Forever and day! (and Happy Holidays!)

That's what it feels like since I last wrote a blog! Much has happened in my life; new jobs, moving to new cities, making new friends, traveling to new places as well as some familiar ones... Too much to try to catch up on a single post. Apparently I have little motivation to write unless I'm traveling. But I guess not much changes because here I am, writing a blog post getting ready for some travel.

Of course, just driving from where I live in Tennessee to spend the holidays with my family in Michigan is travel enough for most people, 10 hours of driving over four states! It has been fun spending time with my family, spoiling my nieces and nephews. Today, my family (my parents, brother and their families) plus my grandparents, a few aunts and uncles, and some of my cousins and their kids took over one of the lodges at Somerset Beach Campground. We are spending a few days here to Celebrate Christmas together. Well, I guess I should say "they" are spending a few days here, I'm only going to be here tonight because tomorrow I'm flying out for another visit to Russia.

I'm meeting my dear friend Maria in St. Petersburg for a few day and then we are heading Chelyabinsk for the New Year. I'm looking forward to see another Russian City. I love Moscow and St. Petersburg but I am really excited to venture to new parts of Russia. 

С Новым годом!

Ok, my last two days will be wrapped into one post because I didn’t feel awake enough to write after celebrating the New Year… And my last few hours were spent packing, taking one final walk with Olga around Nevsky Prospect, and then getting to the airport…

So, here I sit in the Frankfurt airport during a 13-hour layover. I suppose I could have checked out of the airport and stayed at a hotel here in Germany, BUT I discovered that I had lost my debit card somewhere in St. Petersburg sometime on between Dec. 29 and 31. Let’s just say, it’s not fun when you lose essentially, your only source for money when overseas, especially on a holiday, the day before you leave… Thankfully, no unauthorized charges had showed up so it was easy to cancel the card and I had an emergency credit card to cover me until I get back to the States…

I had a very enjoyable New Years Eve, even better than my awesome New Years Eve in London last year. And that had a great firework display I watched from the square flanked Westminster Abbey and Parliament with the clock tower that houses Big Ben. Maybe it was better because I got to spend it with someone special this year… That might have a little something to do with it…

Original Theatre

I got to watch the Nutcracker ballet at the Russian Conservatory for Opera and Ballet. Very good dancing from the students there. Also, since it was a noon matinee performance, there were many families there with young children. The conservatory theatre is right across the street from the Mariinsky Theatre (very famous theatre where I got to see a ballet the last time I was in St. Petersburg). I think the Conservatory Theatre originally had been that classic highly decorated Italian style theatre (think a horseshoe shape opened to the stage, like the Mariinsky Theatre) but at some point in the 20^th Century it had been gutted and reshaped in the 20^th Century style auditorium much like you might find in the US… It’s a pity for me because I like that older style look…

"New" theatre style

After the show, Olga picked me up from the theatre and we made our way to her apartment for a little meal with her friend Sveta. I think the original plan was to have some food and then Sveta and Olga would play a little on Olga’s harp, but the Nutcracker ran longer than expected and Sveta arrived a little late so we “dined and dashed” if you will. Sveta had to leave to get to the Philharmonic where she was playing the concert that Olga and I were going to that night… Sveta went ahead of us and we were going to stop in at a little shopping center to buy some gifts for my family when I discovered that my debit card was missing!

Arrived during intermission!

So, instead of heading to the Philharmonic hall for the concert, we hustled back to my hotel to see if maybe I had dropped my card in my room. Alas, I could not find it. So I had to call the credit unions card holder services and get my card canceled. We ended up missing the first half of the concert. Thankfully, we had heard the same concert the previous day so it was not a total loss. The bad part was they the orchestra sounded a little better the second time. The first time we heard it was a Sunday matinee show where the tickets were cheaper whereas the second show was the big New Years Eve concert so I think the musicians took it a little more seriously and played better. Although it was packed house both shows!  

