Well, first of all, so sorry I have not posted in what seems like forever!! I have had quite an eventful time since I last posted. I went on a cruise down the Volga! It was one of the most interesting and wonderful experiences of the semester so far. I began my journey on an overnight train to Moscow. We arrived in Moscow the next morning and spent about 8 hours total, taking a bus tour of the city and then exploring on our own. The last time I was in Moscow was in 2006. It seems so different! I think it’s because this time I was able to see a lot more. Walking onto Red Square is always a fantastic feeling, so much history and beauty kind of hits you in the face, it’s so overwhelming. I love Moscow, but it’s a city I probably would never want to live in. It is very large and a little intimidating. I must say, St. Pete is the place to be. I love it so much more than Moscow, purely opinion though. I don’t know what it is about St. Pete that is so wonderful but I think it has to do with its charm and character; it’s very hard to explain. Me in front of the Kremlin:
Anyway, I got on another over night train in Moscow to Ulyanovsk. Ulyanovsk is the birthplace of Vladimir Lenin, the communist revolutionary leader that was the driving force in the fall of the monarchy in Russia. (He lies in a Mausoleum on Red Square in Moscow now). I was able to see where he was born and walk through the house he lived in with his family. In Ulyanovsk, we boarded the cruise ship. I was rooming with my Russian friend Anya, a girl studying in St. Pete with me and a girl studying in Vladimir. We had two portholes as windows and we were just above the water. It was so beautiful at night and in the morning. At night, the moonlight shined on the water and in the morning the sunlight made it sparkle. So pretty. The boat was amazing, we had “dress-up nice” dinners and I was able to spend a lot of time with my friends.
The next city we went to was Samara. There, we got a tour of Stalin’s Bunker, which is 37 meters underground. (about 11 stories deep) Hitler’s Bunker was about 11 meters underground if that gives you an idea of how deep this actually is. We got to walk around the city as well. I woke up a little late this morning so unfortunately, I forgot my camera this day. Oops! I was not happy with myself. It’s ok, I have great friends who said they are going to share their pics with me. J We ate breakfast and lunch and dinner on the boat just about every day for the whole week. Every evening we had a lecture in Russian given by different professors that came on the trip. My group all had to give presentations in English based off essays we had written in Russian. The Volga is beautiful. The trees along the coastline were red, yellow and orange. It was so nice to see trees and not buildings. What is interesting about the land we saw from the boat is that it was different all the time. Sometimes there were trees, sometimes cute little towns, rolling hills, farmland, raw coastland that was a brown/yellow color (which was cool because it looked like it belonged in Arizona or something).
We spent the next day in Saratov. There, we visited a catholic church, the first that I had seen at all in Russia. My favorite part of the day was when we went to a monument for WWII at the top of a mountain looking over the whole city and the Volga. It was located in a military park. Again, we had a bus tour and got to walk around on our own. My friends and I also stumbled upon an amazing indoor food market that looked exactly like Eastern Market in Washington DC. Volgograd was next, and was probably the most interesting city we visited because it is the location where the Battle of Stalingrad took place. The entire city was destroyed during this battle. We were able to see a building that was the least destroyed amongst all the buildings; it looked completely destroyed. Now the city is really beautiful, it is completely built up and one could never guess that a devastating battle took place here upon first glance. On our bus tour we saw so many monuments in commemoration of the battle that was the turning point of WWII and led to the retreat of the German army. About two million Soviets were killed in this battle. I witnessed the changing of the guard at the eternal flame near the Mother Russia statue (Родина Мать). This statue is enormous and she holds a sword rising up to the sky. It sits on a hill and our tour guide told us when people arrive by train to Volgograd, you are able to see the statue from the train.
The day of after Volgograd was a day spent only on the cruise ship. We had a lecture on the wildlife and plant-life that we would be able to see in Astrakhan, our next city. That night we also had a Captain’s dinner where everyone dressed up really nice and I tried red caviar for the first (and last) time. The next day we were in an Astrakhan. This city is located on the Volga Delta, right on the Caspian Sea. I unfortunately was not able to see the Caspian Sea, which was a bummer because we were so close but nevertheless it was an amazing day. I saw the fortress there and I walked around with my friends for a little more than 4 hours. The sunset was incredible and the city was just beautiful. It was so interesting because the diversity there was unlike anything I had seen in any other part of Russia I had been in so far. The different influences in the architecture were also very cool to see. That night, we got on a 37 hour train ride back to St. Petersburg; A night, a full day then another night. It was fun though, we all bought a lot of food for the train and we had great conversations, fun times and tea. I didn’t sleep well at night, though, I was in the bed right next to the door that led to the bathroom. It slammed EVERYtime someone had to pee. So, I woke up a lot.
