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Kremlin:
Off to the Kremlin! I'm so excited! But first, we had a nice breakfast and a joint class with a group of Russian grad students in the social work program. We spent over an hour trading stories from our respective countries about social systems, educational systems, basic pay rates, and general similarities and differences in our 2 systems. Also, they had a PowerPoint with photos of some of their learning activities, including international exchange programs. Guess whose lab was included? Susan, Allison, and Rob were in my lab with Angelina, right in front of our wall of student photos. How cool is that? We took our own photos after that, with our group and the class there. The girls in our group asked one of the students how to say "cheese" in Russian (the photo word, not the food). Apparently the guy was teasing, but there was a chorus of "Sis-kee" when Angelina took the picture and startled laughter from the Russians. The guy who said it quickly told the girl what the joke was. Turns out, that word is slang for breasts t***). A chagrined Angelina ran over to us to make sure they knew what they had said and the other instructor looked a little pained. Guess what became an instant classic?
Morning adventures aside, it was time to go into the City. It was a long drive, which meant we had plenty of time to decide what we wanted for lunch, take pictures, sing (thanks, Josue!), and just hang out on the bus. We also saw a pink limo and tons of other stuff on the way. We were coming up on this awesome looking cathedral and I was killing myself trying to get pictures, when I realized that (as usual) Angelina had gotten us dropped off in a great spot for pictures. We took our fair share and then walked across the street to Red Square. St. Basil's Cathedral was huge and so ornate. It looks sort of like it was designed over a period of decades by a schizophrenic, but in the best possible way. I got a few pictures of it, but none of them do it justice. We came up a hill to the square and then went around the cathedral to continue toward the winter palace at the other end, passing the tomb of Lenin. The square is absolutely enormous, like the length of the mall at UD and 2-3 times as wide. I got all excited when I saw how big it was, but there was some kind of scaffolding in front of the church that was blocking any more pictures. The group mostly scattered to explore the square, but all ran toward the same building when the rain started. I had brought my umbrella though, so I stayed out, and Shirin had a hood. The rain mostly let up and we all moved toward the Kremlin entrance, until a sudden downpour herded us all into a small chapel. We moved out after a few minutes and took shelter in a tunnel until the rain cleared up. Angelina and the guides were trying to steer us toward the entrance gate, but we got distracted by the row of souvenir stalls. Tourists!
We finally got to the gate and went through security. I don't know what I was expecting when I heard we were going to visit the Kremlin, but this wasn't it. We walked through gorgeous gardens, up a path to something like a castle, and into another square bordered by huge churches. There were tall spires glinting in the sun, a large cobblestone path with a group of soldiers ambling across it, and these huge doorways to one of the buildings. The doorways were 2-3 stories high and very wide, with gorgeous paintings around the whole structure. It was stunning and people looked like ants when they stood in front of the doors--they were just that massive. We headed across the square to the Cathedral of the Archangel Michael, where we got to hear the resident monks sing as a chamber choir. They were fantastic and it was a little overwhelming to hear such beautiful music while surrounded by all the fabulous artwork and icons on the walls. There were also a bunch of large boxes on one side of the cathedral. I was trying to decipher the plaques when I dimly remembered someone saying that all the former tsars were buried there. Sure enough, there were the dates, right at the bottom of each plaque.
We left after the performance ended and Shirin told me that I could get some excellent photos overlooking the nearby river. I walked over and got a few, but nothing too spectacular. She had walked farther downstream while we were in the cathedral, away from some of the trees. The group was headed in the other directions though, toward a huge bell. Kiki mentioned that she had read about riverboat tours and that they were supposed to be the best way to see the city. That would be awesome. We came around a corner and saw the Tsar Bell. Even from far away, I could tell this thing made our Liberty Bell look puny. There was a giant piece missing, taller than me and way bigger than the Liberty Bell. Like our bell, this one was improperly cast. This one was placed on a pedestal and actually used as a chapel for a short time--there is an interesting history on Wikipedia. We got some great pics in front of the bell and then moved over to a giant cannon next to a lilac bush. Interesting contrast.
Next was dinner, and we were all starving. We ate at a mall, which was an adventure.I had to go to the bathroom, so I followed the signs, up a short flight of stairs and then down a floor to the attendant. The guides had warned me I might have to pay, so I forked over the 30 rubles (like $1) and went down the stairs to the bathroom. Eventually. It was like 3 flights down--so far that they even had a little convenience store down there. I picked up some water on my way out and we started back up to the food court. I've never claimed to be the most fit person in the world, but I was struggling by the time we got back to the table. A full day of walking had worn me out far too soon. I had pizza with the group and then we took another long walk to the Cathedral of Christ the Savior.