We walked the streets with Sveta for a while after concert on the condition that I carried her bag, which I was more than willing to do. We stopped in a few fancy stores and walked the streets watching preparations for the big party later in the evening.  After we said goodbye to Sveta, we headed over to the restaurant that Olga had booked for us to celebrate the New Year.

We shared some great food. Olga made sure that I had tried most of the traditional Russian food on the menu. My taste buds did not complain, my stomach, however, had to pace things out so that I didn’t overstuff myself to fast.

We got to watch President Vladimir Putin address the country in the last few moments before midnight. Olga told me that all he said was “You are happy, You are happy, You are happy,” apparently try to convince people that they are happy (and not upset at the government or anything like that) but he didn’t look to excited or happy himself. One point of difference, in Russia, almost everyone parties to the early hours of the morning, no exceptions!

For my New Year day, I slept in and had a very late breakfast. Then I packed my bags and checked out of my room. Thankfully the hotel allows guest to leave bags in a little sitting area if they are not leaving town right away.

Hot Chocolate...

Olga arrived at the hotel about 2pm and we walked down to “Singers,” a famous Art Neuvaux Style Bookstore, where we had hot chocolate. This was not American style hot chocolate, they call that cocoa. No, this hot chocolate was warm and thick, so think you could almost stand your spoon up in it! And it was delicious! I picked up a few last things for my nieces and nephews and then we headed back to my hotel where I packed my things in a taxi and headed to the airport.

I enjoyed my little holiday vacation in St. Petersburg. It's fun to have friends overseas so you have a good excuse to travel! 

Day Five...Walking and walking and walking....

(Note: this is an update to the original post on June 4, 2010)

The designers didn’t have class this morning so we decided to do a little sightseeing.  We left shortly after 9am and walked to closest metro station.  We hoped on the loop down to the closest station to the park.  Then we spent the rest of the morning walking around the park and taking lots of pictures.  All-in-all, I took close to 200 photographs today…and some of them are actually look pretty awesome.

Lock on a Bridge

Carrossel outside Gorky Park entrance

I’ll go to some things from the morning later but I thought I’d talk briefly about today’s class.  We had our first History of Chekhovian Costumes class today.  We have three total classes so our design project is just to design a costume for one of the characters in a Chekhov play.  This was also our first lecture type class with a non-English speaking professor so it was a little strange.  I don’t think I took as thorough notes as I would have liked but it was hard to keep up.  I asked about getting a copy of the Power Point she used so I could have some of the research images (plus, I hope to be able to translate the text to English using a translator program).

Statue among flowers in Gorky Park

Ok, back to random things from today…Gorky park was alright but one of the big things was wanted to see was gone.  They apparently had several old abandoned rides from the Stalin era but they must have taken them out since when the tour book that we are using was printed.  We think we found the spot but there was only bare concrete to greet us.   We also found a restaurant in the park that we want to go to some evening.

Cottonwood trees are pretty cool…except when there are thousands of them all in full reproductive mode at the same time.  It may be June in Moscow but it sometimes looks like December with all the Cottonwood seeds floating through the air.  Not only do they stick in your hair and on your clothes, but they also have a habit of flying into my mouth while I’m talking and walking down the street.  Not fun, not fun at all!

Exercise in Futility

This is a picture that I call “Exercise in Futility.”  They workers are sweeping up the cottonwood seeds while more just blow over the top the café and onto the sidewalk.

I’ve also noticed that the Muscovites have an interesting way of dealing with old falling apart buildings…they cover them up.  The erect some sort of scaffolding like thing to the front of the building and then stretch a loose weave of fabric across this with a new exterior painted on it.  Here’s an example.

The Cover Up!

Well, there is plenty more that I could add and there are few photos I want to put up here.  However, I think I’m getting low on my internet megabyte usage account and my new allotment doesn’t kick in until Monday.  So, I think I’ll just wait until them…it will be worth it!

Cathedral of Christ the Savior from afar

Another day, another show..