This trip is something I will remember for the rest of my life. It was incredible and I would do it again in a split second.
Anyway, I got on another over night train in Moscow to Ulyanovsk. Ulyanovsk is the birthplace of Vladimir Lenin, the communist revolutionary leader that was the driving force in the fall of the monarchy in Russia. (He lies in a Mausoleum on Red Square in Moscow now). I was able to see where he was born and walk through the house he lived in with his family. In Ulyanovsk, we boarded the cruise ship. I was rooming with my Russian friend Anya, a girl studying in St. Pete with me and a girl studying in Vladimir. We had two portholes as windows and we were just above the water. It was so beautiful at night and in the morning. At night, the moonlight shined on the water and in the morning the sunlight made it sparkle. So pretty. The boat was amazing, we had “dress-up nice” dinners and I was able to spend a lot of time with my friends.The next city we went to was Samara. There, we got a tour of Stalin’s Bunker, which is 37 meters underground. (about 11 stories deep) Hitler’s Bunker was about 11 meters underground if that gives you an idea of how deep this actually is. We got to walk around the city as well. I woke up a little late this morning so unfortunately, I forgot my camera this day. Oops! I was not happy with myself. It’s ok, I have great friends who said they are going to share their pics with me. J We ate breakfast and lunch and dinner on the boat just about every day for the whole week. Every evening we had a lecture in Russian given by different professors that came on the trip. My group all had to give presentations in English based off essays we had written in Russian. The Volga is beautiful. The trees along the coastline were red, yellow and orange. It was so nice to see trees and not buildings. What is interesting about the land we saw from the boat is that it was different all the time. Sometimes there were trees, sometimes cute little towns, rolling hills, farmland, raw coastland that was a brown/yellow color (which was cool because it looked like it belonged in Arizona or something).
We spent the next day in Saratov. There, we visited a catholic church, the first that I had seen at all in Russia. My favorite part of the day was when we went to a monument for WWII at the top of a mountain looking over the whole city and the Volga. It was located in a military park. Again, we had a bus tour and got to walk around on our own. My friends and I also stumbled upon an amazing indoor food market that looked exactly like Eastern Market in Washington DC. Volgograd was next, and was probably the most interesting city we visited because it is the location where the Battle of Stalingrad took place. The entire city was destroyed during this battle. We were able to see a building that was the least destroyed amongst all the buildings; it looked completely destroyed. Now the city is really beautiful, it is completely built up and one could never guess that a devastating battle took place here upon first glance. On our bus tour we saw so many monuments in commemoration of the battle that was the turning point of WWII and led to the retreat of the German army. About two million Soviets were killed in this battle. I witnessed the changing of the guard at the eternal flame near the Mother Russia statue (Родина Мать). This statue is enormous and she holds a sword rising up to the sky. It sits on a hill and our tour guide told us when people arrive by train to Volgograd, you are able to see the statue from the train.
The day of after Volgograd was a day spent only on the cruise ship. We had a lecture on the wildlife and plant-life that we would be able to see in Astrakhan, our next city. That night we also had a Captain’s dinner where everyone dressed up really nice and I tried red caviar for the first (and last) time. The next day we were in an Astrakhan. This city is located on the Volga Delta, right on the Caspian Sea. I unfortunately was not able to see the Caspian Sea, which was a bummer because we were so close but nevertheless it was an amazing day. I saw the fortress there and I walked around with my friends for a little more than 4 hours. The sunset was incredible and the city was just beautiful. It was so interesting because the diversity there was unlike anything I had seen in any other part of Russia I had been in so far. The different influences in the architecture were also very cool to see. That night, we got on a 37 hour train ride back to St. Petersburg; A night, a full day then another night. It was fun though, we all bought a lot of food for the train and we had great conversations, fun times and tea. I didn’t sleep well at night, though, I was in the bed right next to the door that led to the bathroom. It slammed EVERYtime someone had to pee. So, I woke up a lot.
This trip is something I will remember for the rest of my life. It was incredible and I would do it again in a split second.
So cool Jess! We're so glad you're having a great time!
ReplyDeleteSarah's Dad
i hate trains
ReplyDeleteHi Jess,
ReplyDeleteYour stories are so interesting! I'm going to share your blog with my students. Keep posting! Jan Eklund