Day 21 ~ Pskov: A Monastery, A Fortress and A Kremlin

23. July ~ Pskov

Today was a long day filled with bus riding and walking. I feel like I’ve spent most of my time here walking or eating. Anyways, we went to Pskov, which is the location of a Russian Orthodox monastery. Located near it are the oldest Russian stone fortress and the Pskov Kremlin.

The monastery is named: Pskov Pechorski Monastery. It is located near both Pskov and Pechorski and therefore, two names.

I thought that oh, Novgorod has a Kremlin, why would I need to really see another one they’ll be different. Haha, silly me. All of the places we saw were so beautiful.

The monastery is one of my favorite places ever, I know I keep saying that about lots of places in Russia, but I really loved it here.

The monastery was also one of the only, if not the only monastery not closed during the times of the Soviet Union. The government tried to close it, but it never happened.

The bus ride there was the most uncomfortable bus ride I’ve ever been on, and contrary to previous thought, it took about 4 and a half hours with one 15 minute stop to get to Pskov (pronounced scoff). The roads were filled with potholes, and I sat in the very back of the bus, so I felt every bump, ugh, not very good for sleeping at all. Some roads were only one way and I felt like at times I certainly was in the middle of nowhere.

To make things worse, the bus driver had Russian pop music videos playing, and they were cool for the first half an hour or so, but four hours of them was just soo annoying. If you muted them you might mistake them for American music videos. They’re basically the same as the music videos in America.

I was so relieved to arrive! At the monastery there are these caves made of limestone where monks are buried. In order to get into the caves you have to ask permission of the head monk. You can never know ahead of time if you’ll be allowed in. It’s really hit and miss. Sometimes they let you, other times they say no. Luckily, we were all allowed in!

Information on Pskov Monastery and Caves!

Due to the temperature and air and other conditions in the caves the bodies have become mummified. I thought we would get to see the actual bodies, but they are placed in coffins, so all we saw were some coffins that are placed behind the walls of the caves. There were be huge doors with Icons on them, and when you opened them you could see the coffins.

When you go into the caves you are given a candle and are accompanied by a monk. Can’t walk too fast or the candle goes out. The temperature in the caves was five degrees Celsius. There is just enough room for two lines of people to go along the paths. If you’re claustrophobic this isn’t the place for you. It would be a really good set for a horror movie. The walls of the caves were moist, and one person suggested the walls were limestone. It was a really neat experience to go in the caves. The icons that cover the doors are really pretty and just the whole thing is so cool.

After the caves we went into a small church on the premises. You could go in and light a candle, buy some books and icons. Three monks came into the church and got ready and started saying their prayers. If we stayed long enough we could have heard them chant, but we had other places to be and things to see.

The monastery felt like such a peaceful place and I could have spent so much more time there. I’ve always thought that monks and deeply religious people who devote their lives to God in such ways are extremely fascinating. I wish I could spend more time finding out about how they live their daily lives.. and wish I could have a deeper faith like they do. The monks’ dedication, focus and willingness is something that is truly inspiring. Being in their presence and visiting the monastery was just a very awesome experience.

Hopefully my pictures explain better how gorgeous this place is! It’s located in a valley and surrounded by its own little wall to protect it.

Overall I just really enjoyed being here; the four hour drive was worth it, even if I hadn’t gotten to see the caves. The domes on the church and the buildings were a very pretty blue, and some of the most pretty I have seen in Russia, I think.
Next was a trip to see the oldest stone fortress in Russia. Apparently there was another built close by or something, but it was not very efficient in doing its job, so it was replaced with the one I saw today. It is located on the State Historical Architectural Natural Landscape Museum – Reserve “Izborsk”. Within the reserve is a church, small stands where souvenirs were sold, as well as a nice little restaurant.

The group was really hungry so we all ate first. We had a very nice typical Russian meal. The first plate was a cabbage salad with peas, and the second a soup. The soup is called . As always, tea after the main meal, with Blini that was filled with an orange cream cheese with pieces of small orange liquorish. Again, Blini does not disappoint, neither did the whole meal.

There was a very nice church on the grounds that was filled with many icons, as most church’s are. It was very pretty. The fortress was cool, I really like the stone work and the big towers. In one of the towers you could take stairs and walk up to the top of it. A bunch of us went up and the view from the top was incredible. You could see lots of land, Dachas, a nice lake, endless amounts of huge puffy clouds and the Russian countryside at its best. On my way down, I was going slow and sideways because the stairs were steep and somewhat narrow. Somehow I overworked the muscles in my thighs, because they were extremely sore immediately after. Russia is really giving me a workout!

Russian countryside is so endless and extensive it seems. All the houses and Churches and villages have such an intimate cozy feeling, even just in passing through. There are miles at times that separate one village, or city from another. There is so much wide open space with so many trees and pieces of land. In between you don’t find much, you feel like you’re certainly in the middle of nowhere. It seems that there aren’t many places around where I live where there is at least a gas station, store, or some type of building within close driving distance even in the country.

The Kremlin in Pskov is also a very nice sight, and although the basic idea and architecture of the Kremlin is the same as the Novgorod Kremlin, it was still different and unique in its own way. The Kremlin was from the IX – XIX centuries according to a sign. The Kremlin was much smaller than the Novgorod Kremlin, and had a church on the inside.

When we arrived inside the Kremlin, it was around time for Church to being. The bells from the bell tower of the Church began to chime, and it was a lovely thing to hear and see. When inside the Church we soon realized something big was going on, there were many Orthodox priests in attendance, the Church was decorated very elaborately, and a red carpet was rolled out. The Archbishop of the area was coming, and so everything was in tip top shape. It was really neat to be here at the Church at this time especially to see the grand display for the Archbishop. Once the procession and greetings finished we left. The church was filled with it’s own special icons, chandeliers and lots of gold.

In one part of the Kremlin it looked like there were foundations from buildings that no longer existed but it looked like a really neat maze. If these stones were not foundations at one time, I don’t know what it was.

Apparently by the time we were on our way it was already 6pm! We arrived home right around 10 although the ride back was much better than the ride there. Masha, Steve, Adrian and I did not sit in the very back so the bumps and pot holes were hardly a problem. I slept for about an hour, and read a book the rest of the way

The book I am reading is called My Stroke Of Insight. I highly recommend it. It’s about a doctor who has a stroke and then writes about how she was able to recover from the stroke and how her life has changed. It’s written so that anyone can understand the terminology and medical aspects of it. I may write more about it once I finish it. You should google it or something and look into it!

Of course when I got home I had a nice meal waiting for me. Olga prepared a vegetable stir fry that had potatoes and chicken with it too, it was great! With tea I had some new apple pastry things which were pretty good.

Another thing I’ve noticed, there are so many varieties of flowers around everywhere. Many places that I see have wildflowers growing. There are also many pots and little flower beds all around. There is great effort and time spent caring for plants and flowers all over the city, it’s lovely. Perhaps I notice it because I see many types of flowers here that I do not see as frequently at home.

Overall, it was a very wonderful day. I really enjoyed it soo much. It’s been one of my favorite things that I have seen and done here!
Alrighty, hope all is well at home!

Love,
Sasha


Picture Links:
Russia ~ Day 21 ~ Pskov: A monestary, A fortress and A Kremlin

Russia ~ Day 21 ~ Pskov: Continued