Today was a little later start than other days. Olga picked me up from my hotel about 1pm and we walked several blocks to a little cafe where we had lunch 

Philharmonic Hall, second level seating behind orchestra

It was a short lunch because we had tickets to the Philharmonic. Once upon a time, long ago, when it was built (in 1839) it was an Assembly Hall of the Noble. If I understood correctly it was not only a place for music but also for events like dances and social galas. But now, it is just used for the Philharmonic. There are two orchestras, the Philharmonic Orchestra and the Academic Philharmonic Orchestra. I'm not sure why the 2nd one is called "academic" because it does not have any students in it. Of course, many things over here have interesting names...

Second half of concert from just to the side of the orchestra

The music was all from the Strauss family performed by the Academic Orchestra (Olga's friend Sveta plays the Harp in that one). Polkas, Waltzes, and Marches galor! Some of the pieces sounded a little familiar but I could not recall their names (we didn't pick up a program). The only piece I knew the title of was "The Blue Danube." But the music was pretty good. Of course, we are seeing the same concert tomorrow night as part of our New Year's Eve celebrations so I get to hear it all again!

Salmon snack at the theatre

After the concert we had a quick coffee with Sveta before dashing off to the Aurora Palace Theatre where Olga was playing that evening for a ballet performance. While she was in getting set up, I sat in the lobby and enjoyed some typical Russian theatre food. They sometimes have some sweets (rarely anything like an American candy bar) but mostly stuff like Salmon, caviar, or some sort of meat on a slice of buttered bread with a few garnishes. I chose the salmon... and a bottle water.

Lobby of the Aurora Palace Theatre

The Aurora Palace Theatre is one of the theatres that Olga plays at regularly with the Russian Ballet (the Hermitage Theatre and Musical Comedy Theatre being the other two). This theatre is more similar to something you might find in America. Maybe that is because it was built in the mid-1900's (could not find a specific date).  It is a very modern style amphitheater.

Inside the Aurora Palace Theatre

The performance consisted of selections for one or two dancers from various ballets by different composers. There were pieces by Tchaikovsky (Swan Lake, Nutcracker), Chopin, and Saint-Saens to name a few... The dancers did a wonderful job. The only problem was that they tried 'mic'ing the musicians and it was not pretty. Several times there was major feedback issues and inconsistant mixing. Thankfully, for the second half, they didn't use the sound system and the orchestra sounded great!!

Dancers on the stage!

Tomorrow is the Nutcracker! Hard to imagine my trip is almost over...

I'm a tourist!

Statue in St. Isaac's Square

What a lovely day yesterday (Sat)! It was colder with some wind but no snow so it was not as wet as it was on Friday. There is a lot of ice on sidewalks and roads and it was a little easier to walk on it. Those that grew up in colder climates know that warm ice (with water on top) can be more dangerous and slippery than cold ice.

We started our day walking around one of the many shopping centers on Nevsky Prospect while we waited for our city bus tour to start. The tour was nice. It was a Russian tour but the bus had headphone jacks with prerecorded info in different languages so I was able to follow along in English (I think it was linked to some sort of GPS system so it knew when to start the next section). Olga said that the guide was very good, unusual, but good. She even learned a few things about the city she grew up in that she hadn't known. I think that is a key to a good, knowledgable guide.

We had a little lunch after that and then walked down to the Hermitage Museum. After we got our tickets and went in, we discovered that they were closing early that night! So we lost a few hours of potential wandering in the art world but it was still enjoyable. Since I had been there before, it didn't feel like a total lose. We made our way through some of the older sections while Olga told me stories about coming there as a young girl. She had often cried over the horses in armor on display in the military collection. As a young girl she was sad and worried about why anyone would "kill" a horse to put on display. And once, she and one of her friends had been locked in a room at closing time. She had been scared but her friend pointed out that there were far worse places to be locked in so they enjoyed the art in that room until they were let out...

