Advertisement
Published: August 23rd 2016
Edit Blog Post
We were up at sparrow fart for 07.19 train from St. Petersburgs's Glavny Muskovosvky station. There was enough time enough for a coffee, bun and a wrestle with an ATM 'stand in front of the wall' which refused to spill out the oolong.
Ivan, our ticket collector, checked passports outside carriage number seven and pointed us in the right direction. The electric train was bound for Veliky Novgorod. A three hour journey.
Veliky means 'great' and Novgorod 'new town'. We Geordie Novocastrians can spot a 'Nov' and know it's going to mean 'new' despite this UNESCO town's claims to being the oldest cultural and trading centre in Russia, second only to Kiev in the Middle Ages.
859 is the year it was founded, its power based upon international trade, being the main Russian port with access to the Baltic and the most easterly kontor of the Hansiatic League. This importance grew from its placement on Roman routes between Constantinople and Northern Europe.
It was also Russia's first republic.... traders became so powerful that they decided to get rid of the nobles, and the swamps which surround the city made it difficult for any wishing to conquer it,
so it remained uncontested........
But in the 15C its population became so large that it outgrew its food supply and the State of Moscow became stronger and defeated Novgorod.
Nowadays, Novgorod is a small, calm provincial town, with splendid old Russian architecture, interesting museums, clean river next to the Kremlin, fresh air, many trees, and canny folk. It's said Novgorod has the feeling of Russia, that no other city has. Certainly we found it charming like Tartu in Estonia as we made an initial tour.... stone housing in the old parts built as if in timber (the original building material historically, here) and a small town gentle feel.
It's famed for its Kremlin with brick town walls that enclose many ancient churches and associated sites ..... even though during the German occupation much was destroyed ..........it's been a feat of renovation to get it back to the state it's now in.
It's Russian Flag Day! Pomp, drones and a giant Russia flag were laid on for the locals at noon today in the main square in Novgorod. We couldn't work out what the event celebrated, but Russian-ness and shaking hands with some young achievers was the
name of the game. The local brass band was good, the telly were there taking shots of the procession of a giant flag (like a giant parachute game) but there was a main stage with a sound system giving cheesy karaoke backing tracks for a big voiced tenor........ that brought the tone down a bit. Let the band play good live music, that's what I say...... It was later that we were told it was Flag Day.
After wrestling with the ATM in the bank on the corner (reply to request: 'Please may we change this 5000 rubles note from your ATM?' was a firm 'Nyet'), we lunched in the 'Corner Trattoria', a family business, and had our evening tucker in 'Limoncello' another 50m down the road from our apartment. Both had the same menu formula in distinct categories which we've seen already in St Petersburg: Russian baked breads and salads, kebabs, pizza and pasta, wok food and sushi served with ginger and wasabi, all from one kitchen, under one roof.
We went for Russian stews and soups...... 'Cos we're in Russia......
On day 2 in Novgorod the weather has been a bit unsettled. We
shopped at the supermarket on the corner, which sold gin, hurrah(!) but not tonic, boo(!)... I'm sure we'll get by. Then we ate breakfast buns from a pastries kiosk on the corner just beside the 'Corner Trattoria' on the corner, downed with coffee made the apartment Moka Stove top espresso pot.
By the time we set to our tourist duties the sun was out and we explored the southern end of the Kremlin outside the city wall where there is a monument to the 27 million Russians killed (gulp) in the Second World War and to the freeing of Novgorod from the Nazi occupation. There's a sculpture of a horseman trampling a swastika into the mud, and a tank used to break the siege and a couple of canons.
Then into the Kremlin to the Belfry Museum which has a large collection of old bells outside and in, some from as early as the 12C! It's strictly forbidden to have a random ding dong, so we didn't get to hear them in action.
Afterwards on to the the city wall pathway via a gateway ably guarded by two nineteen year olds dressed up in mediaeval
gear whilst multi tasking with the 'What's Ap' messages on their mobiles and smoking period cigarettes.
St Sophia's Cathedral is the oldest Russian church in existence with friezes inside and out and a beautiful iconostasis. It felt a very cramped space after the vast St Petersburg edifices and it looks quite big externally, but inside it's full of columns supporting numerous domes and towers. I enjoyed the intimacy, the closeness to the ancient murals and the sense of calm within.
The Kremlin has much more to offer than just this, especially on days other than a Tuesday (today was a Tuesday) when a number of monuments are closed. We explored 'off piste' for a while and discovered, round the back, some beautiful timber covered staircases on the sides of ecclesiastical buildings, rich with almost Arab arch detail. In this area we came upon the Chamber of Facets, which was open, so we paid our money down and meandered round the exposed terracotta interiors........ the most interesting room was vaulted with a single pillar to support a faceted ceiling above a granite floor. The exhibits were riches from the church collection... golden icon covers studded with pearls, large gold
fonts, two Zions which held consecrated bread for communion, jewelled this and silver the other. I always tire of large collections of religious artefacts..... what was/is the church doing with such riches..... ?
Lunch was in a small trattoria on the other side of the handsome new single span foot bridge. We sat under a meagre lean-to, drinking fish soup whilst watching two very competent diners who each devoured a whole grilled fish with their fingers..... sucking each fin and bone so as to completely de-nude the fish of any flesh. Extraordinary technique! The threatened rain arrived as we ate and the staff quickly unfurled clear plastic tent sides to enclose us in our booths as the mosquitoes took shelter and advantage of our bare bits. I drank my honey lager, the fish ladies drank 'brew', a cloudy white bevy, and Marion maintained sobriety with water as we watched the rain descend.
A young Russian couple tried their best to help us find a musical instrument museum, which was billed in the Lonely Planet guide, no access was gained at the address given, nor did it look much like a museum.
Past lots more 12th - 15th
Century churches we ended up back by the river at a 2009 monument to the Hanseatic League in big black blocks of shiny marble, topped with a large brass abstract sculpture.
Advertisement
Tot: 0.272s; Tpl: 0.015s; cc: 10; qc: 50; dbt: 0.0516s; 1; m:domysql w:travelblog (10.17.0.13); sld: 1;
; mem: 1.2mb