5 layers?? No problem!!
I feel like a pro. I'm on my study abroad, and I'm actually speaking the language and doing cool things. And I feel like a success. It's kinda awesome, to be honest.
So it turns out I have a ridiculous amount of free time here. On the days I don't have class at 10am (and need to do battle in the metro to get to school alive) I can sleep in. It's only an extra hour or two, but it feels SO GOOD to wake up later and not have to fear for my life as I go through the metro during rush hour as a human sardine. Half the time, I get outta class sometime between 1pm and 3:30pm. Generally, Yulia Georgievna has dinner ready within a half an hour of coming home or by 6:30pm, whichever comes first. Thus I try to be home before 8pm. Obviously. I let her know what I'm up to so she isn't sitting in the kitchen stewing because she made a fabulous dinner and her ungrateful host child is off having shenanigans and waltzes in whenever she pleases. The irony is that half the time I beat her husband home. And he doesn't tell her what he's up to. Thus, I CLEARLY love her more.
That's my story and I'm sticking to it
Oh. Sorry. Got sidetracked. Yes, free time. So I have a lot of it, between classes and things. Also, if there are no excursions planned for the weekends I have absolutely nothing to do. I could stay home and internet and watch Russian TV all day long. I could sleep in and spend the day chatting with my host mom as she goes about her household chores and cooking. I could dip into my stash of emergency chocolate, pour myself some of my awesome multifruit juice and watch a movie.
Or I could spend my weekends on awesome adventures!! This is St. Petersburg, the cultural capitol of Russia. Of course there are fun things to do during my free time. Here are a few of the cool things I've done so far.
Church of the Savior on the Spilled Blood
Also known as Spas na krovi (Спас на крови). No, the name does not actually refer to Jesus Christ. Or any other religious figure, for that matter. This church was built in honor of Tsar Alexander II. He was a huge reformer here in Russia and had had many attempts on his life by extremist groups during his time as tsar. He was mortally wounded by one of the canals here in St. Petersburg, and thus did a great man pass away. His successor and son, Alexander III, had the church built on the spot where his father was assassinated. Inside the church is a little wooden shrine with a plaque where Alexander II was wounded.
Alexander II's shrine
It looks really tiny compared with the rest of the cathedral. But then again, orthodox cathedrals are built without pews (everyone stands during services, with the exception of the sick and the elderly, who have benches provided for them along the walls). They seem giant to begin with.
Cool thing about Spas na krovi - everything is done in mosaic tile. The decorative detailing on the outside is all mosaic.
All that detailing done in little colored tiles
Every inch of the walls and ceilings inside is covered in mosaic tiles, too.
Yeah, the pics aren't great. But look at that art
Every important moment in Christianity is documented on the walls of Spas na krovi. Just being in there is super overwhelming. Such beautiful art.
St. Isaac's Cathedral
At St. Isaac's, there are two things you can do. The main part of the cathedral is a museum. Of what, I'm not quite sure. I didn't go for the museum. No, I went to St. Isaac's with my friends to climb to the top of the cathedral and see the breathtaking views of St. Petersburg from one of the tallest cathedrals in Europe.
The city just stretches on as far as the eye can see, in all directions
And the views are gorgeous. It was quite a trek to get up to the top. My ticket let me in a side door that immediately became a set of stone spiral stairs. Not so bad. I climbed the Arc de Triomphe's stairs years ago and that was no problem. Surely this would be the same.
The climb wasn't that bad. Whoever thought it was a good idea to spraypaint the number of stairs to go before you reach the top - kudos to you. It made me laugh, even as I puffed up the stairs. It's a tall cathedral.
200 steps total. 180 to go
Also some idiot tried to jump the railing to take a picture on the actual roof. The railing comes up to the bottom of my rib cage, and I am pretty short (fun sized, really). For a normal guy, that's below the waist, which makes it a cinch to hop the railing. He was braced against it facing back onto the platform for his friend to take the picture.
And then the loudspeaker erupted in a string of angry Russian.
Like all tourist spots in buildings, the Russians have St. Isaac's under close watch. Usually there is a monotonous recording about the view, the building, the museum in the main cathedral, please buy all our useless gift shop stuff. When the guy hopped the railing, the recording became background noise as another guy came on and yelled at the tourist to get back on the railing. Too bad the tourist himself didn't speak Russian and had no idea all that shouting was aimed at him. My friends and I, trying to be good people and wave him back onto the landing, had to translate the message for him.
I'm not entirely sure why he needed to jump the railing to get a picture. I mean, c'mon. The view's great just standing on the landing
The entire mainland, stretched out behind me
And see?? Totally don't look like the Michelin Man anymore.
Piano Cafes
"Please play"
Yes, this is a thing here. And it is awesome. Some of the bars and cafes have upright pianos in a corner so that musicians can serenade the patrons as they smoke their cigarettes and drink copious amounts of tea. The cafes and bars are not too expensive, though the only thing I have for comparison is tea and hot chocolate - which, the hot chocolate is actual melted bars of chocolate (and it is FABULOUS).
The first one I went to was a bar called The Music Roof (Музыка крыш). It's not too far from the metro station where I switch lines, though it took my friend and I an age and a half of walking in circles around the block to find it. This bar had a stage with a piano and a guitar or two leaning against the wall. We were so awkward, trying to ask the bartender if we could play. I completely forgot the beginning of my piece, and I have none of my sheet music here with me in St. Petersburg, so I started in the middle and played one of my favorite songs.
To my absolute shock, the bar started applauding when the last notes faded away. Some lady in the back even yelled "YOU PLAY BEAUTIFULLY" ("Вы играете красивая!"), which made me grin. My friend and I ordered tea to drink so we weren't mooching off the bar for their musical equipment, but the owner liked our playing so much that he gave us our tea for free.
Chuck Norris approves
The second place I went to was a cafe called Coffee in the Kitchen (Кофе на кухня). It's marketed as a vegetarian friendly cafe, this tiny little place a couple metro stops from mine. But their upright was even better than The Music Roof, despite the alarming lack of room in the cafe. And their hot chocolate was amazing. I watched them pull out two 2 in. x 2 in. bars of dark chocolate and melt them right before my eyes. I was desperately trying not to drool. Definitely coming back here again. Piano and hot chocolate?? Yes please!!
Playing music in a Russian cafe. I feel fancy
Bit by bit, I'm exploring the city more. More adventures to come!!
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