Good times, good times

I mentioned last time that I was going to go see Swan Lake at the Hermitage- and it was utterly fantastic. When the prima ballerina was dancing the part of Giselle, I think I might have stopped breathing during parts of it. Also, a French man I talked to told me that it was better than the ballet in Paris (although he did point out that the ballet was founded by a Frenchman- of course). Besides the incredible dancing, the entire production was incredible- sets, costumes, music. It was very much a feast for the senses, and at close quarters. The theater that it was performed in was built by Catherine the Great as a new wing to the Winter Palace (now the Hermitage, named after a specific part of the building that she used to house her personal collection) to put on intimate productions for the nobility or whoever could afford seats. Its so informal that there are no seat numbers, and I believe it houses less than one hundred people, so you're inevitably incredibly close to the stage. It really was magical, and I can wait to go back. Besides, I think volunteering at the Hermitage is the most sweet deal I think that I've ever come across. All we needed to do was arrive half an hour early and inform guests that they should check their coats, then stand outside during intermission to let them know where the toilets, cafe, etc. are located. And we get to see the entire production for free.

Still haven't heard about doing Archaeology though- still hoping.

On friday Jane and I took an exciting trip to the Museum of Religion, one of the many museums in St. Petersburg and a very exciting one. We initially thought that it was a ridiculously small place, because one side of it is only three rooms, but it turned out to be three floors, one full and two smaller. We primarily wanted to go for the Orthodox icons, and they really were worth it. Besides the standard painted and gilded ones, there is a room of more precious icons and paraphanelia (mainly icons) that you must ask to be unlocked. Let me tell you, that was a fun conversation to figure out in Russian, something like:
Me: is it closed?
Caretaker: do you want to go in?
Me:.... yes?
Caretaker gets up and disappears to get guard. Jane and I stand confused until she returns.
I nicknamed it 'the vault'. There were some incredibly beautiful and ornate icons, definitely worth the awkward conversation. Eastern Orthodox art really is beautiful, almost middle eastern at times (or should I say, Byzantinian?), and some very haunting portraits. The rest of the exhibits were also fascinating, including one on Islam and a Buddhist sculpture that one of the caretakers nearly forced us to go to.

Our excursion this saturday was to the Peter and Paul Fortress, which is the old nucleus of St Petersburg (actually, it used to be all of St. Petersburg but as the city expanded it became more of a seperate fortification and was actually renamed). It contains the beginnings of the city and a museum on that subject (which we visited- so much culture in just two days!), and the cathedral containing the remains of the tsars. The cathedral itself was designed by Peter the Great and attests again to his desire to Europify Russia, since it looks like a Catholic, not Orthodox, cathedral. Or, as Ashley put it, 'as if French and Italian architecture had a baby, and it was a cathedral'. Somewhat bizarre, but historically interesting.
Later in the afternoon Ashley and I went to the Russian cafe chain 'tea spoon' and had some really amazing loose leaf tea- I think I've found my new favorite Russian chain. Which reminds me to mention Teremok, the other amazing one that is scrumptious and has blini stands all over the city. Brilliant. Tasty, cheap, and ready to go! At 'Tea Spoon' (chainaya lojka) we also did homework, before a random guy tried to help us in broken English and later told Ashley that he loved her as we left. A little awkward.
Saturday night we went out all night, which was interesting. The metro closes at 12 (Cinderella, anyone?) and opens at 6, so if you don't want to catch a taxi you are out literally all night- the sun was coming up as we headed in. It was actually very fun, and we spent a good deal of the night at a nice relaxing cafe/bar where our waiter was Polish and happened to know some English. She was lovely, and in Russia they don't kick you our for loitering- which we were basically doing.

Generally, really, Russia is sort of a 'live and let live' society, in the sense that people generally don't interfer. As my friend Josh was saying, it would be a good place to push boundaries because until you really did something crazy, probably no one would say anything. Like if you happened to make out on the Metro, like many Russian couples.
On the other hand, one of the gay bars in the city got raided a weekend or two ago- and most people had their pictures taken and names taken down, all under the name of investigating a murder in Moscow, where the victim had the name of the club written down on a piece of paper on his person. Sketchy, to say the least. So its not all live and let live (white supremacy is also on the rise). Its a fascinating place, really.

More on that later- I'm still sorting out my thoughts, working toward some sort of coherent idea.

And the leaves are starting to change- I'm incredibly excited for my first real autumn. It will be glorious.