As Katie recently posted we go on morning adventures. They are pretty great. Katie and I go. Jessica is usually with us. The way I am going to do this post is look at the pictures on my memory card since the last time I added pictures because I posted a blog entry at the same time I uploaded pictures.
The first two pictures are of the day that it was really foggy. Like incredibly foggy. This a picture of the apartment building that is like right next to mine and you can hardly see it. You can't even see that the building goes to the left also.
My next pictures were of the time that Katie and I went to Kazan Cathedral on Nevsky Prospekt. We had talked to Jessica earlier about going there but then she ended up meeting us afterwards.
Kazan Cathedral was built at the beginning of the 19th century and was modeled after St Peter's Basilica in Rome. Sveta told us earlier that the builder or somebody wanted to build another cathedral like this one but on the other side of the street so that there would be a nice place to gather. That way the cathedrals would be mirrored by Nevsky Prospekt. The mirroring cathedral was never built. The cathedral was built in memory of the Russian victory over Napoleon in 1812. It was really interesting to look at the pillars around Kazan Cathedral. They were in various stages of weathering and restoration. We actually arrived at the cathedral at like 10:30 am which was right in the middle of the morning service that they normally have there. It wasn't like we interrupted anything but there were priests there. There was also singing that was going on that normally isn't going on when you go to a Russian Orthodox cathedral. We stuck around to take a look at all the different things on the walls and took a gander at the ceiling (because they are almost always decorated) and then went outside to meet Jessica.
Outside of Kazan Cathedral Katie and I met up with Jessica and then went to St Isaac's Cathedral which is right down the street. When we went to the ticket office we showed our student cards and we got into the cathedral itself for free. Then to go up the stairs on top was only 150 rubles so we were like okay. So we went up this long circular staircase to the top and looked at St Petersburg from the top of St Isaac's Cathedral. Sveta took us to see St Isaac's Cathedral the first Saturday we were here and said that we should really go up there because it is really cool. Up at the top it was really windy. There didn't seem to be a lot of wind on the street but once we went up there was a lot of wind and it was cold. But it was totally worth it! You could walk all the way around on top and so they had markers saying that this way was east and that way was west. It was very informative. It also really helped with connecting where things are here in St Petersburg. One of the things that we kind of miss out on by taking the metro everywhere is the path actually to our destination. For example: when I would ride buses on my mission I would know specific landmarks that were 5 minutes away or halfway to our destination. Here it is just like we walk into a hole in the ground in one part of the city then we appear out of a different hole in the ground in a different part of the city and so trying to navigate St Petersburg by car would be really difficult. Occasionally, I would be able to recognize some buildings but not really know how to get from one place to another. I digress, St Isaac's Cathedral. From being on top we were able to point out some more things that we still need to visit. Part of the problem will be finding out what they are but it will be easier because I know in which direction from St Isaac's they are, which is really helpful. We should really get on that.
The ceiling at St Isaac's cathedral was very similar to the ceiling at Kazan cathedral. So I took one picture for both places. Mostly I didn't want to take a picture while the ceremony at Kazan cathedral while they were having their ceremony. It was in St Isaac's that I realized that the 'no pictures' signs that I thought I have been seeing are not actually 'no picture' signs but they are 'no flash' signs for cameras. After that then I wasn't sneaky trying to get pictures at St Isaac's. I took some pictures but my batteries were dying so I didn't take very many pictures.
The next group of pictures was from when we went to the circus. Now I have never been to the circus before. Here in Russia it is very much a kids thing. There were a lot of kids in the audience. But I loved the show anyways. I especially loved all the acrobats and the people that were jumping and juggling. There were enormous feats of strength also. The first guys (orange ones) had to be incredibly strong. It quite literally blew my mind. I loved the circus and it made me want to go once I go back to America and see the difference. However the part that I didn't really care for was when the lions came out or the poodles. The poodles were kind of scary/freaky to look at and the lions looked really skinny.
After the circus we were all hungry and so we went in search for food. We walked down the street and I knew immediately where I wanted to eat. It was right there in front of me. I had heard a rumor while I was on my mission that there was a Carl's Jr. here in St Petersburg but I had kind of forgot about it. But every time I would get off the metro at Nevsky Prospekt I would always see the advertisement. The advertisment would perk my interest but we were always going some where else and so I never sought out the address. Well, we happened to walk right by it. So, naturally, I went in. I went in alone but it was worth it. I got a Western burger. It tasted really good. The BBQ sauce actually tasted like BBQ sauce. It was awesome! Then they were playing good music. When I left they were playing "Where'd you go?" by Fort Minor. Much better than the elevator music that was at the Teremok that everybody else went to.
