Saint Petersburg

Friday morning we arrived in Saint Petersburg and went to the hostel. This was my first stay in a hostel and it was really nice. The first day started off with a walk to the hermitage and on our way we stopped at Kazan cathedral. It was an actual working cathedral so I had to wear a headscarf. After, we continued on to the hermitage and began our very long tour. The highlights for me included the ballrooms and Queen’s throne. After the hermitage we went to Saint Isaac’s cathedral and then ate a delicious American styled burger at a restaurant. 

Saturday we saw the Peter and Paul fortress and since it was snowing it gave a feeling of authenticity. In the past, they shot two cannons a day. One signified the beginning of the day and the other signified the ending of the working day. Now, they only shoot the cannon once a day and we were there to hear and witness it. I had never heard a cannon before. It was very loud and scary. At the fortress there was a prison for political prisoners only.  While the rooms were better than mine at MSU, the people that stayed there got absolutely NO socialization and they rarely if ever got to leave their room.  After the fortress we saw a battle “sheap.” That is kind of an inside joke because on our schedule it said “sheap” rather than “ship” and we couldn’t stop making jokes about it. The ship was called the Aurora and was in the Russo-Japanese war, WWI, WWII and three revolutions. While I am not interested in ships, it was cool to see what one actually looks like on the inside.

Sunday we saw Catherine’s Palace. The palace was breathtakingly beautiful and the land surrounding it was also wonderful. I encourage anyone who can to travel and visit it for themselves. Catherine was a woman with obvious great taste in home décor. Our group did a rendition of “Let it Go” from the movie Frozen, by the lake. Russia really is a winter wonderland.

I saw The Church of the Savior on Spilled Blood. As I stood in the cathedral, I looked around and had one of those 'aw' moments. This church was what inspired me to continue to study Russian. My freshman year of college, I sat in a Russian history class and this was the first church we learned about and from then on I was completely in love with the idea of Russia. I never would have imagined when I sat in that history class looking at pictures on the projector that one day I would actually be able to stand inside of it! The ability to experience moments like that are why I am here in Russia.

 Tonight (Sunday) we are on the night train heading back to Moscow. Overall, I have decided that I personally like Moscow better. I feel like I now have an attachment to the city and the life I have started there. While Saint Petersburg was a beautiful city to visit, travel and explore the history, Moscow is a city of a life that I have grown to enjoy.  Sitting on this train, I feel as if I am going home and I have the same excitement that I felt when leaving Europe three years ago to go back to the United States.