Maybe better titled, “Strangest Grocery Store Find,” we weren’t sure if these were meant to be eaten with beer or put into beer, but they were for sale all over the beer aisle and nowhere else (its dried fish slices).
Best: Exhibit
Lenin’s study at the Mansion of Kshesinskaya which is now The State Museum of Russian Political History. The mansion served as a headquarters for the Bolshevist movement and Lenin’s desk and office space is still intact. It was very cool to see the place where the movement started as well as the balcony from which Lenin gave the majority of his speeches.
Best: Walk
The grounds of Peterhoff Palace.
Best: Unexpected Find
The beach behind Peter and Paul fortress on the Neva Heba. It was a nice surprise in the middle of the city with great views of The Hermitage on the opposing shore.
Best: Activity
Probably the most interesting activity was entering the Kazan Cathedral. It was the first Russian church I’d been in and luckily I knew well enough to cover my head in my scarf (other Westerners with exposed heads garnered disdainful looks). lt was full of people praying to icons, prostrating in front of crucifixes and waiting in line to kiss an icon on the alter while a cantor’s chants filled the Cathedral. These were clearly pious people and it gave me chills (in a good way) to watch them worship.
Best: Awkward Moment
Hands-down it would have to be the clingy and overbearing Valery. The man gave me the creeps.
Best: Texture
Part of a wall fresco at The Hermitage from the Indian Arts section.
Best: Monument
The site of the assignation of Alexander II, the Church of the Spilled Blood. The exterior is modeled after St. Basil’s in Moscow and the interior is a brilliant burst of color. Every surface in the church was covered in bold frescos and tile mosaics. I couldn’t pull my eyes away from the ceiling.
