So, my prrrrrrrecccciouseseses, my trip around the "Golden Ring", a series of towns near Moscow known for being ancient... I was following the itinerary suggested on Way To Russia.
First stop on Wednesday was Vladimir, which at first I thought was a mistake as the outskirts weren't too pleasant to look at, but once I reached the historic centre it was very nice. Ancient, white stone, carved churches and plenty of trees made it very calm, and as it was on a hill top there were good view of the surrounding countryside. I finished the visit off at the bus station café, which was disgusting, but only cost 60p.
Then it was on to Suzdal, a tiny town that has government protection from industrial development, so it is full of traditional Russian wooden houses, several convents and monasteries, and a church for every five houses (or so it seems). And goats. I had a brief look around the outside of one monastery but as the sun was getting low in the sky I decided to find my hotel.
Eventually I found it, and it was pretty posh, my room was small but clean and decorated with painted wood, and having my own bathroom made a nice change after 10 days of hostels. I booked it and accommodation in the other towns through Real Russia, and they're really very good, I just had to present a piece of paper and it was all taken care of, but if there had been problems there were telephone numbers to ring including and 24hr emergency hotline, so that was reassuring. The room also had a TV, but only Russian channels. I watched a bit of some American rubbish though, because it was dubbed in a really bizarre way, you could here the original voices behind, as if it was being done live.
I got up early hoping to see Suzdal as the sun rose, but unfortunately it was overcast so it wasn't so picturesque. Also my camera batteries ran out so I couldn't take as many photos as I'd have liked. I think Fujitsu cameras use batteries far too fast, though maybe this was a good thing as I've been taking far too many photos, I need to cut down. I saw plenty of free-range chickens though, wandering willy-nilly around the backstreets. After breakfast I got some new batteries and walked around the kremlin, which here consisted of a grass covered earth mound, but inside there were more beautiful wooden houses. I don't see how they can be warm enough for the Russian winter.
The itinerary I was following suggested going through Ivanovo as an example of an old Soviet town, though in the end I had no choice as I had to change buses there. I woke up (as I normally fall asleep when put in a moving vehicle) to see razor wire and grim burned out looking buildings, worse than anything from any dystopian science fiction film, you could smell the pollution. So I got out as soon as possible.
In Kostroma I stayed at an old Soviet hotel, which was pretty charmless, but had a great view of the Volga. In the evening I went for a long walk to the town centre, which was all quite old and grand, then along the river. I got a great view of the sun setting behind a monastery on the opposite bank as a sailing boat went past. I had hoped to get a hydrofoil on the Volga from Kostroma to Yaroslavl, but I couldn't find it on the timetable and the ticket office was closed, so I went by bus.
Yaroslavl is a big city, but off the main streets it's pretty calm and quiet. Right in the centre there's a monastery which is very peaceful. Some of it was covered in scaffolding, but it was wooden scaffolding so it didn't spoil the atmosphere. I was only there for a couple of hours though, before having to stand for over an hour on the bus to Rostov Velikiy.
It was worth it though, Rostov seems like a quiet village mostly, with tree lined streets, lots of carved wooden houses, the odd derelict grand looking building with a Lenin statue (the school apparently)... Then, at the centre, just before you reach the lake, there's a huge beautiful Kremlin, enough for a large city. Further along there were several monasteries, I walked to one in the evening along the lake shore as the sun set behind it, it was pretty idyllic. And the hotel was the nicest, in an old manor with a big room, though no international TV this time.
For once it wasn't overcast in the morning, so I had another walk around Rostov, going inside the Kremlin and so on. After that I decided to go straight back to Moscow to have a bit of a rest from churches, churches, and more churches. I went by train in third class, which wasn't so bad, all the compartments are open to the corridor. Unfortunately there was some kind of radio playing, and Russian pop is as dreadful and irritating as pop anywhere else.
30 September 2006
2nd Day in Moscow
OK, I wrote this a few days ago before I left for the Golden Ring (which will be the next post).
The focus for today was the Kremlin. Unfortunately, I didn't find it nearly as impressive as I was expecting, in fact I was more impressed by the outside. Maybe two of the five churches inside being covered in scaffolding had something to do with it though. Costing even more was a visit to the Armoury, so I made sure I got my money's worth. It's where they keep all the booty the tsars used to collect: dresses, thrones, gold and silver dinner services, and anything else they could stick diamonds on. The collection includes some of the Fabergé eggs they used to exchange at Easter, which are pretty amazing. One had a tiny model train only about 10 cm long or less, but minutely detailed.
After that I finally got into the Red Square. I got a good look at St. Basil's this time, and also at the outside of Lenin's tomb, but it was too late so I'll have to go spit on him another day. Well, I won't, because that probably wouldn't be the sort of arrest I could get a nice holiday out of, but it's the thought that counts.
