Sunday, October 23, 2016

History In Front of Me


Time flies by so fast. A month ago My classmates and I left American soil and were on our way towards Russia. Two weeks ago I was in St.Petersburg....I entirely forgot to write about St. Petersburg. Well, now better than later they say.

We spent the weekend of Oct. 6-9 in St. Petersburg. Actually, we left the night of the 6th on an overnight train and arrived early morning on the 7th. I enjoyed myself on the train ride there, mainly due to the fact that I was able to sleep. I slept in a compartment with 3 of my classmates, so that made the experience all the more enjoyable. When we arrived, we had breakfast at a small hotel cafeteria and afterwards I had the opportunity to sleep even more on the bus. I was very well rested for the day!

Afterwards we went and toured at Catherine's Palace, I have to say it was amazing to see so much history in one place. We walked through the same halls as the same Tsar's when they were alive and healthy. It amazing to think that ages ago that these great figures would be walking on the same floors as I was, there's something meaningful in that. Also it was just a beautiful place, I mean, look at it: spectacular.
 

After that we checked-in at our hostel, which I just have to say, was very nice. There was 8 to a room, and it was an enjoyable experience to be able to spend more time with my classmates.

Our next day we got to visit the Hermitage, which was overwhelming. Being able to see such a historic site and see such amazing paintings with the building was an exciting experience. We saw paints and art from all around the world, there was even an Egyptian exhibit with a mummy. I didn't take a picture of it because it was unsettling looking thing, but here is a picture of a sarcophagus.
 
Don't touch the sarcophagus.

After that visit, one of my classmates found a sort of urban art gallery, which was like a apartments put together but had a galleries and music in them. We found a shrine to John Lennon and we also looked at a gallery and learned the history of Russian Rock music.

John Lennon's Shrine

Our last day in St. Petersburg we took a bus tour around the city and we're able to look at great sites such as the Mariinsky Theatre, Peter and Paul Fortress and Cathedral. The Peter and Paul Cathedral is the oldest landmark in St. Petersburg and it has the remains of almost every emperor and empress of Russia. I got to see the tombs of Peter the Great, Catherine the Great, Nicolas II and even Anastasia!

Nicolas II, the last Tsar of Russia, and his family

Seeing the Cathedral was my favorite part of my trip, because you were in the same room as people who you read about in books and saw in movies. In that moment, I was standing above human beings who shaped a country; and created history. It was a blessing to stand in the presence of such timeless people. Here are some more photos from my trip.

Nice view
 

 
Gotta get going, but I'll keep in touch soon!

 
 

 


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