created that day.

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At Marina and Aidan’s (my couchsurf hosts) ‘CS haven and internet cafe’, I had some of the best home-cooked gourmet meals with the help of Aidan’s spice cabinet and cookware. I even ventured into making a more difficult Persian dish (shirin polo) for one of the nights at their CS haven. They were hosting multiple travelers and there were always many people around to share the meals with.

But let me back-track a bit and talk about the rest of my stay in Kazan. I originally went to Kazan to see the Tatar Sabantuy festival but it wasn’t actually happening in Kazan until the week after my departure and the boat and bus tickets to the smaller village where it was being held during my stay were sold out. The Tatar muslim influence is very apparent in Kazan where the mosque in their Kremlin is actually bigger than the Orthodox cathedral. However, the architecture of historic mosques and cathedrals were so similar that I often couldn’t tell them apart except for the cross or crescent on their steeples.

Kazan is also a city on the Volga River so I and some fellow travelers from my initial hostel took the opportunity to take a river boat trip to Sviyazhsk, an ancient fortified island of Ivan the Terrible. Take note of happy-bubble-man on the boat.

See the full set of my Kazan pictures on Flickr to see the mix of old and new architecture, Tatarstan food, and some modern art sculptures that I really enjoyed.

Here is a parting picture – I had to press my own souvenir coin. *grin*

In Kazan, I continued to be amazed by how much Russians go out of their way to help and be hospitable. The owners of a hostel I stayed at gave me much advice for tours, navigating Russian websites and boat timetables, and their thoughts in Kazan, Russia.
Timur:

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Kate:

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I also stayed with some fantastic couchsurf hosts who introduced me to several other Kazan couchsurfers. Aidan, who is in Kazan because his love is here:

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Here is another couchsurfer, Maria’s, take on her city, Kazan:

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