Oh the Places I Went

Yesterday was jam packed with sight-seeing, Russian style.  Nika and her friend Vasya took me all over the city and it was wonderful. It is funny, people are the same everywhere. You always take for granted what is in your backyard.  I kept asking Nika and Vasya questions about the history of places and they really didn’t know, and then add the language barrier and I can’t say I learned all that much.  But, if I were home showing Nika around Wyoming it would probably be the same problem. I saw some really beautiful places though, and got very excited about St. Petersburg all over again. 

I’m sorry if this is a boring post, but I’ll just give you a short description of some of the pictures so you can read if you want or just look at the pretty buildings. 

This is Nika and Me on the ship the Aurora. The Aurora was one of the first boats to participate in the Communist Revolution. According to my Russian tour guides, who were not very confident in their knowledge of the boat's history, it was the boat that signaled the start of the revolution.  It was very cool, with a little museum under the deck. However, it was raining and the deck was very slippery! Russians are not so sue happy and thus way less concerned about making things safe for the public. I definitely almost toppled down the steps. So much for dance making me graceful!

This is a shot from the ship Aurora to the naval academy across the street. So many of the buildings are similar to this architecture. I love the bright yellows, pinks, and blues they use on their buildings. They are really beautiful...my lazy eye, not so much.

These pictures are from the Peter and Paul Cathedral. This was the very first building that Peter the Great built in St. Petersburg around 1712 and is considered the center, because the rest of the city was built around it. 

This is a statue of Peter the Great outside the Peter and Paul Cathedral. The Reilly family is obviously not a descendant....look at the size of that head. It was the weirdest looking statue I have ever seen. Vasya told me before I saw it, "I think Peter the Great an ugly man. Very small head."...smells like cabbage. 

Vasya and me in front of an old Russian prison. I think you can imagine what a Russian prison  might be like, super scary.

A beautiful Russian bride taking her glamor shots in the freezing cold! Vasya explained it is very "poplar" to have your picture taken from this spot because The Winter Palace is on one side of the river, and the Peter and Paul Cathedral is directly across on the other side.

We walked around an ice sculpture exhibit with some really awesome pieces. It is difficult to see, but this one was from the new Alice in Wonderland movie.

They took me to a military museum that we walked around the outside of.  It had a ton of  battle equipment from WWII (which could also not be true because my "tour guides" were pretty sketchy on details). Either way, it was pretty interesting.  Look out USA.

Then on to my favorite! The Church of the Savior on Spilled Blood. The Reader's Digest version of this cathedral's story is Alexander II was assassinated by his people and Alexander III built this church on the place of his death as a memorial.

Finally I am getting to see the city. I already feel very at home and familiar with St. Petersburg. It helps so much that I am living with such wonderful people who take amazing care of me. Teaching still sucks...but I am quite sure it can only go up from here. Even if it doesn't, it will all be worth it to live in this beautiful place with these incredible people.