Later I went to the Pushkin Fine Arts Museum, because they allegedly have a very good collection of Impressionist, Van Gogh, and other stuff that I like. They didn't tell me that ALL of the rooms with these in were closed while they move. So instead I had lots of the older bleurgh, a decent Egyptian and Babylonian collection, thousands of Classical sculptures, which I quite enjoyed, and a special Rembrandt exhibition. The latter was actually pretty good, maybe I'm getting to like his style from repeated exposure, but also it included a room of just black and white ink sketches, which impressed me far more than his paintings.
The focus for today was the Kremlin. Unfortunately, I didn't find it nearly as impressive as I was expecting, in fact I was more impressed by the outside. Maybe two of the five churches inside being covered in scaffolding had something to do with it though. Costing even more was a visit to the Armoury, so I made sure I got my money's worth. It's where they keep all the booty the tsars used to collect: dresses, thrones, gold and silver dinner services, and anything else they could stick diamonds on. The collection includes some of the Fabergé eggs they used to exchange at Easter, which are pretty amazing. One had a tiny model train only about 10 cm long or less, but minutely detailed.
After that I finally got into the Red Square. I got a good look at St. Basil's this time, and also at the outside of Lenin's tomb, but it was too late so I'll have to go spit on him another day. Well, I won't, because that probably wouldn't be the sort of arrest I could get a nice holiday out of, but it's the thought that counts.
Later I went to the Pushkin Fine Arts Museum, because they allegedly have a very good collection of Impressionist, Van Gogh, and other stuff that I like. They didn't tell me that ALL of the rooms with these in were closed while they move. So instead I had lots of the older bleurgh, a decent Egyptian and Babylonian collection, thousands of Classical sculptures, which I quite enjoyed, and a special Rembrandt exhibition. The latter was actually pretty good, maybe I'm getting to like his style from repeated exposure, but also it included a room of just black and white ink sketches, which impressed me far more than his paintings.
25 September 2006
Novgorod Velikiy
OK, my advice to anyone planning to go to Novgorod by train from St. Petersburg is book accomodation way in advance (I think the hostels in St. Petersburg can do this, "All Seasons" certainly can). Then you can take the 3hr express train the night before, instead of the 5hr+ one in the morning like I did yesterday. It stops nearly everywhere, most places don't even look like stations, just a couple of wooden houses in a clearing in the woods (if that), although it did arrive exactly on time. You could take a bus, which takes about 4hrs I think.
Novgorod Velikiy itself is lovely, very calm after the big city. It was the first town of the Russian state, and so has lots of old buildings including the Kremlin (a fort), and a bazillion churches. The churches are nearly all small and simple, which I prefer to the more elaborate ones. I wanted to go inside one, but it was closed. Inside, there are apparently some very rare paintings, by some dude whose signature was putting war-like paint around the eyes and noses. So as I didn't see them, I imagine it looks like the gospel as if enacted by the Norwegian black metal scene in full corpse paint.
Anyway, Sunday was very relaxing, despite wandering when on earth the train would arrive. I ate at the best restaurant yet, call "Detinets". It was inside the Kremlin, in one of the towers and adjoining chapel, with a spiral staircase to reach it and gloomy lighting to make it extra medieval. The food was very tasty, fairly cheap, and I had "kvas" in a goblet. This is basically mead, as far as I could tell, some sort of honey based beverage anyway. It reminded me of some kind of yeasty medicine capsules I had as a child, can't remember what they were for though...
The train to Moscow was very comfortable, only second class but better than the sleeper I went on in France. Didn't sleep to well all the same, so today I was knackered. I managed to navigate the Moscow Metro at 5.30 in the morning, but I'm glad this hostel is only 10 minutes from the Kremlin because it was horrible. St. Petersburg only had about 5 lines, Moscow has about 10.
I'm not so keen on Moscow as St. Petersburg, it's much busier, and half of it seems to be a construction site. Also Red Square was closed off today, so I could only look in from the outside. But there was a good view of the Kremlin from across the river, St. Basil's was even madder in real life, and the hostel is really nice. I'm really, really tired though, I didn't walk around for too long, I'll see mroe tomorrow.
I'm going to try and upload some photos later, this computer is much better, but I'd better let others go on first.
Novgorod Velikiy itself is lovely, very calm after the big city. It was the first town of the Russian state, and so has lots of old buildings including the Kremlin (a fort), and a bazillion churches. The churches are nearly all small and simple, which I prefer to the more elaborate ones. I wanted to go inside one, but it was closed. Inside, there are apparently some very rare paintings, by some dude whose signature was putting war-like paint around the eyes and noses. So as I didn't see them, I imagine it looks like the gospel as if enacted by the Norwegian black metal scene in full corpse paint.
