Dobroye utro

We have travelled to a number of exciting spots in this world, some expected, some quite unexpected.  I would say that traveling to Russia ranks high on the latter.  In actuality, visiting most foreign places in this world introduces us to customs, traditions, culinary delights and history that we would ordinarily not have access to other than from armchair reading or viewing on National Geographic.  Certainly there is a lot to be learned from these points of reference; discovering the daily rituals of the indigenous Kikuyu of Kenya for example.  I have never been to Kenya, and although I would like to visit the continent of Africa one day, I am not sure I would have the opportunity to actually learn as much about the Kikuyu as I did from once  watching a documentary on National Geographic.

So, while living and working in Lithuania for two years, and after visiting all four corners of that new EU country, we decided to take the train to Russia.  Wow.  Russia.  That nation of Nikita Khrushchev my generation grew up fearing.  On our first trip to Russia in early November 2005 we took the train from Riga, Latvia.  These cold war era forms of transportation give the feel of the espionage movies from my youth.   It is an overnight trip from Riga to St. Petersburg and we opted for sleeping berths. Our compartment was basically two couches, without much leg room and  overhead cabinets for belongings.  There was food and drink available for purchase; after all what self respecting Russian would travel without the nations most treasured export...vodka!  The shared bathroom down the narrow hall satisfied basic needs, not necessarily with comfort in mind.  At some point in the middle of the night the train came to a screeching halt, right outside a still very much open, neon and pulsating  night club in the town of Pskov in the Russian Federation.  To me it seemed the middle of nowhere, and it was all so strange and certainly foreign, particularly when immigration agents boarded the train banging on doors demanding, in very the foreign russian language, to see papers and baggage.  No warm, fuzzy feelings of welcome from these agents.  But their brusk nature was overlooked either due to our disoriented stupor or else the consideration that who in their right mind would enjoy having to board a train in the frigid cold of a November night at 3 a.m to look at papers of foreign tourists.  If there were any double agents caught that night, it went unnoticed as we quickly fell back into a restless sleep anticipating the early morning arrival in St. Petersburg.

At the suggestion of friends who had previously taken the same trip, we had arranged for a guide, who aside from handling the baggage and transportation issues, allowed us to bypass the long lines found at the museums and places of interest, and particularly at the Winter Palace, our first stop.    The palace, home of  Catherine the Great, sits on the banks of the Neva River and together with other buildings which are attached via walkways,  became known as The Hermitage. The huge green and white building is now the stately home of over 2 million exhibits and displays of art from all over the world.  It is said that it would take over 10 years to personally visit each and every display.  For me, just getting beyond the Bohemian crystal chandelier took some effort.  Although it is now clearly a museum, it is important to remember that this was once the home of the Imperial Romanovs until the time of the revolution.  Our guide, Viktor, took us to some of the more famous pieces of art, certainly overwhelming, yet leaving us with a desire to see more.  Since we make our home in the Washington D.C area, we are very fortunate to be able to make frequent jaunts to the Smithsonian museums.  We go often, knowing it's never possible to see it all.  Similarly, while living in London, the Victoria and Albert Museum was right around the corner, much to our delight and we often took the Eurostar to Paris and visited the Louvre each time in an attempt to capture it all.  We knew there would be no option for such satisfaction here at the Hermitage, so we settled on a guidebook from the gift shop as we left.

The fate of the Romanovs dynasty is well documented.  We visited Peter and Paul Cathedral within the Peter and Paul Fortress.  Here is where Nicholas II, his family, servants and many other Russian nobles are buried.  Another Romanov, Tsar Alexander, was killed on the spot where now stands the Church of the Savior of Spilled Blood.  The  structure is more in line with medieval Russian architecture and resembles St. Basils Cathedral in Moscow.

No trip to St. Petersburg would be complete without visiting the Catherine Palace, in Pushkin. The Tsarskoye Selo, as it is known, was the summer home of the Romanovs and was a  gift to Catherine from Peter the Great.   Here again the crowds gathered, even on this cold Russian November day, devoid of any warming sun.  Our guide Viktor again proved his worth as we were whisked ahead of the crowds and soon  inside touring the beauty and magnificence of the Palace.    The once oppulent Amber Room, a gift from the king of Prussia to Peter the Great was originally housed in the Winter Palace, but Catherine had it moved to her summer palace.  Despite the fact that it was a gift from Prussia to foster good relations toward Russia, all of the original amber panels were removed by the Nazi's in WWII.  Though there remains a mystery of their exact location, there are many theories and books written about the disappearance of the amber panels.  Talk about espionage!    The existing panels in the room are a recreation by Russian artists. Although beautiful, it's fun to imagine what the original room may have looked like.  Unfortunately, there are now no photographs allowed to be taken of this room.  The palace is magnificent enough, certainly, but the gardens and the gold domed towers of the chapel are equally as grand.  Unfortunately the inclement weather on the day of our visit prevented a proper tour of the gardens.

Depending on your interest, I am sure there would be number of things that come to mind when you consider a trip to Russia.  Art, literature, music, architecture all rank high on my list. Viktor brought us to see the points of our interest, including a stop at the former home of Rimsky Korsakov, where, we were told, concerts are still given.   I was delighted when our trip included a night at the Mariinsky Theatre, where we were treated to a performance of Samson and Delilah, a french opera written by Camille Saint-Saens.  Here we sat,  in a famous Russian theatre, being treated to one of the most important french operas.  I had to pinch myself to realize that our good fortune was real.  The Mariinsky Theatre was once known as the Kirov Opera and Ballet Theatre where the likes of Ana Pavlova have graced the stage.   The opera that night was, of course, sung in french and had russian sub titles, but we were nonetheless content to be a part of a magical night.

Thus the conclusion to our first trip to Russia.  We would return the following year, retracing our steps together with our daughter Tracey, her husband Mike and their daughter Katie, who at only 6 months, will not be able to remember the journey.   I'll have to write another blog about that trip as it has its own set of highlights, including another overnight train trip from St. Petersburg to Moscow and an altercation on the Metro.  Stay tuned!