I got drunk every night in Petersburg, except one. But I did drink every night. It was wonderful. I could buy a half liter of Smirnoff quality vodka for 3 bucks, and a bottle of decent wine for 5. Life was good. I also got to see many of the buildings that I've wanted to see since I was first learning about Russia in high school. Most importantly, this one:
This is the Church of Christ on Spilled Blood, and it was built on, you guessed it, spilled blood. But not just any spilled blood, no, that wouldn't be good enough for Jesus. You see, Jesus only accepts churches that are built on the blood of Tsars. Tsars that have been grenaded by anarchists. So when Tsar Alexander II was blown up by anarchists, his son Nicholas I thought that it would be the perfect opportunity to build a church. And he did, even leaving the exact stones upon which Alexander II met his demise so that they could be seen by coming generations. So here they are:
I also got to wander around the Winter Palace, the largest palace in Europe, which is now occupied by the Hermitage, which is one of the best art museums in the world. It's got pieces by Da Vinci, Raphael, Michelangelo, Rembrandt, Picasso, Renoir, Monet, and countless others. Also wandered around the Summer Palace (in which is the famous Amber Room) and Paul's Palace.
Saw just about every major monument in St. Petersburg. Also ate at Subway, which was actually quite different than in the US. It doesn't have real lettuce, the pepperonis are tiny, and it was just more Russian. Also ate at a Georgian restaurant (the country) and drank Russian wine, which was surprisingly good. Had a very busy but very pleasant weekend.
Saturday was Victory Day. Saw Russian tanks, ICBM launchers, SCUD missiles, etc., plus all of their latest copies of our aircraft (the AWACs was especially funny to see fly overhead).
We go to Siberia in a week. I can't believe I'm so close.
As to posting pics of my Russian friends, we'll see. First I have to take some.
A FEW THINGS:
ReplyDelete-first off I thought you said, "As to posting pics of my Russian friends, we'll see. First I have to make some." as in make some russian friends... it made me giggle.
secondly, I'm just going to assume that the girl in the green shirt in the background of the pic The Church of Christ on Spilled Blood is your new russian girlfriend. I dont care if its true or not.