Pussywillow Sunday

Just a short post today.  Our Spring is very slowly approaching.  It's so deceiving, because the sun is bright at 6am, but it's only 34F and barely hits 45F during the day!

Highlight of the weekend was that it was Pussywillow Sunday for the Russian Orthodox church.  Similar to Palm Sunday, but you obviously can't find palms in Russia (or Eastern Europe).  Pussywillows, which begin to bloom right around Easter (Пасха or “Pashka” in Russian) , symbolized triumph and victory, just like palm trees did in ancient Palestine.  We were able to buy some pussywillows in the market:

In honor of the day, we should have tried to honor the fast that the orthodox followers adhere to during Lent.  It's a very strict, vegan diet.  But no, instead we went to a pub and ate this enormous platter of sausages:

I'm working on a post of my trip to Koryazhma for later this week.  In the meantime, I thought the sight of the ice breaking on the Vychegda River at dusk was beautiful

 

 

A Trip to the Russian Forest

First of all, I think I made some improvements to help those of you who had problems making comments.  Try it out!


I went on a field trip last Friday.  It was mandatory :).  Do adults go on field trips?  I guess I never thought about it before. 

We went to Tikhvin.  Tikhvin (Ти́хвин) is a small Russian town (55,000 people) located on the banks of the Tikhvinka River, on the east side of the Leningrad Oblast, about 200 kilometers east of St. Petersburg.  I learned that the word Tikhvin comes from "tikh" (road) and "vin" (market), so it's the "road to the market".  It's located at the intersection of trade routes which connected the Volga River with Lake Ladoga and the Baltic Sea.  It's mostly known for a monastary & convent that was built in 1560 by Tsar "Ivan the Terrible". 

I know, more than you ever wanted or needed to know.  But I travel to these places that I've never heard of, & I need to know SOMETHING about them.  Otherwise, I'll completely forget where I've been & why I was there.  So the engineer in me takes over & I start doing tons of research. 

And why did we go there??  Because other than some small industrial businesses, it's primary a logging town.  And our company recently purchased a harvesting company located in town, along with 180,000 hectares of forest.  So we took a field trip into the Russian woods!

It's worth commenting that a 200 km (120 mile) road trip in Russia takes a good 4 hours.  The roads are terrible, bumpy, and there is no concept of an interstate system. 

First we visited the terminal.  We harvest over 250,000 cubic meters of wood through this terminal every year.  Our main focus is pulpwood, but we also harvest sawlogs for the local mills, & firewood for the region.

 The terminal was actually holding a record-high volume of wood this day - close to 75,000 m3

Then we drove another 2 hours into the forest!  In the mud, in this old Russian van (no seatbelts & the windows were sealed shut).......

But I do have the say that the forest was beautiful.  All I could smell was bark & pine needles, and the sun was shining.  After living in a 5 MM+ person city for the past 3 years, you tend to forget what fresh air smells like. 

The "Grand Finale" of our trip was to go to one of the tracks of land that we are currently harvesting.  And yes, the harvester equipment is from John Deere

We met one of the harvesters.  These guys live a tough life - work 12 hours, sleep 12 hours, 1 day off every 2 weeks.  And because they are in the middle of nowhere, they sleep/cook/rest in this lovely trailer during their downtime.  Which also means they don't shower until they get their day off - yuk!

The harvester's name was Ivar, and he's from Estonia.  He was a nice guy, and let me sit in the harvester

I'm heading to Koryazhma later this week, so more obscure Russian town postings are on the way........

Two Very Different Churches

I take a lot of walks, and often end up in a church.  I thought it would be interesting to show 2 very different churches in St. Petersburg.  One is the Kazan Cathedral (or, Cathedral of Our Lady of Kazan), one of the largest Russian Orthodox churches in the city.  The other is the Catholic church of St. Catherine, which we attend.  Both are located right in the center of the city, of Nevsky Prospekt.

Personally, I love visiting churches.  Whether it's to view the amazing art & architecture, better understand a country & culture, pray, or just to take a break in a cool spot, sit, and think.  It's always a great reminder that no matter our different views & beliefs, we are really all the same. 

Like I mentioned, Kazan Cathedral is one of the largest Russian Orthodox churches in the city.  There is another Kazan Cathedral in Moscow, and several smaller churches throughout Russia.  It is dedicated to Our Lady of Kazan, a highly venerated icon within the church who represents the Virgin Mary as protector of the city of Kazan. 

