So....I think I have some more tales to recount, correct? Well, two days after my return home, let's get down to business....
I'm actually going to drag this all the way back to the 23rd, the day we left St. Petersburg for Moscow. Before leaving for our 1430 train to the capital, there was still some unfinished business left in St. P's. Vanya guided me to see the Bronze Horseman, an iconic statue of Peter the Great, situated right behind St. Isaac's Cathedral. I was actually quite interested in this statue. It depicts Peter astride a horse (I suppose you could have guessed that part), and both are placed atop a massive piece of granite that is shaped like a wave. Apparently getting the granite to its location, done in the 1780s, was completed without the use of horses (just manpower) and required a herculean effort that actually claimed some workers' lives. More interesting to me was the fact that, during the Nazi siege of Leningrad during WWII, the Soviet army went to great lengths to protect the statue, and it made it through the 900-day ordeal untouched.
After scoping that, we made one last stop on Nevsky Prospekt, to a bookstore housed on the bottom floor of a building known as the Singer House. A neat piece of architecture, the Singer House used to hold a division of the Singer Sewing Company. There I picked up a book on the city, to commemorate my stay.
Alice took the three of us (don't forget, Nika, Vanya's girlfriend, came along) down to the train station so we could be on our way to Moscow. I shared an embrace with Alice, who I miss already. It was fantastic meeting and hanging with her, and she, like her brother and mother, was an amazing host. I hope we will cross paths again soon.
The train took about four hours to get us to our destination. It wasn't one of the sleek, new, high-speed SAPSAN (falcon in Russian) trains, but for some odd reason it got us there just as fast, and was cheaper. We passed much of the time standing in the aisle and chatting. Looking out the window was neat, allowing me a chance to look at some of the spaces in between, as I like to call it. We passed a number of quiet little villages, that probably haven't changed in half a century. Otherwise it was a comfy ride, with the seating arrangements being a typical compartment with six seats.
Vanya's father, Stanislav, greeted us at the train station. We piled into his old Daewoo and entered into Moscow's miserable, and chaotic, traffic. While on one of the ring roads that are central to the city's road network, we passed by two police cars, and then a motor-biker flew past us and the cops, obviously going way beyond the speed limit. The cop cars didn't seem to care. So, a bit different from how things are done here in the U.S.
Anyway, before reaching our destination, Stas (as the short name for Stanislav goes) took us to a park, the name of which escapes me, so we could stretch our legs and enjoy the cool evening air. Moscow does have problems with pollution, but I have to say I really enjoyed the evenings, they were very comfortable. This park was dotted with apple trees, and there were locals jogging, walking with strollers or their dogs. We eventually came to a large dacha that apparently served as housing for princesses during the time of Tsars. We made a circle around the gingerbread-like structure, and then made our way back to the vehicle to call it a night.
Speaking of calling it a night, I will stop there for now, as I have work tomorrow to think about. Look back for more tomorrow, but check out the photos first:
I'm actually going to drag this all the way back to the 23rd, the day we left St. Petersburg for Moscow. Before leaving for our 1430 train to the capital, there was still some unfinished business left in St. P's. Vanya guided me to see the Bronze Horseman, an iconic statue of Peter the Great, situated right behind St. Isaac's Cathedral. I was actually quite interested in this statue. It depicts Peter astride a horse (I suppose you could have guessed that part), and both are placed atop a massive piece of granite that is shaped like a wave. Apparently getting the granite to its location, done in the 1780s, was completed without the use of horses (just manpower) and required a herculean effort that actually claimed some workers' lives. More interesting to me was the fact that, during the Nazi siege of Leningrad during WWII, the Soviet army went to great lengths to protect the statue, and it made it through the 900-day ordeal untouched.
After scoping that, we made one last stop on Nevsky Prospekt, to a bookstore housed on the bottom floor of a building known as the Singer House. A neat piece of architecture, the Singer House used to hold a division of the Singer Sewing Company. There I picked up a book on the city, to commemorate my stay.
Alice took the three of us (don't forget, Nika, Vanya's girlfriend, came along) down to the train station so we could be on our way to Moscow. I shared an embrace with Alice, who I miss already. It was fantastic meeting and hanging with her, and she, like her brother and mother, was an amazing host. I hope we will cross paths again soon.
The train took about four hours to get us to our destination. It wasn't one of the sleek, new, high-speed SAPSAN (falcon in Russian) trains, but for some odd reason it got us there just as fast, and was cheaper. We passed much of the time standing in the aisle and chatting. Looking out the window was neat, allowing me a chance to look at some of the spaces in between, as I like to call it. We passed a number of quiet little villages, that probably haven't changed in half a century. Otherwise it was a comfy ride, with the seating arrangements being a typical compartment with six seats.
Vanya's father, Stanislav, greeted us at the train station. We piled into his old Daewoo and entered into Moscow's miserable, and chaotic, traffic. While on one of the ring roads that are central to the city's road network, we passed by two police cars, and then a motor-biker flew past us and the cops, obviously going way beyond the speed limit. The cop cars didn't seem to care. So, a bit different from how things are done here in the U.S.
Anyway, before reaching our destination, Stas (as the short name for Stanislav goes) took us to a park, the name of which escapes me, so we could stretch our legs and enjoy the cool evening air. Moscow does have problems with pollution, but I have to say I really enjoyed the evenings, they were very comfortable. This park was dotted with apple trees, and there were locals jogging, walking with strollers or their dogs. We eventually came to a large dacha that apparently served as housing for princesses during the time of Tsars. We made a circle around the gingerbread-like structure, and then made our way back to the vehicle to call it a night.
Speaking of calling it a night, I will stop there for now, as I have work tomorrow to think about. Look back for more tomorrow, but check out the photos first:
The family cat, Sammy, staging a sit-in to prevent my leaving.
Peter the Great..even German Stuka dive-bombers couldn't knock him down.
Vanya tries to find some apples.
Making our mark in front of the Tsarinas' dacha.
An archway within the walls of the dacha.
To give you a better idea of how the building looked.....
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