| Russia |
| Russia June 16-July 16, 2003 |
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| As July sneaks up on us, we'll take our cue and make our way to Moscow, the starting point for our Trans-Siberian Railway adventure. And from what we have been told, it will be an adventure: no showers, four berths to a cabin, potatoes and "meat," for breakfast, lunch, and dinner, hot and dusty air blowing through the open windows, and no air conditioner (at least not in the class we can afford). For the majority of the journey we'll be riding in 2nd class or kupe. We figure the train ride itself will be just as amazing and valuable as the Russian landscape we cross. Some have asked us why in the hell are we actually paying money for such an experience while others have exclaimed how envious they are of our rugged journey. To each his own. We'll be on the train for 5-6 days, with one or two stops along the way. I look forward to seeing what "Old" Russia must have been like; I imagine gloomy Soviet milling, manufacturing, and mining towns that suffered greatly throughout the decade under suffocating Communist rule. My eyes are also anxious to swim in the unimaginable beauties and realities, those of which are mysteries at present. I look forward to hearing what the Siberian plains will share with me about their history of solitude and occupation. Our final destination on the Trans-Siberian line is the natural sancutary of Lake Baikal and its surrounding protected forests. Lake Baikal is the oldest (25 million years) and deepest (1,700 meters) lake on earth. It contains 20% of the world's total unfrozen freshwater reserve. You can take a boat out to the middle of the lake where the water is so crystal clear that if you look as far as your eye can see you'll mostly likely experience the feeling of vertigo. Legend is that the more of your body that enters the water, the longer you live: a limb will add five years to your life and if you submerge your whole body you'll live an additional 25. You might have to sit by a fire for a week afterwards to warm back up, but it's worth it, right?! (I'll let you know if I'm woman enough to jump in once we get there.) We anticiapte spending ten days on the lake, hiking, boating, exploring the world's largest protected national park, and, of course, relaxing and hanging with the locals. |
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| Inside the Trip 30,000 People visit the Hermitage Museum in St. Petersburg each day 3 Percent of the Hermitage's artifacts are displayed each day. The remaining 97 percent remain in storage. 1 Matrushka dolls that we've seen with bin Laden on the outside, and, in order, Saddam Hussein, Yasser Arafat, Mussolini, and Hitler on the inside. 1 Time each day that a canon is fired from Peter and Paul's Fortress in St. Petersburg, commemorating the start of the Russian Revolution, which began when a shot was fired from a canon (it was a blank) in the Fortress. |
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| Reflections on Russia ~ NikiAnne (April 2003) I traveled to St. Petersburg 10 years ago, in 1993, on a dance exchange and have kept in touch over the years with the close friends I made. I always knew I would return to visit my Russian host families, I just never knew when. As fate would have it, the two weeks Andy and I will be in St. Petersburg are said to be the most festive days of the entire year as the Russians celebrate the Summer Solstice, which features the White Nights and requires late night parties. (It also just so happens that we'll be celebrating my birthday while we're there as well.) We plan on indulging our senses in the rich colors, architecture, history, and are that the city has to offer. On the agenda is a stroll along the length of The Hermitage (the former palace of the tsars), which is a series of linked buildings including the Winter Palace, Little Hermitage, Old and New Hermitage, and the Hermitage Theater. Housed inside is one of the world's finest collections of art. The most vivid memory I have of my first visit is standing in a room surrounded by incomprehensible amounts of malachite and gold. Malachite was my favorite stone at the time. I remember not wanting to leave, wishing that the historical vivacity within the stone's lifelines would pour into my skin and reveal the secrets that the walls had kept for so many years. I would like to return to that same room to see what the walls want to whisper to me this time, one decade later. |
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| Andy, NikiAnne, Dima, Carolina, and Kate at Petrogof (St. Petersburg, Russia) |
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| Naf and Andy in Novgorod |
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