Wow so last Thursday we shipped off from the bus station in Turku about 7AM to go to Helsinki, pick up more kids, then go to Russia. And let me tell you, it already feels like it was ages ago. Not only did we already have 2/3 tours this year, but it is now April and I leave in June. Time really does fly when you live a dream.
Anyways, Russia! Here was our schedule there:
Preliminary Program in St. Petersburg
31.03.
-buses start in the morning
-lunch before crossing the border (restaurant Rajahovi in Vaalimaa)
-crossing the border
-money exchange soon after the border (in city Viborg)
-arrival to the Hotel Azimut (around 8.30 PM local time)
-dinner in the hotel
01.04.
-breakfast
-Hermitage Museum (http://www.hermitagemuseum.org)
-lunch in a downtown restaurant
-city tour and purchase of souvenirs
-dinner in the hotel.
-classical ballet in the evening
02.04.
-breakfast
-Kunstkamera, Peter the Great’s Museum of Anthropology and Ethnography (http://www.kunstkamera.ru/en/)
-free time in Nevski Prospekt (main shopping street of St. Petersburg). You can have a lunch in a place of your own choice and own cost. Shopping and sightseeing.
-folklore show in the Anitskov Palace (in downtown). Folklore = traditional Russian songs and dances, very entertaining
-buses back to the hotel in the evening.
-dinner in the hotel
03.04.
-breakfast
-departure for Finland
-visit the market place of city Viborg (more souvenirs)
-lunch in Rajahovi
-farewells and bus trip to home
Everything was so absolutely amazing! Honestly, it is quite hard to describe because everywhere you went, there was history. We saw the cannon where in the early 1800's, had fired a shot to signal the Bolshevik's to send their ships in. We also saw a building and door where a man named Romanov (I was half listening to the tour guide lady) was shot, fought back, escaped, but was then taken by his attackers in the trunk of their car to one of the many rivers in St. Petersburg and was dumped. The autopsy showed water in his lungs which meant that he was still alive as all that was happening. It was so incredibly interesting, really, although I can't remember it all, but when we learned it as we were looking at it, it was crazy to imagine. The buildings we walked past had history back to the Nazis. For example, we went to a part of Peter the Great's Winter Castle (the Hermitage Museum part). The building was made in the 1730's and was attacked by Nazis in 1917- we even saw a bullethole in a mirror that was shot at- astonishing. We saw things that people only dream of seeing. Ceilings were painted with intricate artworks, columns were covered in gold, sculptures were everywhere. And get this- we saw paintings done by Van Gogh, da Vinci, and a sculpture by Michaelangelo himself. Talk about once in a lifetime stuff. Looking at that history really makes you feel lucky. We also went to an incredibly old anthropology museum (circa 1715) where we walked through and saw, well, to put it bluntly, dead babies and body parts in jars. In order to show the rest of the world how Russia was progressing, Peter the Great chose doctor Robert Areskin to bring a collection of marvels into what we walked through. So among these were babies preserved in chemicals, two-headed animals, arms, legs, skin, heads, etc. all dating from the 1700-1800's. Absolutely phenmonenal and breathtaking. Peter the Great wanted to show the world how accepting he was of other cultures, so he got artifacts and learned about people from all over the world and put the information and artifacts in glass cases that we were able to view. But this was not a museum to begin with, it was the autopsy room including an observatory. So years ago when they opened the bodies, we stood where other observers stood watching a body get cut open. Crazy!!! There was also (on the highest floor) a room where astronomers watched the stars. In the middle of the room there was a huge globe with paintings on the inside. It was very cool, and very hot being that high up!
We also went to this incredibly awesome folkshow! Lots of traditional dancing, singing, and more. At first, we were quite Finnish as we sat quietly and watched, but afterwards we thought to ourselves, "Hey wait, we can be loud and show emotions with Russians, we aren't in Finland anymore!" :P So after a while, it was just like a party, and they even pulled up two exchange students on stage! Absolutely hilarious!
We also went to Tchaikovsky's "Swan Lake" the ballet in an amazing theatre whose name I can't remember, but it was an old theatre and the play has been running for hundreds of years. It was really quite beautiful, but I didn't havea program so afterwards, once someone explained something to me, it made much much more sense! But it was still beautiful to watch. Their bodies were breathtaking (says the overweight exchange student).
We were not allowed to drink any water-showering was quite frightening. Ever had to conciously keep your mouth closed while showering? Proved to be quite difficult. The bus trip in total was about 8 or 9 hours with stops. Our hotel was...okay. Had 18 floors and we were on the 12th with completely open windows. It was such an amazing view, though!! I stayed with my friend from Turku, Megan, from South Africa. The food was quite delicious and free soda! You were allowed to smoke anywhere inside, so at nighttime everyone gathered in the lobby and smoked up the place. You can imagine how the contents of my suitcase smelled upon unpacking.
The city itself was supposed to relic "New York" as Peter the Great wanted it to. He brought in people from all over the world to construct buildings and roads, he even brought in sphinxes to adorn the rivers from Egypt that are still in place today. There is also a kissing river where just married couples go and attach a lock to a metal stand thing-how precious. One thing that was frightening was having RUssians find out that I am American. We put up our American flag in the window and this group of army guys stared at us as we passed. Quite frightening, actually...always had to have my purse right next to me. The Russian dollars were something like 70 euros (about 80 dollars) was 2,700 roubles. I felt so rich ! (for once). My friends also bought the Russian hat with the emblem on the front and were literally saluted by men in the army who passed them. Quite a surreal feeling as they are still so dedicated to their country and army, etc.
OH! And I have to tell this story beause it was so absolutely scarring. The first night we were there, I was trying to sleep and I heard this car rev it's engine outside on the main street (we heard cars all night the walls were paper), and then I heard this noise and I thought "Oh that's a strange car alarm" Then I realized it was a dog yelping. And just as soon as I figured that out, I heard the car rev its engine again and the crying stopped....welcome to Russia, I suppose. The place is quite different I think than any other countries surrounding it. I felt like I was on edge almost the whole time, but it wasn't exactly bad. So unlike I thought, I absolutely loved the country. Although it was dirty, it was just so interesting and it felt different to Finland. Of course, I love Finland, but there were many differences between the two both good and bad.
The last stop we made was to eat lunch at the border (which was quite frightening going through the border control), but it was so sad. I met many new Australians who just got here in January and now, as I am not going on Eurotour in June, I will never see them again. And a lot of the people I left behind live in Europe and I will probably never see again...I bauled my eyes out, I was leaving behind so many friendships. The weather here is okay right now, but is turning grey. No more ice or snow on the roads and we still have snow in the yards...come on spring!!! Anyways, I will post pictures in the next blog! Now there is 20 days until my birthday and near 80-something until I leave! Wow! Wow! Wow!!!!!!! God bless!
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