Another Show

Our next day we sort of took a break from vacationing.  How does that work anyway?

We went to the Nutcracker.  It was another production of the Marinski theater.  This time our show was in the the propoer theater.  The one we tried to go to first the day befor.  We were a little late.  It was my fault for loosing our room key so we had to search for it.  We did not find it until we returned, and had to have the frunt desk let us in.  Of course it was in my coat pocket the entire time.

Again no camears allowed.  oops...

петергоф and a Show

Noon in St Peters

On friday we sent of to see Petergof, a spot I recomend anyone who visits St. Peters to see.  We took the metro to a station that ran busses to Petergof, and then we took a buss.  We road the buss, and road it and road it, and then after some time the driver asked us were we where going.  Masha told him, and he pulled over and let us out saying we missed it, and should have told him.  So we walked back the way we came for a bit.  It was a very nice walk, large trees along the raod, and then we came acrose a random monument.

We finaly made it to Petergof, and payed to have a picture taken with some actors.  Then they tried to be sneeky.  The actor took Masha and said let us have a picture dancing.  So the took up a pose and I took the camera from the photographer and took the picture.  The man told us we must pay again for the second picture.  Masha said why would we do that, and he told us to just go.  I told her she should have said, we would have payed but he did not take the picture.  There where no cameras allowed inside of the palace, but that did not stop us.  They had a coat check, and when we got to the next room Masha asked where was the camear, and I said in my coat pocket.  So we pretended she was cold and had them give my liner back to us.  We snuck pictures every chance we got.  It was a buetifuly ornate building with lots of gold sculptures. here are a few of our picturs.

Then we went to a show, more about it latter.

New Years Day

Маша says that we made a mistake.  We should not have come to Peters in the night, better to have come in June when it is daytime.  The day time is very short here.  We missed it on new years day.  After staying up late, buy the time we got ready to go, it was already dark out.  So you might notice many night photos.

We have tickets to a couple of shows at the Mariinsky theater.  We tried to get them on new years day.  We must go to a booth and give them the conformation number to get the tickets.  We walked to this place, and it was closed.  On the way there we came across the Kazansky Cathedral.  It is a wondrous Russian Orthodox Cathedral.  From the outside it looks like a relic, something very old, and in a roman like style.  We saw people coming in and out of it so we went inside.  The inside was very much alive.  We walked around looking at the many paintings and statues, and then a service started.  It reminded me of Johns wedding a little, there were some strong similarity's.  One things that I like about the Orthodox church is how the priest stands facing the alter with the people.  In this Cathedral, an area was sectioned off, and the priest was literally among the people.  I could not take any pictures inside, there were some signs saying no photography, and it was a service an all.  I thought it was interesting, and maybe Rachel could enlighten me, but they had 3 gates.  One was small and not very 

fancy, One was very large and grand and in the center, it was the gate that the service was in front of when we were there.  The last was very ornate, but not so large.  I'm sure there is a meaning for each.  The structure of the building is very interesting.  From the outside it looks like a large crescent shape, like a young moon.  But inside the space open to use was in the shape of a cross.  After we finished exploring it we went on to where tickets could be picked up.  When we got there it was closed.  A woman there told us to go to the theater, it would be open.

For the record and to be perfectly clear, yes, Steve has been to the Kazansky Cathedral.

We walked a long way along this canal, to get to the theater.  It was very beautiful, but also very cold.  We had a few funny run ins with drunks.  We were taking a picture and a drunk man started peeing into the canal.  Further down, a drunk crossing a bridge that we were taking a photo on, stopped and offered to take out picture.  Маша ignored him since I don't understand Russian I did the same.  She took my picture, and with night photos some times they are a little blurry so you must try again.  The drunk was kneeling under to not be in the photo and standing just to the side, so his shoulder and parts of him are in a few pictures.  He was being silly and was quite funny.  He was chatting to us the hole time, rattling on in Russian.  Finally I told him in Russian "I'm sorry, I do not speak Russian", and he said to me in Russian "What, you do not speak Russian?" he then turned to Маша and said "What is he, Italian?".  It was funny, and we continued on our way leaving the drunk man on the bridge.

We walked along this canal for some time, and then we finally made it the the theater, and it was closed.

There are many monuments to great composers, and streets named for them.  There is clearly a love of great music here, and a deep respect for its creators.

Маша Attacks the conservatory.

This is a very wondrous city with many sights and interesting things.  We came across this palace randomly.  It was just on the way home.  Such grand entryways, are not uncommon here.  It really is an interesting city to see.

Happy New Years World

Happy New Years World

I will tell about my new years eve and my new years day.  It was very interesting.  We discussed and decided to spend new years together in the hotel room, and have a private celebration.  We asked the reception for the location of a grocery store so that we could buy supplies.  They directed us to a large mall, some 12 Kilometers past the last metro stop.  The mall operates its own buses to bring people from the metro to the mall.

 

The mall was very large, about the size of the Rosedale mall.  It had a giant IKEA attached to it, and there was as Masha calls it, an "ice riding field" inside the mall so people could skate.  It was a very nice mall.  Like how US malls have large department stores attached this mall did also, only they were not department stores, it was the IKEA, and a very large grocery store.  In the mall we found Europe’s answer to Best Buy.  A large, and very pink store, called "Media Market" (pink in the same way Best Buy is blue).  Here we found the camera that I got to replace my lost one.  We had looked at cameras in some touristy areas around the center of St. Petersburg, but at Media Market the same camera cost 1000 rubles or more less than at these shops.

