The Golden Ring

This past weekend I went on a bit of an adventure with a fellow Cambridge student studying at Moscow State Uni. The Golden Ring is the name of a collection of historic towns not far from Moscow, which form a circle. The towns were very important in the foundation of the Orthodox church around the 12^th century, and thus are jam-packed with monasteries, cathedrals and other ‘holy’ places. 8 towns make up what is traditionally called the Golden Ring: Suzdal, Vladimir, Ivanovo, Kostromal, Yaroslavl, Rostov, Pereslavl-zalesskii and Sergiev Posad.

Our journey began early and with only a few hours’ sleep, mostly our fault for still doing last-minute planning at 1am that morning. Still, with a certain pride we left the university campus, excited about the journey ahead. After about 5 minutes walking I was greeted with a pat on the head from a bird. The only comfort was that I hadn’t bothered to wash my hair that morning…

Arriving at the train station at Moscow, we realised we had no idea where to buy tickets and frantically ran around asking people until we were pointed in the right direction. Consequently we made it on the “elektrichka” (local train) about 10 minutes to spare, meaning there were no seats left for the impending 3 hour train journey. Still, we had made it onto the 8.45 train, which we were rather proud of. 

Vladimir (and Bogoliubovo)

After our rather uncomfortable 3 hour journey, we arrived at Vladimir train station. With a very basic Google map and nothing else we just followed people up the hill and into the centre of town. One very useful aspect of sightseeing in a place with lots of churches is that you can just find an onion dome and follow the road until you get to the church! The first thing that struck us was how different Vladimir felt to Moscow. There was no evidence of the rather manic hustle and bustle of the capital. Usually people just stay a few hours in Vladimir, before going on to Suzdal, but we had already booked a place at a hostel on Saturday night, so just decided to take the views in at a slower pace. On our wanders we came across a children’s book festival, and a bunch of kids dressed in fantastic animal costumes. Having established that most of the places to visit were on Bolshaya Moskovskaya Ulitsa, we started from the furthest end and made our way back. The first stop was the ‘Golden Gates’, first built in 1164 when the town was surrounded by thick walls. We popped into the museum inside, which focussed on the Mongol invasion in 1237, in which the gates, unlike the rest of the town, escaped destruction.

Interesting place for a wedding snap

 The next major stop was the Assumption (also known as Dormition) Cathedral (Uspenskii Sobor), built in the 12^th century. The cathedral also survived the Mongol invasion in 1237.

We somehow missed one of the main cathedrals, the St. Demetrius cathedral, but found numerous others whilst on our wanderings.

A major highlight of the day was the trip we made to Bogoliubovo, a settlement just outside of Moscow. One challenge we faced on our travels was that there are no announcements when the bus is stopping, meaning we had to constantly ask people to tell us when to get off. After a 20 minute bus ride, we found the Holy Bogoliubovo Monastery. We were not let inside as I was wearing trousers, which were deemed not appropriate. This was the first church to have required skirts and dresses, and it made me rather sad that we weren’t welcome.

Our goal, however, was a different church, which was another 15 minute walk away, across a train track and through some beautiful fields. We eventually found the right path to the Church of the Intercession, situated on an isolated spot on the river Nerl. Both the building and the location were beautiful, and well worth the effort it took to get there.

Appropriately attired

After a long day, we found a trolley-bus to take us to our hostel, which was situated within the grounds of an evangelical church. We chatted briefly to an American girl in our room, who said she was off the Yaroslavl (another Golden Ring town) the next day. This rather inspired my travelling companion, who looked up whether it was feasible to extend our trip. Deciding that Yaroslavl was a bit too far, we settled on Sergeiv Posad, a town which we could see on our way back to Moscow.

 

Suzdal

After booking another night at the hostel in Vladimir, we set off for Suzdal, rather later than planned, due to my remarkable ability at sleeping through alarms. The bus took around an hour to get to Suzdal, and we felt rather smug at having got tickets with specific seats, particularly as those standing got increasingly squished.

My summary of Suzdal: quaint and beautiful. It is really a very small town, with the highest concentration of monasteries, cathedrals and chapels than I have seen anywhere in the world. We had less time than we had planned, but even the 5 or so hours we spent there gave us a good flavour of the place, its stunning views, and its provincial atmosphere. 

