Day 17 ~ St. Petersburg: Final Day

19. July ~ Last day in St. Petersburg

Last day in St. Petersburg! Masha and I slept in, and it was really nice! We decided to spend the last day going to the Church of the Savior on Blood. The church was built over the spot where Alexander II was shot and murdered. In this spot there is a special structure. Anyways, I really liked this church the most of every one I’ve seen so far because everything inside the walls were all mosaics. It's gorgeous, my personal favorite.

Information on the Church here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Church_of_the_Savior_on_Blood

Most mosaics, and artwork, in any church are of one saint or another. The artwork in this church was most impressive to me because it was mosaic. Masha and I did a little souvenir shopping and then walked in a park next to the church. It was a nice park, although it was just nice to find a bench to sit and watch the pigeons and people come and go.

In Russia there are pigeons everywhere. Oh, another thing, various places in St. Petersburg there are people who have random animals like monkeys, hawks, baby foxes, and a baby cub (maybe a lynx cub, I don’t know) in their captivity so that people can come and take pictures of them and such. I am pretty sure it’s illegal in the United States as it should be, but not here. I got a few pictures with a monkey, they turned out nice, but I feel bad for the animals. I was thinking, what happens to them when they aren’t wanted anymore, they can’t be released into the wild because they would surely die.

Masha, Steve and I also had lunch at the pie place again. I got salmon pie and then mushroom. Figured, my last time here, get as much as I can eat. Two pies is almost too much, they look smaller than they are. They were still delicious as ever, my favorite food in St. Petersburg!

Oh also, the Cathedral of the Spilled blood in my opinion is the most Russian looking church I’ve seen too, mainly because of its elaborately designed and colored domes. Typically what you’d expect of a Russian church, that’s the idea most people get in their heads when thinking of Russia (or at least the Churches). I must say, overall I’ve seen some very gorgeous looking domes, mostly in gold, gray and blue.
Before leaving Masha and I ate again at the Georgian 24 hour restaurant. I got something with meat in it and eggplant. It tasted good, a bit strange in texture and such, but good. The meat was ground, like taco meat would be, but I don’t think it was ground beef. I honestly don’t know what I was eating other than eggplant.
The metro ride back was so much better than the way there; leaving always seems to be like that. Seemed like the walk to the metro and then to the bus took much less time, and it was also a Sunday afternoon so it wasn’t that busy.

I will miss the city, but four days of it was enough. According to what I’ve heard the city only gets 60 days of bright clear sunny days a year, and every day we were there it seemed to be like that except the first night when it rained. We were lucky. Additionally, it seems anytime we’re outside for anything the weather turns out to be sunny and enjoyable.

I would certainly love to come back to this city someday! The ride home was spent sleeping and looking out the window at the countryside while listening to music. Dachas are here and there along the countryside. It’s hard for me sometime to figure out what house is Dacha, because sometimes it’s confusing.

Oh well, the houses or Dachas along the countryside are very cute. Lots of them come in such an array of colors with intricately detailed woodwork around the windows, doors, and eves. Cute houses, remind me of little cottages.
While driving aimlessly along the countryside I sat and thought this country really is soo huge and the city is only a few hours away from Novgorod yet it feels so different from Novgorod and the Russia I’ve become so used to.

The city is filled with so many people, and then you get into the countryside and it is just miles and miles of land as far as the eye can see. It’s really humbling in that I really get a sense of how small I am compared to the huge world around me. It’s harder to notice it at home in the US, but here I think about it a lot. It’s just strange to comprehend. Being in a foreign country and just seeing the differences among you and other people truly goes to show how small one person really is in the whole world. The big city and these countryside travels certainly are a good reminder that I am connected to something much bigger than I can really imagine.

A bunch of us were talking about the city and how it's really a city of Gold. A city where Peter the Great created and built up a Russian Navy, a great city that Russians take such pride in!

Of course when I got home Olga had food waiting for me. She cooked me noodles and put ketchup on them and then a chicken leg! I had told her my favorite part of the chicken was the leg! She’s so nice is always remembering what foods I like and trying to make them for me here and there.

We sat together on the couch, I talked about my trip, showed her some pictures and then went to bed! The trip was great, I love so much about this country.
Love,
Sasha

Picture Links: Russia ~ Day 17 ~ St. Petersburg: Final Day