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Travel
Journal: Week Twelve
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Monday,
August 13, 2001
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Monday,
August 13, 2001 Lena's husband, Maksim, said that Moscow is too dangerous, and he doesn't want her to go. We had a little laugh about that, because she went to Italy without him about a month ago. Even so, we agreed to meet at 2 p.m. at the Moscow railway station so that I could buy a ticket. I really didn't believe the cashier when she told me that there are no tickets available today, not even for seats. I ended up buying a ticket for tomorrow morning, but I really want to leave tonight. Lena said she would talk to Maks to see if he could help, since he works for the railroad. Otherwise, we decided to meet back at the station at 10 p.m. to try to bribe my way onto the train. I went home to gather my things together for the trip. I found a pair of pants and a couple of shirts that hadn't been worn, so I packed those, along with some other things that seemed pretty clean. I feel like such a slob, but what can I do? Lena brought Maksim, dressed in his uniform, to the train station tonight. They thought that we should try again to buy a ticket. Maks took my passport, and within minutes, I had a sleeping ticket for the 11:55 train! We went to another building and returned the ticket I had bought earlier without any trouble. I definitely think it was his outfit. The problem with train stations in Russia is that there are very few places to sit. I ended up sitting on the steps, waiting for my train to leave, and by the time boarding was called, my butt hurt so bad, I could hardly walk. Granite isn't soft. I was a little worried about the night ride on the train, but I felt a lot better when I reached my car, about a half a mile down the platform. The conductor was a very nice lady, and the people in my compartment, two women and a man were kind and respectable. I was staying pretty quiet, and just listening to their conversation. They didn't know I was a foreigner until someone said "Hi" to us as they walked by, and I said, "Hi" back. This aroused my companion's curiosity about me, and we talked for a while. I felt very safe and comfortable with them.
Tuesday,
August 14, 2001 The train got in at 8:00 a.m. Yulia was there to meet me, looking very tired. I felt so bad that she had to get up that early, but she was a good sport about the whole thing. We decided to buy my return ticket while we were at the station. I decided to go home on the Thursday afternoon train so I could see out the window. Walking out of the train station, I wasn't very impressed by what I saw. It was an interesting contrast for me, compared to my arrival in St. Petersburg, where I was struck by the novelty of Russia. We took the Metro to the hotel; the stations are incredible -- much more beautiful than in St. Petersburg. I suppose this was for political reasons, Moscow being the capital and all. But when we got to Red Square, I was so disappointed to see St. Basil's covered in scaffolding. I was so happy when they told my I could check into my room early. The water problems at home meant that this was my third day without a shower, and I felt pretty nasty. I got cleaned up and was down in the lobby to take the tour of the Kremlin with Kyle's group. I wasn't very impressed with it to be honest with you. Most of the best buildings are closed to the public, so we just went into a lot of old churches. I had never seen the interior of a traditional Russian Orthodox church, so it was interesting to see that every inch of the walls was covered with murals and decorations. One of the Cathedrals, the Archangel, contains the tombs of all the Russian Tsars, from 1340 - 1712, including Peter the Great's son, Peter II, who died in Moscow. It was a somber place, but fascinating historically. After the Kremlin tour, I decided to go check out the collection in the Armory. I had to wait a while, since they only let people in at certain times, but I think it was worth it. The textiles were beautiful, especially Catherine the Great's coronation dress embroidered in gold with double-headed eagles. There was also a collection of illuminated Bibles, complete with enormous, gold, jewel-encrusted covers. Apparently they weigh hundreds of pounds. Some of them even had feet! On my way back to the hotel, I stopped to talk to an artist who was selling some beautiful drawings and watercolors. He showed me his entire portfolio, which was quite good. Then he gave me a deal on a watercolor with ink of St. Basils. I just don't know how I'm going to get it home without destroying it! After relaxing for a while, I decided to stop down and see what Yulia was up to. She had slept most of the day, (much to her surprise) and seemed a lot more energetic than she had this morning. Apparently she had lost a bag of shoes and computer disks at the wedding (?!) and the shoes she was wearing had given her huge, ugly blisters. She asked me if I minded going shoe-shopping with her, and of course I agreed. Just on the other side of GUM from the hotel, we found a street that was filled with shoe stores! I have never seen so many shoe stores in my life; in about a two-block stretch, there were at least 12 shoe stores. There were lots of jewelry stores, too, so we had a lot of things to keep us occupied. After our little window-shopping spree (Yulia did find a new pair of comfortable shoes) we walked to Tverskaya Street, Moscow's main drag. Immediately I noticed that Moscow is much hillier than St. Petersburg, mainly because we were walking uphill. We also found all of Russia's young men. (And good-looking, too!) I had noticed the lack of them in St. Petersburg, and it was almost a shock to see so many guys around my age after seeing so few for the past three months. So I really enjoyed my walk, taking in the sights. We met Kyle at TGI Fridays. I was so happy. I got a big, juicy hamburger covered in bacon, mushrooms and American cheese. I also got an order of onion rings, even though I knew I wouldn't be able to finish them. And those silly people at the restaurant gave me an entire bottle of Heinz ketchup to go with it. Kyle teased me that I should put it in my purse, but there wasn't much left of it by the time I was through! I went back to the hotel, extremely full and very happy. I've been really craving horrible American food, and now I feel like I'll be able to make it these last few weeks until I get home. We had planned to watch a movie together when we got back, but Kyle ended up having to work, and I fell asleep on the couch. I stumbled back to my room half asleep and tumbled into bed.
