End of Moscow 1 + beginning of St. Petersburg

So later I came back to the hostel and just hung around for awhile. A little later the Australians came back from the ice hockey game, put on these ridiculous sailor hats, and started drinking and playing poker. It looked REALLY fun. They were singing all kinds of Christmas carols too (and Queen…not really sure where that one came in). Anyway it was really funny listening to them. They’re really funny in general. Good hostel-mates. Also one of them told me at 2 in the morning they ordered 3 large pizzas for like 1400 rubles and devoured them in like 5 mins, literally. Hahahaha. Silly Australians. (trix are for kids!)

So that morning I made myself a delicious omlet. And salad. And apple with peanut butter. And peanut butter and jelly. And tea. With jelly in it. And talked to the Australians for awhile before heading off to the Kremlin area. My day consisted mostly of churches and cathedrals. Which is okay, because I love them a lot. Almost every time I’m in one though I think about Baba, which makes it all sort of an exhausting experience.

So first was St. Basil’s. Very cool. And just crazy to think about how old it is (and it seems old on the inside) and yet on the outside it still looks like a toy. Then I was going to see Lenin, but I had my camera with me, and you can’t take your camera with you even if you aren’t going to use it. And there was no where to put it, and I didn’t trust the police officers to keep it safe for me. So I’ll come back next time. The history museum was also closed (Tuesday is their weekend day?), and the Armoury was sold out, so I can do all three of those together next week.

So I circled around the Kremlin until I found the ticket office. Bought a ticket. But then it was hard to get in because there was something going on with children and a Christmas tree (well, New Year’s tree in Russia). Most yolkas (new years trees) in Russia, like Sonya said, are wire with pine wrapped around it and lights. So they aren’t actually trees. But the one in the Kremlin was a real tree, although not a very attractive looking one. It was just big. So there were SWARMS of children everywhere carrying little festive blue boxes and militsionarii (policemen) were yelling at all of those who wanted to enter the Kremlin, but were not children. It was very overwhelming and I wished that they weren’t there. So many children that close to me makes me uneasy. I think I’d be more comfortable with crowds of angry Bolsheviks.

So I saw everything accessible in the Kremlin except for the State Armory and the Cathedral of the Annunciation, since it’s being restored. But oh my God. I talked about how I love Orthodox Churches. But the ones in the Kremlin are like 15 times better than I ever could have imagined. The tombs of so many people were in the Cathedral of the Archangel. It was sort of cool. And the Cathedral of the Assumption is unbelievable. I almost couldn’t take myself out of it. It’s SO amazing. Oh my GOD. Do they do Christmas services there? I’m going to be in Moscow during Russian Christmas. And I’m going to a Christmas Eve service, I’ve decided. I need to find myself a head scarf. So anyway, all of these churches and cathedrals are totally incredible. Even the little churches on sidestreets are amazing. WAHHH. HOW DO THEY DO THAT?!

So then I was tired and really wanted to just go back to the hostel but knew if I did I’d never make it out again. So I stopped somewhere and had some tea to just sit and warm up for a bit. Then I went wandering for the things I was looking for yesterday, but never found. And as I was wandering I saw some really cool buildings (this often happens), a GORGEOUS church (also often), another gorgeous church, and THEN…a gigantic tea house. My guide said it was closed to the public, which I didn’t believe, because how else would they sell tea? So I went in there and it was AMAZING. They had all kinds of teas-in boxes and loose leaf-and then all kinds of coffees and chocolates and a little thing of desserts and a place where they sold alcohol. I think there were 5 stations in all. It was amaaaaaaazing. So I bought a box of tea (the really good kind from Mongolia!) and 2 bags of loose leaf. This is so exciting. Do we have any tea houses around Middlebury? Or Cleveland? That would make my day.

So then I wandered back to the hostel, took a shower, talked to some people. It was fun. And I stayed up way too late just talking considering I had to get up at 7 the next morning to make my 11:45 flight. Oh, also, at one of the cathedrals I bought a CD of Russian Orthodox choral music. I know you’re all really jealous.