Baby, it's cold outside (Hermitage in background)

We eventually made it to the late 19th and 20th Century wing, our main goal because she likes the impressionist. I wanted to go to that section as well. On my previous visit to the Hermitage in 2010, I didn't have much of a chance to see much of the 20th Century works on display. It was great to see that part of the museum. On our wanderings, we even stumbled upon a few displays that she hadn't seen before. There was even a whole room she had never been in because it had always been closed. It contained numerous books on display form various countries and cultures.

After the museum, we had a nice little snack of hot cherry strudel with a side of ice cream and some hot tea at a nearby restaurant. It was most excellent. I confessed that I have a bit of a sweet tooth and the strudle fit the bill perfectly.

The last big event for the evening was seeing Swan Lake at the Hermitage Theatre where Olga works. She was not playing that evening but had arranged a ticket for me. The sad part for me was that she had to go teach a harp lesson that evening so I had to watch the show on my own. She dropped me off early at the theatre and I was able to get a great seat. The Hermitage Theatre does not have numbered seats so it is a first come, first serve kind of seating, and I got a great seat indeed!

Panoramic view of the stage from my seat

I love painted skrims and a little fog to boot!

The theatre space reminds me of a modified Roman theatre layout. The audience seating is a terraced semi circle (half circle) facing the stage. The modified parts include a lowered area for the pit between the seating and stage. There is also a flat bottom section, that in a Roman theatre would have been used by a chorus, but they had chairs set up for the show. I had a seat in the from row of those chairs. There were two rows of bench seating (padded of course) infront of the railing but that was a little too close to the pit orchestra for me.

Curtain call! Beautiful Swan...

The ballet was exceptional! Being a classical music lover, I had always like the music to Swan Lake but I had never seen the actual ballet (other that a few parts for the recent Black Swan movie starring Natalie Portman but I don't think that counts). It was a very moving story... The dancers were very expressive not only with their bodies but their faces also show great emotion. I was very impressed! It makes me look forward to seeing the Nutcracker on New Years Eve at the Rimsky-Korsakov Opera and Ballet Theatre. Of course, one thing I worry about is that the only ballets that I have ever seen as a audience member have been here in St. Petersburg... I worry that they have set the expectation bar high!

Well, much to look forward for today. This afternoon we are hearing Olga's friend Sveta (also a harpist) play in a concert of Strauss music at the Philharmonic Hall and then she is trying to convince her conductor to let me see the show she is playing in tonight at another theatre in St. Petersburg! 

Holy Day...

Today kind of felt like a Sunday... Only because much of the day was spent at church... Ok, churches... My friend Olga took me on a sight seeing adventure of the several famous churches in St. Petersburg.

From June 2010

Jacob's Ladder in an archway

The first one was just two blocks away from my hotel, The Church of the Spilled Blood (one of it's many names). I had taken numerous photos of the Church the last time I was in St. Petersburg 2.5 years ago but I didn't get in to see the insides.  Well, it looks beautiful on the outside and just a much inside. If I had the time, I could spend all day in a Church like this taking pictures... Like St. Isaac's Cathedral (1/2 mile away) all of icons are mosaics. However, where as St. Isaac's icons are individual and surrounded by marbles, plaster, or gilding  the mosaics in the Church of the Spilled Blood cover the entirety if the walls. So the entire interior wall are covered in mosaics! It is pretty awe inspiring... Oh, and if you are wondering about the name, the Church was built on the spot where Tsar Alexander II was assassinated! Well, he died in the Winter palace but the Church is where he was mortally wounded from a grenade explosion... It's an interesting story, look it up and read more about it!

Looking up into one of the domes

Nativity themed mosaics

Kazan Cathedral

Next, we went to Kazan Cathedral (a block away from the Church of the Spilled Blood). I had been inside before but it is still a great experience. This is a full functioning Orthodox Church so taking pictures is frowned upon. The first time I was here, I was new to Orthodoxy so I didn't fully appreciate the icons. In particular, this time I learned about the icon of the Theotokos on the Iconostasis called Our Lady of Kazan. It was found in the rubble and ashes after a fire had razzed a section of the city of Kazan. The Theotokos appeared to a little 9 year old girl in a dream (several times) telling her to go get the icon from the rubble. Finally they went digging and found the icon. It is now one of the most revired icons in Eastern Orthodoxy. I even had the honor of standing line line and then asking the Holy Theotokos to pray for me. It a very spiritual event!