Wednesday,
August 15, 2001 I had seen in my travel guide that there were some pretty interesting, historic buildings near the hotel. What I didn't realize was that they were literally right outside the door. The Old English Court, which Ivan the Terrible gave to the English traders who shipwrecked in Russia, was standing within 100 yards of the main entrance to my part of the hotel. I had walked by it several times already without noticing it. Unfortunately, it was closed for some kind of repairs, so I couldn't see the inside. Next to the Old English Court stands the oldest surviving monastery in Moscow, and next to that the oldest piece of secular architecture, the Palace of the Romanov Boyars. They built a road around it to reach the hotel, and it sands 50 feet from the north entrance. I really wanted to go inside, but it's only open to groups of at least 10, and must be booked in advance. So I settled for buying a book instead. Next to the Palace of the Romanov Boyars is the Church of St. George, with pretty blue onion domes covered in gold stars. My walk took much less time than I expected, because I didn't know these things were so close. I decided to go to St. Basils and see the inside, but there was a huge crowd of old women fighting with each other to get inside. I think something special was going on, because there were lots of police stationed there. So, I went back to the hotel to wait. Kyle wanted to go to a foodcourt in a big, American style underground mall. The food was pretty crummy, but I didn't care that much. I decided to go do some sightseeing after lunch, so I said good-bye to Kyle and Yulia and headed off to the Diamond Fund. I had to wait for about 40 minutes to get in, but it was so worthwhile. Apparently they have some policy that the number of tickets for Russians is limited, and many Russian people were turned away while I waited with my American passport. I guess they'd rather sell tickets for 6 times the price to foreigners than to sell them to their own people. The exhibit was breathtaking. They had lots of really big, expensive rocks, but of course my favorite part was the jewelry. The collection is only a fraction of the wealth of the Romanov dynasty at it's height, and the majority of the pieces have been lost. Even so, it was unimaginable that anyone could be so wealthy. From the Diamond Fund, I walked over to see the Cathedral of Christ the Redeemer. The original structure, blown up by Stalin, commemorated the sacrifice and deliverance of Moscow in the war of 1812. The reconstruction of the cathedral, which is big enough to hold 10,000 worshippers, cost over $200 million dollars. The interior is incredible. Luxurious, covered in fine stone, gold and beautiful paintings, it was one of the most beautiful things I have ever seen. In the basement, there was a huge museum dedicated to the history of the Cathedral, which was quite interesting. From the Cathedral, I decided to go see the Gorky House Museum, mainly for its unique, Art Nouveau architecture. I was trying to figure out the best way to get there on the subway (I had three or four possible routes) so I asked a woman for help. She was very friendly, and happened to be going the same way. She wanted me to meet her daughter, who is specializing in English, and I was genuinely sorry that I didn't have more time so that I could meet her. I did give her my name and address before we parted, though. The Gorky House was a long walk from the subway. I think it would have been just as far to walk there from the church. Even so, it was worth seeing, and it was free! (I put money in the donation box, of course.) I really loved the house, and regretted leaving my cameras in the hotel. (My shoulder was really bothering me, and I didn't want to carry all of the weight.) Maybe I can return someday with my camera. From there I dragged myself to the Metro. I was so tired and sore, I just wanted to magically return to the hotel so I could go to bed. I didn't think I was going to make it back, honestly. Next to the Metro station, there was a movie theatre. I decided that sitting in a movie would be very restful, so I bought a ticket. The show didn't start for an hour, so I just sat in the lobby, trying to recover. I watched Evolution, ate some popcorn, and felt much better by the end.
Thursday,
August 16, 2001 It was just me and a very quiet Russian man until almost departure time, when two young, obviously foreign, travelers arrived. I addressed them in English, and the young man responded with relief. Apparently they didn't speak any Russian, and were glad to have someone to talk to. He told me they were Dutch and have been traveling in the Golden Ring (small towns circling Moscow) for the past week. I wasn't sure if his girlfriend could speak English or not, but she did. We sat down and started talking about Russia, watching the land unfold outside our window (they had decided on the day train for the same reason I did.) We had a pleasant trip together, and at the end we realized that we had never introduced ourselves. I was shocked to discover that the girl's name was Maureen, too! We shared a big laugh over the coincidence, and she told me that when she was in England, everyone told her it was an old-fashioned name. Her boyfriend's name was Marnix, which is apparently an old Dutch name, but I liked it. We agreed to meet on Saturday for dinner, and I gave them my phone number in St. Petersburg. I showed Maureen and Marnix to the Metro station, and decided to take a cab home myself. It's funny, but returning to St. Petersburg really felt like coming home! I was just thrilled to discover the water to the bathroom and washer is working, and only slightly disappointed to see that its not working to the toilet.