Anyway, Sunday was very relaxing, despite wandering when on earth the train would arrive. I ate at the best restaurant yet, call "Detinets". It was inside the Kremlin, in one of the towers and adjoining chapel, with a spiral staircase to reach it and gloomy lighting to make it extra medieval. The food was very tasty, fairly cheap, and I had "kvas" in a goblet. This is basically mead, as far as I could tell, some sort of honey based beverage anyway. It reminded me of some kind of yeasty medicine capsules I had as a child, can't remember what they were for though...
The train to Moscow was very comfortable, only second class but better than the sleeper I went on in France. Didn't sleep to well all the same, so today I was knackered. I managed to navigate the Moscow Metro at 5.30 in the morning, but I'm glad this hostel is only 10 minutes from the Kremlin because it was horrible. St. Petersburg only had about 5 lines, Moscow has about 10.
I'm not so keen on Moscow as St. Petersburg, it's much busier, and half of it seems to be a construction site. Also Red Square was closed off today, so I could only look in from the outside. But there was a good view of the Kremlin from across the river, St. Basil's was even madder in real life, and the hostel is really nice. I'm really, really tired though, I didn't walk around for too long, I'll see mroe tomorrow.
I'm going to try and upload some photos later, this computer is much better, but I'd better let others go on first.
23 September 2006
Petrodvorets and the Aurora
Another two days in one post... yesterday I visited Petrodvorets, Peter the Great's version of Versailles, more or less, passing other pallaces along the way. The grounds of Petrodvorets are lovely and calm, full of fountains, with the main feature a cascade down from the Grand Palace, along a canal into the Baltic Sea. The day started grey and dull, but later the sun came out, so plenty of photos to see once I find a reliable computer.
Sadly my attempt at going to Kronstadt failed today, because I couldn't find the bus. I decided not to try the alternative route and instead visit the Cruiser Aurora, the ship that fired the signal for the start of the October Revolution. You can go on it and inside where there are some displays, all in Russian though. For lunch I went to a Georgian restaurant, Salkhino. The food was very tasty, a bit like Indian food, and came in similarly large partions. The bowl I got to serve myself from must have been metal or something similar, because it stayed so hot the food was bubbling for quite a while.
I'm staying a night longer in St. Petersburg than intended, because Novgorod is full, so I have to get a 7.55 train tomorrow morning. Oh, at the Metro station today someone tried to pickpocket me, but he chose my bag. Apparently my diary and Russian phrasebook aren't worth nicking, so it didn't matter. He wasn't very sly about it either.
Sadly my attempt at going to Kronstadt failed today, because I couldn't find the bus. I decided not to try the alternative route and instead visit the Cruiser Aurora, the ship that fired the signal for the start of the October Revolution. You can go on it and inside where there are some displays, all in Russian though. For lunch I went to a Georgian restaurant, Salkhino. The food was very tasty, a bit like Indian food, and came in similarly large partions. The bowl I got to serve myself from must have been metal or something similar, because it stayed so hot the food was bubbling for quite a while.
I'm staying a night longer in St. Petersburg than intended, because Novgorod is full, so I have to get a 7.55 train tomorrow morning. Oh, at the Metro station today someone tried to pickpocket me, but he chose my bag. Apparently my diary and Russian phrasebook aren't worth nicking, so it didn't matter. He wasn't very sly about it either.
21 September 2006
Storming the Winter Palace
I'm doing yesterday and today in one post because I got a 2 day advance ticket to the Hermitage, a kind of Russia equivalent of the Louvre in Paris, based in the Winter Palace and two adjoing buildings.
I began with the Ancient Egyptian, Greek and Roman collections, which were pretty impressive. I then ran into a problem, which is that to me, with a few exceptions, Europe produced little of artistic value after the fall of the Roman Empire until the 19th Century. Romanticism was alright, but it's only with the Impressionists onwards that there's anything I can get particularly excited about. For people who like religious paintings of constipated looking saints, and the other things they liked painting back then, the Hermitage is paradise.
Eventually though, I found my way to the top floor where there is a collection of French art covering Romanticism to post-Impressionism (Picasso and so on), including some very pretty Monets and Renoirs. Sadly the area with most of the Van Gogh's was closed off, but there were still a few good ones. Then later I managed to locate a special exhibition with even more Impressionist paintings, which consisted of works seized from Germany during the Second World War, and this is the first time many of them have been publicly displayed. So that was most excellent.
Other highlights from the first day included an exhibition of oriental art, mostly from India, China and Japan, a taster for what's in store for me next month I suppose. Also, the rooms that the last Tsar and his family lived in are on display. He certainly didn't shop at Ikea. Or believe in minimalism. In a different collection of old royal treasures is a clock made of polished brass (I think), which looks like a sculpture of a woodland scene with a peackock, cockerel, and toadstool that tells the time. Apparently when it chimes, the birds come alive and the cockerel screeches, though they've stopped demonstrating to prevent wear.
