Midnight Train to Moscow and on to Obninsk

I have fallen in love with St Petersburg. I was sad to have to leave. We spent our last day walking around and having a nice dinner at a Georgian restaurant where I had some of the best pork I have ever had. It was raining like cats and dogs as we waited to journey to the train station. I love how they have a flower shop at the train station. I am a sucker for flowers and I have noticed so many more people buy fresh flowers internationally. This is a custom I plan to adopt more frequently in my life. We finally boarded our train to Moscow. The compartment was surprisingly comfortable. After watching parts of Anastasia I fell asleep. Although the bed was hard, I slept surprisingly well. We were awakened at 7 am as we approached Moscow. I noticed it was still raining. I wish I would have brought my rain coat and a bit more hairspray because my hair turns into a chia pet with humidity. We met the guide for our day tour of Moscow. We makes a quick pit stop at the golden arches for breakfast. The classic sausage egg mcmuffin was the best I had ever had and they actually gave us adult size orange juice instead of the Dixie cup sizes they give in the States. Our tour guide Elaina was fabulous! I think we went everywhere possible throughout the city and she explained things so clearly. We stopped my the Kremlin, famous convents where Tzars and others would send their wives when they didn't want to be married to them anymore (their alternative to divorce which was outlawed at the time). We saw the 7 sister buildings Stalin built to the glory of Russia. We went to the cemetery where many russian generals and governament leaders are buried. The monuments were so intricate and elaborate. I have never seen anything like it. We ended our tour at Red Square. Unfortunately the Kremlin was closed but we got to we the general idea. St Basils was beautiful and it was fun to see the posh shops in the mall named "gum". We had the Russian interpretation of Asian food...interesting, and then traveled on the metro to see the 1930s style architecture and art in the metro stations. We then made our was to Obninsk. We are now in the "real" Russia. Soviet style hotel that remind many of army barracks. Luckily they do have WiFi and running water...what more can students ask for...really! Today we toured a bakery and the nicest hotel where the Dean and his wife are staying. I am impressed with how the students have responded to these experiences. At lunch we were all talking about how things are going so far, and it is fun to see the transformatn take place. Their eyes are being opened to the world. It makes all the months of planning and stress worth it when I can see that the students are having the same type of life changing experiences that I experienced on my first trip in 2007.

Skittles and Swan Lake

You might ask why I titled this post Skittles and Swan Lake, well...it is because that sums up our 3rd day here in St Petersburg.  We began the day with a visit with the US Consulate. It was quite fascinating to listen to their experiences and what work they do for the US and it's relations economically with Russia. The students have asked great questions and have seemed actively interested and engaged in the visits.  We then broke for lunch. I decided to browse the grocery store. It is always an adventure at the grocery store in other countries. They have whole rows of chocolate and vodka. After a simple lunch of ham and cheese on good bread while watching Anastasia on my iPad...we traveled to the Wrigley gum factory. Many of the students were expecting a charley and the chocolate factory type experience. As expected the whole administration building smells of spearmint gum. The people at the factory were very friendly. They gave us lunch in their cafeteria or cantina as they call it. I was told the food in Russia would be bad, but I have not experienced any bad foods yet. It he majority of the food is meat and potatoes, so the Irish in me is loving it. After lunch we had a presentation on Wrigley and specifically their recent merger with Mars. Wrigley will now be not only producing gum, they will produce confectionary products such as Skittles and Starburst. After the presentation we were dressed in white coats, safety shoes, hair nets, hard hats and glasses. We were escorted through the plant. We saw  stacks of gum sheets and raw ingredients. They showed us the production of Hubba Bubba and the gum that rolls up INSErT. We were then taken to see how they make Skittles. It is quite a process. We often take for granted the process that it takes to make products you see every time you check out at the grocery store.  It truly was a great visit and we were given bags of gum to take home.  We then traveled to the St Petersburg Conservatory to see a ballet performance of Swan Lake. The theater, like most buildings in Russia was cracked and crumbling, but it did have a raw beauty about it. We sat on old wooden chairs.   The performance was quite amazing. It is a memory I will cherish. These dancers are so dedicated and perform with every ounce of energy in their bodies and souls. The orchestra was excellent. It was a bit interesting exiting the theater at 10:30 pm and the sun is still out. It was like we were at an afternoon performance.  All in all a spectacular day from Skittles to Swan Lake!

St. Petersburg rain and shine

We have arrived here in St Petersburg. We had a rainy welcome...well a downpour really. I was happy to finally arrive after a long day of traveling. We are staying in the Holiday Inn. It is a massive building but very comfortable. Last night we went out for dinner and to see the Church of the Spilled Blood and the souvenir market. As I have said, bartering is not my strong suit, but I was able to see some of the pros. Hopefully I will be better in time for Turkey. We went into one of the many Orthodox cathedrals, that was quite an experience. I had never been in a orthodox church before. They have the icons all over the walls. The women wea the head scarf and many light candles and kiss the icons. We were lucky enough to see part of the service with the singing and incense. Throughout all my travels I have always loved seeing faith manifest in different religious ceremonies, from Budism to Chrisitanity in all of its forms. Sunday has been a full day. We went on a tour of the city. Our tour guide Tatiana, is very friendly and looks like Doris Day. I keep thinking she should burst out in song any moment. We went to many historical sights and the crown jewel of the hermitage. I enjoyed it in spite of the crowds of people. I felt like I was back in Asia at times because of the crowds and lack of personal space, but it was all worth it to see the paintings of the masters, (Vangough, Matisse, Piccasso etc). It was also thrilling to see the grand winter palace. I was thinking of the songs from Anastasia while in many of the rooms. They call St Petersburg the Venice of Russia because of the many islands connected by bridges. The are very beautiful. Today was more sunny, but the sky was a bit stormy and made for some great photo ops. We had a great lunch of Russian pies. I tried a chicken pie and a cheesecake one for dessert. The more adventurous flavors such as rabbit were unfortunately unavailable. We went to Peter and Paul's fortress and viewed the burial place of all the Russian Tzars. It is always so fascinating to see these types of things. It makes history come alive and I am able to visualize these figures as real human beings instead of just names in a book. We continued on to see more Cathedrals and historical sites. We were dropped off on Nevskey prospect for another shot at the souvenir market and the Church of the Spilled Blood. The church was amazing and very unique. Mosaics cover the entire structure from the inside. I was in awe of the colors and patterns. The tour guide explained that during Soviet times there was talk of destroying this church. I am so glad they did not. I know the was years of restoration but all the efforts were well worth it. I finally got my bartering practice. It still makes me sick to have to do this, but I was able to purchase some great things. Tomorrow we start the business visits and the ballet in the evening. Now that it is finally dark outside at midnight, I must get some sleep.