This place was gorgeous, all white and gold with ornate frescoes and sculptured figures all over the building. It is the tallest Russian Orthodox church in the world, and it's right on the Moscow River. I took like 50 pictures of the building and then got about 20 more from the bridge right next to the church. I even got a picture of me on the bridge, to prove to all those who see my pictures that I was actually there. I think I did a lot better at taking pictures of people (including me) this time. Our guides rounded us up again and we moved on to a street where we could go souvenir shopping. It was a LONG walk to get there, but we got to see a lot of the city and we walked by the Pushkin museum (wish we could go!).
We finally made it to the arbat and made plans to meet at the McDonald's at the end of the street when our time was up, so that we could split up and get all our shopping done. We were in small groups at the beginning, but people started breaking off and I got separated pretty soon. The first place I went in was like a museum. The stuff was beautiful, but so expensive I wouldn't do any more than look. They had some cheaper stuff, but nothing that caught my fancy, so I continued down the street. There was a souvenir shop about every 40 feet, so I had plenty of choices. I crossed the street to a small shop where I ended up getting a flask for my brother and some carved wooden ornaments for my coworkers. Check and check! I kept walking down the street, ducking in and out of stores as I made my way toward our meeting place. There was a sign about half way down, letting me know I was on the right track. I continued to mosey along, expecting to get there soon. The next thing I knew, it was 5 minutes before our meeting time and there was no McDonald's in sight. Had I missed it? She did say it was at the end of the road? I went into the next souvenir shop I saw and mimed asking for directions to the McDonald's (saying the word and pointing in both directions).Keep going, they said. I was really booking it down the road and wondering how long this street could possibly be. I finally made it about 3 minutes late, but no one else was there. You have to understand that my mother was the kind of person who was always 10 minutes early, and she was nothing compared to her father. I thought I was holding up the group and was more than a little confused that no one was waiting there. I swept through the building looking for the group, and then slipped around the corner for a bottle of water and stood out front to wait for everyone else. Sure enough, Angelina arrived with a small group about 10 minutes later. She knew our group well--no one else was there for another 10 minutes and I was the only one who got there on time. She apologized, but she was right about when people would show up and it's so easy to lose track of time when you're exploring a strange place.
We all went inside to wait as more people drifted in. It soon started to rain and we were all there except for Shirin. She tended to be one of the last people in the group anyway, as a seasoned traveler who didn't need to stick close to the group, but it was weird that she didn't meet us on time. We entertained ourselves by getting ice cream cones (only 10 rubles--like 30 cents!). I ordered "ice cream, white" and the guy was like "In a cone?" The people who speak English are great, but it takes some of the fun out of it. It was way past time to leave and finally Pavel went to go find Shirin. Sure enough, she was at the McDonald's sign, and freaking out because no one from the group was there. They got back, both soaked, and we were on our way back to the university.
We got to take the subway back, so we all bought multi-ride tickets, just like you would for the subway in New York. We went through the turnstiles and then down a tall escalator. It was maybe 2 or 3 floors, so we had plenty of time to people watch on the way down. Believe me, lots of people returned the favor. I was shocked when we got down to the bottom of the escalator and saw the station. Think of a New York or Boston subway. Bare, gray walls, weird smells, scary people.This was nothing like that. There was art on the walls, and beautiful tile work. Every subway station is different, and they were built during the Soviet times as a sort of underground kingdom for the people, to give them pride in their country. It was so nice, with a clean design and pleasant lighting--I totally wouldn't mind hanging out in a Russian subway station. It was packed, but we all piled onto the train and made our transfer a few stops later. Props to Angelina and Pavel for getting 15 people on and off those trains in the maybe 45 seconds they give you before the doors close. We arrived at the final stop and waded through the pouring rain to get to the bus and ride home.
The thunderstorm was fierce, but Pavel assured me that they don't get tornadoes there. I was hoping he was right, but those clouds were menacing.I chatted with Josue and ran through the pictures on my camera while we rode home. Shirin had mentioned that she was getting low on memory and I didn't want to be in the same position. I deleted a few bad ones and realized I had already taken more than I thought I would for the entire trip. Good thing I came loaded for bear with a 2 GB card and a flash drive to transfer any extras, just in case. I still wish I had remembered to bring that extra memory card--the one I left sitting on the kitchen counter, where I would be sure to grab it before I left. Anyway, we were back before I knew it and it was time for bed.
I couldn't believe we had to catch the train to St. Petersburg the next day--it seemed like it was way too soon. In any case, we had our tickets and Angelina had a plan to get us to the train station; all we had to do was pack. Easier said than done, it turns out. Remember all those souvenirs from the monastery? Packed very carefully. Thanks God that seems to be one of my talents. I managed to get everything packed away, in a way that I thought I could haul around as needed. My new backpack was holding up well and was the perfect spot for my carved wooden bowls. Let's just hope I can sleep tonight, because I know myself. The overnight train is going to be for sightseeing than for sleeping.
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