On the second day I decided to see some works by the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (ho ho ho), even though I'm not keen on the style. My opinion wasn't changed by either Leonardo or Raphael, although the only Michelangelo piece was a statue of a crouching boy, which was pretty good. While looking for them I saw plenty of pre-Impressionist works, and apart from a few decent landscapes and seascapes, despite my best efforts to appreciate them, they still pretty much all struck me as dull, lifeless and frequently just plain ugly.
There were some good tapestries, although I couldn't find the one of Australia mentioned in the guide, maybe it was in one of the closed off rooms. I'll have to alter my claim from yesterday a little too: it was only after they discovered perspective that art got boring in Europe. The few medieval paintings and ivory carvings were really good, even the religious ones. Also, just before and at the same time as the Impressionists, there was a movement in Germany of which there was a special exhibition (also made up of works seized during WWII). This was nearly all black and white drawings and sketches, but with amazing detail.
I rounded the visit off with another viewing of the two Impressionist exhibitions, the oriental art one, and a display of European arms and armour, including for knights mounted on stuffed horses. Then I had tea and cake, before wandering around Sennaya, the area where Dostoyevsky lived while writing Crime and Punishment, and whre most of the book is set. Also nearby is Yusepov Palace, which I went to see. This is where Rasputin (a mystic who preached salvation through sex and debauchery who was popular with early 20th century female aristocrats) was poisoned, stabbed, and shot several times before being thrown into the canal where he finally drowned.
Finally, reading my guide, I found out why some of the stations have those industrial doors, and also why they're so far underground it seems to take 5 minutes on the escalators to reach the platform: they were built to double as shelters in the event of nuclear war.
I began with the Ancient Egyptian, Greek and Roman collections, which were pretty impressive. I then ran into a problem, which is that to me, with a few exceptions, Europe produced little of artistic value after the fall of the Roman Empire until the 19th Century. Romanticism was alright, but it's only with the Impressionists onwards that there's anything I can get particularly excited about. For people who like religious paintings of constipated looking saints, and the other things they liked painting back then, the Hermitage is paradise.
Eventually though, I found my way to the top floor where there is a collection of French art covering Romanticism to post-Impressionism (Picasso and so on), including some very pretty Monets and Renoirs. Sadly the area with most of the Van Gogh's was closed off, but there were still a few good ones. Then later I managed to locate a special exhibition with even more Impressionist paintings, which consisted of works seized from Germany during the Second World War, and this is the first time many of them have been publicly displayed. So that was most excellent.
Other highlights from the first day included an exhibition of oriental art, mostly from India, China and Japan, a taster for what's in store for me next month I suppose. Also, the rooms that the last Tsar and his family lived in are on display. He certainly didn't shop at Ikea. Or believe in minimalism. In a different collection of old royal treasures is a clock made of polished brass (I think), which looks like a sculpture of a woodland scene with a peackock, cockerel, and toadstool that tells the time. Apparently when it chimes, the birds come alive and the cockerel screeches, though they've stopped demonstrating to prevent wear.
On the second day I decided to see some works by the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (ho ho ho), even though I'm not keen on the style. My opinion wasn't changed by either Leonardo or Raphael, although the only Michelangelo piece was a statue of a crouching boy, which was pretty good. While looking for them I saw plenty of pre-Impressionist works, and apart from a few decent landscapes and seascapes, despite my best efforts to appreciate them, they still pretty much all struck me as dull, lifeless and frequently just plain ugly.
There were some good tapestries, although I couldn't find the one of Australia mentioned in the guide, maybe it was in one of the closed off rooms. I'll have to alter my claim from yesterday a little too: it was only after they discovered perspective that art got boring in Europe. The few medieval paintings and ivory carvings were really good, even the religious ones. Also, just before and at the same time as the Impressionists, there was a movement in Germany of which there was a special exhibition (also made up of works seized during WWII). This was nearly all black and white drawings and sketches, but with amazing detail.
I rounded the visit off with another viewing of the two Impressionist exhibitions, the oriental art one, and a display of European arms and armour, including for knights mounted on stuffed horses. Then I had tea and cake, before wandering around Sennaya, the area where Dostoyevsky lived while writing Crime and Punishment, and whre most of the book is set. Also nearby is Yusepov Palace, which I went to see. This is where Rasputin (a mystic who preached salvation through sex and debauchery who was popular with early 20th century female aristocrats) was poisoned, stabbed, and shot several times before being thrown into the canal where he finally drowned.
Finally, reading my guide, I found out why some of the stations have those industrial doors, and also why they're so far underground it seems to take 5 minutes on the escalators to reach the platform: they were built to double as shelters in the event of nuclear war.
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