So I gathered myself the next morning, made myself another omlet with tomatoes and green onions which did NOT sit well in my stomach as I was lugging all of my stuff around the metro. Said goodbye to some people (I’m SO sad that this other girl from Irkutsk (as in, she’s actually from Irkutsk), Elvira, isn’t going to be there when I come back…she was SO sweet.)…etc. Said goodbye to the creepy Cuban guy. I HATE creepy people. Like SO much. UGH. Anyway.

Had my black purse, a пакет, and my blue adidas bag with me on the metro. It was fine, just sort of heavy, and it is SO hot on the metro. Then took a bus to the airport. Was like an hour early. Read some Turgenev in Russian (like, 2 pages). The Aeroflot flight was nice, they gave us some juice, croissants, chocolates, and tea. I was pleased. I was not thrilled with how the plane sort of shook as we were taking off and was at times not very smooth, but it didn’t crash, so I can’t complain.

So anyway, the night before I had sent an email to the St. Petersburg International Hostel because I hadn’t received any confirmation from them about my online reservation. So when I got to the airport in St. Petersburg and had no idea where I was going, I just hopped on a bus going downtown and wandered until I found an internet café. And then they said they had never received and online confirmation. So I didn’t want to go all the way there if they didn’t have any beds, so I tried calling. And my phone didn’t work. And all I had was a 1000 ruble bill, which is accepted, like, nowhere.

But I needed to have lunch anyway, so I had a nice business lunch at Pizza Hut, where they played the great hits of our time, such as “Sugar Sugar How You Get So Fly?” and other such classics. I hope the sarcasm here is sensed, as I’m laying it on pretty thick.

So then my phone still didn’t work, and I didn’t know what to do, so I got on the metro and went to the Mosckovsky Train Station (which is not too far from either of my two hostel options) and bought a phone card to try and call. Phone still didn’t work. People at the train station told me they couldn’t help me and sent me to find the MTS store, which was not possible to find. So I saw this gigantic MTS sign and went into the building under it. Which turned out to be a restaurant/bar. BUT the nicest guy EVER was there and I asked him if he knew where the MTS store is. He said no, but then went and asked someone else, and said he knew where someone could help me, offered to carry my gigantic blue adidas bag for me, and walked me to this cell phone store about 2 blocks away. Like, nicest guy EVER. AH. So they told me they didn’t know what was wrong and just had me buy a new SIM card, which worked out well. Called the hostel, they had free beds. Wandered around forever trying to find it. Finally found it. Was relieved.

It’s not really a hostel, it’s more like a really really really rundown hotel-ish thing. They have like a check in area, and individual rooms that have 2, 3, 4, or 5 beds. It’s sort of lonely. Not like all the other hostels I’ve been to (all 2 of them, but they have been totally fabulous). They also don’t have mugs in the kitchen, which means I can’t drink any tea. Oh well. It’s okay.

So I called my mom, organized my stuff, and went to a café. Unsuccessfully tried to download three seasons of Arrested Development. Had some hot chocolate and ice cream, but just about had a heart attack because the internet card they gave me was twice as much as it was in Moscow, and then I was afraid that I wouldn’t have enough cash on me and that I’d have to go track down a bankomat before paying, but turns out I just didn’t do the math. Okay. Came back and went to sleep.

It’s really cold in this hostel. I don’t like that. I also don’t like that I don’t know when it’s morning, since it was still dark at 9 AM. Which means I thought it was like 4 AM. I need to take note of that.

Okay, so I don’t know if anyone’s heard about the Moscow metro, but it’s really pretty. They have all kinds of sculptures and it’s made out of this gorgeous stone and whatnot and just looks REALLY really good. Some stops are better than others, but on the whole, it’s really cool. But at the same time, I can’t help thinking about how much money they must have spent on the metro and NOT on other, more important things. Anyway.

Also now is a good time to talk about the importance of пакеты (aka plastic bags). Everyone here carries their stuff around in plastic bags. Some are crappy plastic bags, which you buy for like 1 ruble, and others are much classier, like 10 rubles. The ones with handles and the thick plastic are the most desirable. But seriously, like EVERYONE carries their stuff around in plastic bags. Most people have 1 purse and 1 пакет. I wonder if I’ll keep doing this at home.

Okay, it’s time to buy some train tickets to Novgorod and see St. Petersburg.