 

The grocery store was a lot of fun for me.  It was exactly what you would expect of a large grocery store.  Other than the products being quite different the organization and function are identical.  Many of the products are very familiar and some are so very different.  They had a stand at the entrance of the store where they bagged and sealed anything you may have bought in a different store at the mall.  I hardly know where to start about the things that are different.  Butter is as good as any place to start.  The butter itself is the same, but it is not packaged by the stick like it is for us.  It is in packages that are almost precisely the size of two sticks of butter.  At home there are many drinking products in plastic containers, some in glass, and a few in cardboard.  Here almost all are in cardboard some in glass, and a few in plastic.  The most noticeable difference was the packaging of frozen foods, particularly vegetables.  The part of the store with such items was the same.  Large freezers with the tops open, frosted around the inside edge, very much the same.  However here there are loose vegetables, pees, chopped carrots, broccoli, whatever, and scoops.  You take a plastic bag, and you fill it with the scoop, and then bring it to a stand.  The stand has a bunch of numbers you can press, to correspond with the different products.  You places your item on the scale, push the button and the price prints out on a sticker.   

After we bought our goods, Маша wanted to take my picture, so  I pulled the camera out and she snapped a couple befor a sucurity guard came and told here to stop.  She didn't, and took another.  He came back and said it again.  She ignored him, and took another.  He then said in Russian "He girl, can you under stand Russian?", and she said in English "yes, yes we understand"

I have noticed a few things about Russia, and I will list them at some point, but I think they are the fundamental resons our countrys do not seam to get along.  One is lines.  People to not wait in lines nicly, they barge.  You must hold your spot firmly and not leave any space between you and the next person or you will lose your spot and some one will barge infront of you.  Yes, even with shopping carts.  I watched Маша do this at one point, and I thought how rude of here.  Then I noticed it was how every one was acting, so I adopted the methodology.  It helps so that we do not get seperated on escalateors.  The metro is very deep and there is a long excalator ride up and down to use them.

I see many nice things here.  Some kind gestures that when I mentioned Маша told me they were not kind.  Here there is a large moffia, and they use invalids and homelesspeople to beg for moeny.  I don't exactly understand how it works but she told me it was some kind of slavory.  So the guesture is kind when they give the oneleggad man money, but it is not kind since he is being used and it is not helping him.  But still there are many kind things, an olderman got on the metro and a younger fellow gave him his seat.  A man fell down and hit his face on the floor.  To other men helped him up, and a woman gave him some tishue from her pag to wipe the dirt from his face.  The people seam to have much more intuition to eachother, it is not a colection of individuals as it is in the US.

So our shopping trip was fun, we walked about 2 miles, took a train about 6 then road a bus for 5 bought many supplies and carried everything back on this same trak.  We unpacked out things, and prepaired for our celibration.

Our dinner consisted of, "Red Fish Children", two traditional russian salads (in the same bowl, on red, one green), smoked sammon, and some kind of Russian salami.  We had grap juice and pinable juice.  The hotel gave us a bottle of shampain, and shmpaine glasses, but Маша does not drink so we did not open it, we had the grap juice in the shampain glasses, I was going to make a joke about us having wine, but then I desided not to.  Also, mom, sorry about the joke with the mineral watter.  When we told you we were having champain, and we showed you the funny bottle, it was minreal water.  Маша is like you mom and likes mineral water a lot.

More to come at a later dae.

Watching a supper old Russian move, what a way to pass a little break in the action.  The travels from the airport to the hotel room was quite long.  First there was a express train, and then a metro train and after that a  6 hour wait at the train station.  We deduced that when we return to Moscow we will have to visit each of the metro stations.  They are truly something else, and something worth seeing.

  When we made it to the train station we checked our bags at a bag check, with a very friendly Russian man who did not steel anything from the bag the 6 hours it was in his care.  During the time we took a very nice and long walk in Moscow, Hilton has a really nice building near to the train station.  We walked around 3 kilometers down проспект мира a very busy street.  The thing worth noting above all else, there are cars everywhere.  I should have taken some picture of the park methods.  Its really something different.  One tire on the curb no problem, two tires on the curb that's fine.  If the two tires on the curb happen to be the front two, that's just fine.  3 tires, no problem.  Go ahead and park on the sidewalk, its ok, and point which ever direction you wish.  I found it a little funny, and very interesting that the parking would be like this.

I will say that so far it would seam that the Internet has gotten a few things wrong.  First people really look happy.  I see many smiling faces.  The first person I heard speak English was a British couple that are at our hotel.  The places that say things about the Russian expressions being dryer, morose, and such I now feel are silly and incorrect.

So after walking around Moscow and sitting in the train station for 6 hours, we finally got on the train and made it to St Peters.  Here we took 2 metro trans, and walked about 8 blocks.  It was a long walk, and even though we never went the wrong way or even started down the wrong street we thought we were going the wrong way at least twice.  Finally to the hotel room.  Internet works but it is a little slow.  Soon we will go out to find an activity for the rest of today.  Маша is very nice and we are getting along great.  She is quick to ask questions of people in Russian which is convenient, and she translates for me very well. 

Russian Trip Details

So here is a brief overview of the upcoming trip.

Leave Minneapolis on the 28th of December. Arvie in Moscow on the 29th at around noon. There will be a half day in Moscow, fallowed by a night train to St. Petersburg. Arriving in St. Petersburg at around 8am on the 30th. The daily details of the days in St. Petersburg are not detailed out just yet, there will be a lot of playing it by ear. Tickets have been reserved for a showing of "The Nutcracker" and a Russian Opera called "Christmas Eve". Remember, Christmas is not until the 7th of January in Russia. On the 5th, a night train will be taken back to Moscow. The details of Moscow are not fully developed but the obvious sights will be seen. One task is going to be to find the outdoor art market of Vernisazh. Then I will fly out on the 10th of January, and be back in Minneapolis on the 10th.