Friday,
August 17, 2001 I met them at Kazan Cathedral at noon. They thanked me profusely for helping them out, but I explained to them that I've been in Russia for so long that I've acquired a sense of Russian hospitality. In fact, I'm glad to have the company. Of course they wanted to do some sightseeing, so we decided on going to the Yusupov palace, which I had heard wonderful things about. We took quite a long walk from Nevsky Prospekt down the Griboedova canal, past the Lion Bridge, to Theatre Square. From there it was a short walk to the Palace. The entrance fee was modest, especially compared to the prices we were paying in Moscow. Marnix insisted on paying, and I saw there was no point in trying to argue. The palace was really beautiful, including its own private theater. Even better was the fact that it wasn't crowded with people. The best room was the "Moorish Room;" a place for the women to relax decorated in a completely arabesque style. It had a small bath-fountain and a few chaise-lounges. It was probably the most unique thing I have seen here. We had some lunch at a small cafe, and then walked to St. Isaac's cathedral. A crazy woman tried to sell us on a tour, but we avoided her. She did give us a useful bit of information, though: we were standing in the wrong line. Apparently foreigners have to purchase their tickets inside the cathedral, but there weren't any signs saying this. We decided to climb up to the cupola to see the view of the city. It was a long way up, and the view was only so-so. Then we went to see the interior of the cathedral, which was quite luxurious -- malachite and lapis columns along with beautiful paintings. From there we walked to the Bronze Horseman, and then through palace square. We caught the Metro back to the hostel so Maureen and Marnix could pick up their bags, and then we caught a cab back to the apartment. The cabbie complained that he wanted more money when we arrived, but we agreed on a price that was more than reasonable before we got in the car. Maureen and Marnix like the apartment. They were glad to be able to take showers and wash their clothes. Yulia called, and I told her what I had done. She said it was fine, but that she wanted me to take pictures of them with my digital camera so she could see who is staying in her house. Later I went for a walk with Olga. Apparently word got around the neighborhood fast that there were even more foreigner's at Yulia's apartment. Kolya wouldn't believe me that Maureen is from Holland, because she's ethnically Indonesian. It's the kind of thing people probably wouldn't even think about in America, (I barely noticed) but in Russia, race is a really big deal.
Saturday,
August 18, 2001 We took the Marshrutka to the Metro, and I explained the whole process to them: stick your arm out, get on, ride to the station, and then pay 9 rubles when you get off. I'm more worried about them trying to get back on their own, so I think I'll have to meet them somewhere and ride home with them. We were shocked to discover that the entrance fee for everything inside the fortress was 80 rubles. My student ticket was 40. Of course we went to the Peter and Paul Cathedral, to see where all of the Russian rulers since Peter the Great (except his son) are entombed. Nicholas II's family is enterred in a separate shrine in the cathedral, including the servants who died with them. I guess it would have been too difficult to sort out the remains. I left the fortress with plans to meet Maureen and Marnix at the Cathedral on Spilled Blood at 7 p.m. I met Lena, and we walked down Nevsky about 2 miles to a salon she had been to before. The stylist was very nice, and I'm pretty sure she did a good job. I'll have to see what happens after I wash my hair. When it was time to pay, I asked Lena how I should tip her. She said she didn't think it was customary here, but I just wouldn't feel right if I didn't. I explained to my stylist that tipping is an American custom, and that I would feel bad if I didn't do it. I handed her 100 rubles, and the poor girl nearly fainted. Lena said they'll probably try to get some more American clients after that. We went to McDonald's for dinner, and I had my first Big Mac in Russia. I liked it, it was definitely better than in the States. We had a good time joking around, but then she had to go to meet Maksim. I think we're going to see Bridget Jones' Diary tomorrow night, though. I met Marnix and Maureen at the Cathedral after wandering through the souvenir market for a while. I really like going there because I always meet nice shopkeepers who like to speak Russian with me. I guess they're tired of seeing tourists all day long. Marnix decided that he wanted to go look for a chess set, and I knew just the place. I had been talking with a nice young woman who had quite a lovely collection of chess sets for sale. Marnix saw one made of bone and carved with icons that he was just crazy about. He and Maureen had quite a discussion about it, but in the end they decided to take it.
Sunday,
August 19, 2001 |
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