According to the story, the icon was discovered in 1579 in the city of Kazan by a little girl, who was told about the location of the image by the Theotokos (Mary).  The original icon was kept in the Theotokos Monastery of Kazan, which was built to commemorate the spot where it was discovered.  It was believed that the icon provided Russia protection & victories against several invasions (including Poland in 1612, Sweden in 1709, Napoleon's army in 1812). 

In 1904, the icon was stolen from the monastery, which was later blown up by the communist authorities. 

There are various stories about where the original icon is today, and if it even still exists.  One story is that it was eventually found & relocated to this cathedral in St. Petersburg.  Another story is that it was seized by the Soviet government in 1918, and was sold by the Bolsheiviks somewhere overseas.  And other story is that it was acquired by the Blue Army of Our Lady of Fatima, was enshrined in Fatima, Portugal in the 1970's, and given to Pope John Paul II in the early 1990's. 

 But what I find nteresting is how Russians view the disappearance (or unknown existence) of the original Lady of Kazan icon.  By some, it's viewed as a sign of the tragedies that plagued the country since it disappeared in 1904.   Interesting.

 

The Kazan Cathedral in St. Petersburg was built in 1801-1811, and was modeled after St. Peter's Basilica in Rome.  Many of the church's leaders were against this design

After Napoleon's invasion of Russian in 1812, the church's purpose was altered to be a memorial to the victory against the French armies.  

  The bronze statues in front of the cathedral are of famous Russian field marshalls from that invasion

After the Russian Revolution in 1917, the cathedral was closed, as were most churches.  It was reopened as a pro-Marxist "Museum of the History of Religion and Atheism".  Services were resumed in 1992, and the cathedral was returned to the Russian Orthodox Church in 1996. 

The inside of the cathedral is pretty spectacular.  A large open space, with enormous columns throughout.  The Russian Orthodox Church is by far the largest in Russia, with (depending on the information) 45-75% of the population identifying themselves as Orthodox.

The dome is 262 ft high

You'll notice that there are no seats or pews, which is very standard.  The people in line are waiting to offer prayers & blessings to the Lady of Kazan icon image 

The church is full of amazing art & icons

As a contrast, here are some images from St. Catherine's Catholic Church.  As I mentioned, it is also located right in the city center (practically across the street from Kazan's Cathedral).  There's an art market in the front plaza every day.

In 1705, Peter the Great signed a charter allowing for freedom of religion, and the contruction of non-Orthodox churches.  The Catholic Church was officially started in St. Petersburg in 1710.  This church was built in 1783, and named after the current Empress of Russia, Catherine the Great

It's very simple & austere as compared to Kazan, isn't it?.  The lights are only turned on at night during services.  I've read that only 0.5% of Russians consider themselves Catholic.  Due to it's location, this churches services many travelers & expats in the town.  

On the eve of the Russian Revolution, the church reports that it had over 30,000 parishoners.  Somehow, the church managed to remain open until 1938.  However, most of it's artifacts & icons were destroyed during the communist years.  The church was used for storage & office space for the government.  

This is my favorite spot in the church.  It's one of the original altars.  According to the church's records, in 1938 a 19 year old girl named Sofia Stepulkowska snuck into the church & pulled the altars out with the help of a few friends.  They were returned by her family in 2003

The church reopened in 1991, and was returned to the Catholic church in 1992.  They hold masses in Russian, Polish, French, Spanish, and English, and they are really interesting to attend.  It's such a mix of every culture imaginable.

On another note, I think I finally figured out how to post better-looking photos.  They were so grainy or blurry.  I moved to a different photo software.  Let me know if they look better!

Back again in Helsinki

We seem to be taking a lot of quick weekend trips this year.  I'm not complaining.  

Maybe after 2 1/2 years, the long Russian Winter just gets to be..... long.  There is something about needing to get a break from Russia that's hard to describe, and it probably applies to a lot of people who live in a country that they are not from.  For me, it's that nothing is ever easy in Russia, and even simply tasks can take a lot of time & effort.  And you can't help but feel like you're alone in trying to deal with it.  And that can be exhausting.  It's not really the language barrier;  I think it's that's you are just different from most everyone else, and can never forget it.  So when you get an opportunity to leave for a few days, it's as if a weight has been lifted from your shoulders, if only for a few short while.

We were in Svetogorsk late last week, and decided to cross the border & catch a local Finnish train to Helsinki.  Crossing the border took a ridiculous 75 minutes due to new guards & questions about my passport stamps.  But once we got across, the Imatra rail station is easy & small

I took some pretty cool shots of the Finnish countryside through the windows of the train.  The sky was beautiful that night.