Icon of Our Lady of Kazan

The next big one was the St. Alexander Nevsky Monastery.  Sadly, it was getting some major repairs done... Most of the nave was filled with scaffolding so most things did not look all that great. What was not covered up looked very beautiful, I will have to go back again another time to see and learn more...

Birds on a wire outside the monastery

We ventured into a few other non-Orthodox churches that we passed while we were walking.

Mikhailovsky Theatre

We capped off the night with a performance of La Boheme at the Mikhailovsky Theatre. I could go on for an hour about the models, costumes, and items they had on display in one of the lobbies but I'll spare you that... First time seeing a full opera that I hadn't worked on (so I wasn't taking pictures like the previous ones). It was a great show. I loved the set design and I plan on borrowing some ideas from it for some show in the future. I had some issues with the lighting but overall I was really impressed. I even ventured taking a picture of the closing moments (I was in the last row of the highest "circle" of seats so I didn't have anyone behind me to distract). 

Final bars of La Boheme

Tomorrow will include a bus tour of the city, the Hermitage, and a performance of Swan Lake!

St. Petersburg bound...

The day started early with a little last minute shopping to take advantage of some "day after Christmas" sales. Then there was the drive to the airport (thanks dad) to catch my flight...

Arrived early (2.5 hours early) just to make sure there were not any difficulties checking in because of the international nature of my trip. So, of course, I breeze through check-in, no problems getting through TSA, and arrived at my gate within 20 minutes of being dropped off...


And that is when the delays started arriving... The winter storm hitting pretty much everything East of the Mississippi might have had something to do with that.... Silly little wintry weather snow storm. The Detroit Metro Airport handled the snow pretty well and most flights in Detroit didn't have to much trouble taking off. It was the planes coming in from other airs that were causing most of the delays...

With out going into to much detail, let's just say I am grateful that I had a six hour layover in Washington DC because my 2:30pm flight didn't get off the ground until 8pm! We debarked the plane in DC about 9:30, grabbed our carry-ons, and all took off to our various connecting flight... And I just made in to my gate with a few minutes to spare. I was out of breathe and a bit sweaty form speed walking all the way from the end of one terminal to the central hub, took the underground rail line to the next terminal, and speed walked all the way back down to the end of that terminal to the very last gate... Not fun... BUT, I made it!

One of the challenges I have when traveling long distance is that it is very hard for me to sleep in a moving vehicle, especially if I am in a sitting position. If I can lay down flat, I can usually get a few hours of sleep but I can only lightly doze for short lengths of time. Planes are a big one, I think it has to do with the cabin pressure...

All that to say that, the 7:30 hour flight through the night was as good as it could be when you can't sleep... Try to catch a few zzzs but I just couldn't get comfortable... I watched a few movies, played some card games on my iPad, and started writing this post...

Had about an hour and a half layover... Didn't seem that long though... After getting off the plane, we actually had to check in again and go through security. International flight, makes sense... Had a little time to pick up a few little Duty Free things (first time doing that), got some Rubles so I already had some when I arrived in St. Petersburg, freshened up a little (Axe body spray and quick wash of the face), and sent out a few quick messages before boarding my last flight to St. Petersburg!




About three hours later, I was checking in at my hotel in St. Petersburg! Not to much longer after I checked-in, my friend Olga arrived to whisk me off to a late dinner followed by a lovely dessert at a different restaurant. The food was hearty and the desserts were decadent! Then she dropped me off at my hotel on the banks of the Moyka River (really more of a man made canal) so I could finally get some sleep before a day of walking about tomorrow...

Now I will wrap this up as I prepare to head off to bed...



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Location:Detroit, Washington DC, Frankfort, and St. Petersburg