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!