White Nights in Russia

I have been waiting to visit Russia for a long, long time. My grandmother’s stories of traveling to the Ukraine and Russia during the 60s, 70s and 80s have always fascinated me; she set up a sort of trade route between Poland and those two countries when times were rough and merchandise in Poland was lacking. She even sent my father and his sister to Budapest via train to pick up supplies when he was just thirteen years old. She’s crazy. When I’m in PL, she makes me take a shot of Limoncello for breakfast. The other part of my fascination for Russia lies in its literature: Pushkin, Turgenyev, Gogol, Zamyatin, Pasternak, the list goes on. Russia’s authors are imaginative, eccentric and dark. But it’s a love-hate relationship between Russia and Poland and accordingly I’m torn, too. The turbulent political history estranges me from the country while its fascinating culture attracts me.

Since Jenn and I were not able to procure Russian visas prior to departure, we had to take a guided tour due to strict tourist regulations. Although we aren’t big on guided tours, this was definitely a good choice because we learned infinitely more than we would have on our own. Our tour guide for two days was a good-looking middle-aged woman named Inna, who spoke excellent English and was visibly a historian/art historian. If that wasn’t cool enough, she also studied at the same university in St. Petersburg where Pushkin studied. She’s legit.

The first stop on our tour was Peterhof, the Royal summer palace located 26km out of the city. As we drove through St. Petersburg at 7am, Inna picked out examples of Soviet apartment architecture throughout the century. The apartments, and their horrific condition, resemble Polish flats from the early 90s. Peterhof was gorgeous and its grounds were even more beautiful, with a fountain that opened up to the Gulf of Finland. When we drove back into the city, we parked along the Neva near the Egyptian sphinxes to take some photos. On the steps of the riverbank there was a plastic bag just lying by its lonesome, unattended. Jenn and I investigated and found it to contain a shirt with a crossed out beaver and some Russian words. We asked Inna to translate. She laughed for five minutes and told us it says: “Save trees, eat beaver.” After this we ate lunch at a restaurant near the university (free as part of the tour). Although the cuisine was not particularly Russian, they did serve champagne and vodka, which Jenn and I ceremoniously downed with Daniel, a guy we met that goes to Southern Miss. Needless to say, we rounded up all the vodka that was not touched on table and proceeded to polish off that as well. At least the Russians got that right. Therefore, the afternoon activities were particularly enjoyable: a visit to the Yusupov Palace (where Rasputin was murdered) and an hour long cruise along the Neva (more champagne).

The second day was blazing hot. Inna said that there are only 35-60 sunny days in St. Petersburg and somehow we lucked out and both days were beautiful. In the early morning we visited the Fortress of Ss. Peter and Paul, stopped at a gift shop (where they handed out free vodka and cherry liquor) and then made our way to the Winter Palace and Hermitage. Of course, this had to be the highlight of the trip, and Inna directed our attention to the most important pieces in the vast collections of Catherine the Great. The Hermitage is a cross between the Louvre and Versailles; it houses monumental pieces of artwork in a palace setting. I particularly enjoyed the Flemish pieces. After lunch and more vodka, we visited St. Isaac’s Cathedral and The Church on Spilled Blood/The Cathedral of Christ’s Resurrection, whose interior walls are entirely covered in beautiful mosaic.

Overall, I would say we thoroughly enjoyed our Russian experience, even though we were accosted by vendors left and right. Not only did we learn about Russian history, but also such things as how to spot government owned vs. privately owned flats and the markings of an orthodox church. Another thing of note is the fact that the nights in Russia are white: the sun does not set until 1AM or so. Jenn and I sat outside at 11PM and were highly confused.. and tired the next day. Of course, the plentiful free beverages helped us get through the days. Next stop: Tallin, Estonia.

General observations on Russians/St. Petersburg:

Both men and women have hairstyles that were popular in Poland in the early 90s. Combined with the architecture, it just seems that Russia is more than a decade behind the rest of the world.
Vendors are ridiculously pushy.
Russians are extremely proud of their history.
Russians just looove Pushkin; there are Pushkin café’s, Pushkin streets, Pushkin museums, etc. Eugene Onegin was great but I believe the brighter gems are post-Pushkin.

Soundtrack for the days:

Kalina, Kalina
Swan Lake- Paper Lace
Animal Collective- My Girls
Cut Copy- Zap Zap
Bloc Party- Hunting for Witches

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