We didn't have anything planned or on our agenda for the weekend.  I like trips like that.  We had beautiful blue skies, and although cold it was great weather to just walk around

St. Henry's Church, one of the few Catholic chucrches in town

St. John's Church, an enormous Lutheran church

I love gargoles!

I loved our hotel bar, and love how they used a giant wooden table.  Some day when I own a house again, I may have to try that (but maybe with fewer bottles?  Maybe).

We found an outdoor flea/food market early on Sunday morning.  The pictures aren't great, but we tried one of their Springtime specialties for an early outdoor breakfast.  It's called Muikki, which are tiny lake fish (I think also called vendace) that they fry on these large griddles in a whole stick of butter with a spicy seasoning.  You eat them with your fingers, head & bones & tail & all.  You can only get them in the Spring, when the lakes are just starting to thaw.  

I hope the ice & snow on the rivers starts to melt soon!

Images from the Week

Just a few pictures from the past week.......

Temperatures are finally starting to warm up, with highs in the mid to upper 30's.  Since most of the sidewalks are at least passable, we took a walk on Easter weekend.

Church of Spilled Blood

me

Other than celebrating Easter with some work friends, the big highlight of the week was the opening of a new Belgium beer pub within walking distance from our apartment!!!! Great beer list, and we snacked on some very Russian bar snacks - smoked cheese & deep fried rye bread with garlic dipping sauce.  Trust me, it's delicious & addictive!

I've been in Svetogorsk working for most of the week.  The town is a 3 1/2 hour drive north from St. Petersburg, a mill town & a border town (Russian - Finnish  border).  Not a very exciting place! 

BUT, I did attend a dinner at the local sauna.  If your not aware, saunas (or баня (banya) in Russian), are serious business in Russia (along with the Scandinavian countries & much of Eastern Europe).  Most Russians go to the banya several times a year at a minimum, with many doing it weekly or even daily.  They go for the health benefits, but it's also very common to go with a group of friends or colleagues to chat, conduct business, or just socialize.

This was a work dinner, but I think some of the men stuck around afterwards to enjoy the sauna.  Needless to say, I did not.  I've been in a sauna while in Russia, but I haven't done it "Russian style" as an group event with others :).  Maybe I need to add that to my list of "things to do in Russia"? We'll see.........

The Svetogorsk Banya

Dinner with the mill guys

Robes for the evening festivities!

 Have a great weekend!

Parking in the City

When I decided to start this blog, I had to decide how "honest" I was going to be about life in Russia.

I could post stories each week about the things I hate about living here, that make me wish I was back at home.  Believe me, it would fill months of blog entries!  But I really didn't want to use this blog as a platform for constant complaining about the country I've chosen to live in.  Quite honestly, when you decide to move overseas, you have to accept the good with the bad.  All of that negative energy is a waste of time & you can't change what you can't control.

BUT...... I do want to occasionally vent & share some things that drive me crazy!  And one of those things is parking.

St. Petersburg (the city center) has no parking garages or parking lots.  Well, that's not completely correct....  I have seen 1 small parking lot in the city center, and I know that the new mall has an underground garage.  But that's it, and this is a city of 5+ million people!  I've been told it's because it's an old city, and historically they didn't need any parking lots because so few people owned cars in Soviet-era Russia (8-10% of the population owned a car in the 70's).  OK, that makes sense. 

Today, around 50% of the Russian population owns a car.  But I'm told that there are still no parking lots in the city because there are no restrictions or laws related to parking.  The police don't care where you park your car (and they don't ticket anyone), so no one would actually waste their money to pay to park their car.  Unfortunately, there's logic in that.

So as a result, people park their cars anywhere!

And why does this make me crazy?  Because I walk everywhere & I'm sick of walking everyday on crooked sidewalks full of ice & snow, trying not to fall or get splashed by rude drivers, and also having to dodge these stupid dirty cars!!!

OK, I got that off of my chest.  I feel better already..........

A whole row of cars pulled right up onto the sidewalk

This is right in front of a (nice) restaurant's entrance.  That should help bring in customers! 

 Looks like a parking space to me!

 Just pulled up right onto the sidewalk.  At least he parked straight

In front of a hotel, and I'm pretty sure they are not guests!

I'm glad I'm not the person who's blocked in

I (& all of the kids walking to the nearby school) had to walk in the street since they decided to take over the sidewalk

These cars sort of created their own parking lot around the walkway

Right in front of our apartment