Then the last picture to add is the bird that we made for one of my primary lessons. It was unfortunate that when we actually made the birds though I couldn't find the googly eyes and so they didn't look as cute. But they still liked the birds. Success!
The first two pictures are of the day that it was really foggy. Like incredibly foggy. This a picture of the apartment building that is like right next to mine and you can hardly see it. You can't even see that the building goes to the left also.
My next pictures were of the time that Katie and I went to Kazan Cathedral on Nevsky Prospekt. We had talked to Jessica earlier about going there but then she ended up meeting us afterwards.
Kazan Cathedral was built at the beginning of the 19th century and was modeled after St Peter's Basilica in Rome. Sveta told us earlier that the builder or somebody wanted to build another cathedral like this one but on the other side of the street so that there would be a nice place to gather. That way the cathedrals would be mirrored by Nevsky Prospekt. The mirroring cathedral was never built. The cathedral was built in memory of the Russian victory over Napoleon in 1812. It was really interesting to look at the pillars around Kazan Cathedral. They were in various stages of weathering and restoration. We actually arrived at the cathedral at like 10:30 am which was right in the middle of the morning service that they normally have there. It wasn't like we interrupted anything but there were priests there. There was also singing that was going on that normally isn't going on when you go to a Russian Orthodox cathedral. We stuck around to take a look at all the different things on the walls and took a gander at the ceiling (because they are almost always decorated) and then went outside to meet Jessica.
Outside of Kazan Cathedral Katie and I met up with Jessica and then went to St Isaac's Cathedral which is right down the street. When we went to the ticket office we showed our student cards and we got into the cathedral itself for free. Then to go up the stairs on top was only 150 rubles so we were like okay. So we went up this long circular staircase to the top and looked at St Petersburg from the top of St Isaac's Cathedral. Sveta took us to see St Isaac's Cathedral the first Saturday we were here and said that we should really go up there because it is really cool. Up at the top it was really windy. There didn't seem to be a lot of wind on the street but once we went up there was a lot of wind and it was cold. But it was totally worth it! You could walk all the way around on top and so they had markers saying that this way was east and that way was west. It was very informative. It also really helped with connecting where things are here in St Petersburg. One of the things that we kind of miss out on by taking the metro everywhere is the path actually to our destination. For example: when I would ride buses on my mission I would know specific landmarks that were 5 minutes away or halfway to our destination. Here it is just like we walk into a hole in the ground in one part of the city then we appear out of a different hole in the ground in a different part of the city and so trying to navigate St Petersburg by car would be really difficult. Occasionally, I would be able to recognize some buildings but not really know how to get from one place to another. I digress, St Isaac's Cathedral. From being on top we were able to point out some more things that we still need to visit. Part of the problem will be finding out what they are but it will be easier because I know in which direction from St Isaac's they are, which is really helpful. We should really get on that.
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| One of the main doors at St Isaac's Cathedral. It isn't actually used but it looks really cool. |
The next group of pictures was from when we went to the circus. Now I have never been to the circus before. Here in Russia it is very much a kids thing. There were a lot of kids in the audience. But I loved the show anyways. I especially loved all the acrobats and the people that were jumping and juggling. There were enormous feats of strength also. The first guys (orange ones) had to be incredibly strong. It quite literally blew my mind. I loved the circus and it made me want to go once I go back to America and see the difference. However the part that I didn't really care for was when the lions came out or the poodles. The poodles were kind of scary/freaky to look at and the lions looked really skinny.
After the circus we were all hungry and so we went in search for food. We walked down the street and I knew immediately where I wanted to eat. It was right there in front of me. I had heard a rumor while I was on my mission that there was a Carl's Jr. here in St Petersburg but I had kind of forgot about it. But every time I would get off the metro at Nevsky Prospekt I would always see the advertisement. The advertisment would perk my interest but we were always going some where else and so I never sought out the address. Well, we happened to walk right by it. So, naturally, I went in. I went in alone but it was worth it. I got a Western burger. It tasted really good. The BBQ sauce actually tasted like BBQ sauce. It was awesome! Then they were playing good music. When I left they were playing "Where'd you go?" by Fort Minor. Much better than the elevator music that was at the Teremok that everybody else went to.
Then the last picture to add is the bird that we made for one of my primary lessons. It was unfortunate that when we actually made the birds though I couldn't find the googly eyes and so they didn't look as cute. But they still liked the birds. Success!
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