Need to improve on my selfie-taking skills

One interesting fact is that the ‘Kremlin’ (Russian=Kreml’) is not just the name of the famous collection of buildings in central Moscow, but rather the Russian word for ‘fort’ or ‘citadel’. We started off in the Suzdal Kremlin, which houses various museums and buildings, including the 

Cathedral of the Nativity.

Monastery walls

The Cathedral of the Nativity

Inexplicable posing

We then went to St. Euthymius Monastery, which, among other things, contains a prison, used for political prisons in the Stalinist period. There was also a bell-tower where the bells are rung every hour!

Transfiguration Cathedral

Various churches we came across in Suzdal, the names of which I don’t know!

 

Blatantly overcharged for a 2 minute taxi ride to the bus station, we set off for our return journey to Vladimir, where we planned to get dinner before heading back to the hostel. A very “Russian” restaurant had been recommended to us by a friend, but, alas, after 25 minutes wandering we couldn’t seem to find it. Blisters and hunger prompted us to eat at a hotel near the Golden Gates. We were pretty embarrassed when we discovered that the restaurant was 3 minutes walk from the hotel, and we could have made it if it we had just made one more turn… But, alas, so is life!

After dinner, we asked around to see if there was a bus near the Golden Gates that would take us straight back to our hostel. We sat down at a bus-stop next to a babushka who asked my firend where she was from and what she was doing in Russia. Her advice to us was that it would have been better to stay at home and listen to the advice of our parents, who always know what is best for us. I suppose I am inadvertently taking her advice, as I head back to the UK in just over a week!

 

Sergiev Posad

We checked out of the hostel at around 7.50 and made our way to Vladimir bus station. Our first stop was Alexandrov, a 3 hour journey from Vladimir, from where we would take a train to Sergiev Posad. The bus was sweltering, and I was delighted to change it for the train. We arrived at Sergiev Posad somewhat frazzled and sweaty, but pleased to have made it. Sergiev Posad, according to my friend’s travel guide, is one of the “holiest” places in Russia, due to its popularity as a pilgrimage site. The main tourist point is the Trinity Sergius Lavra (another word for monastery). The atmosphere here was rather different to that in Suzdal. The monastery is in the middle of a rather busy town, and there was a lot of construction and repainting going on. We were also clearly not the only tourists there. I quite enjoyed the slightly mad atmosphere, in comparison to some of the monasteries we had been to. What is particularly interesting was that it is still very much an active monastery, housing a  seminary for trainee Orthodox priests. I plucked up the courage and had a brief chat with two young men from the seminary, who told me 300 people (including women) study at the seminary, from all around Russia and the world.

Assumption Cathedral

Sergiev Posad is also notable as the birthplace of the Russian matrioshka doll, which first originated in Japan. The matrioshka museum was closed, but instead we went around an exhibition of the Romanov dynasty, the name of the imperial line that ruled over Russia from 1613 until 1917. By this time we were pretty exhausted and in pain from blisters, so after a bit of sushi, we wandered back to the train station to catch a train back to Moscow, stopping to look at the view from the marvellously named “Pancake Hill” on our way.

According to my friend's guide book- this is a popular make-out spot for "youth" of the town...

All in all, a fantastic few days!

Language Barriers

Today I thought I would do a more general blog post about the good aspects as well as challenges of learning foreign languages, particularly Russian.

One advantage I have in Moscow is that I can pass as a Russian person looks-wise. This is useful to the extent of not being noticed. It does, however, add to the confusion of the Russian person trying to speak to me, as when they hear my pronunciation and lack of vocab they immediately know I am not Russian. One lady taking my coat at a cloakroom said she thought I was Polish, which I was pleased with as it implied I didn’t have as strong an English accent as I feared. That being said, people generally have funny expectations about what an English person should look or sound like. Various people here in Russia as well as back in Germany have claimed my accent is American, which I find rather astonishing as well as bemusing. I don’t think anyone who has ever seen any English TV show could think my accent anything other than “posh” and “English”. I vividly remember this same accent being mocked during my time at International School in Switzerland, with the question “Have you had tea with the Queen?” providing endless amusement. The best reaction I have had so far from someone who found out I was English was at the library. The guard on duty was incredibly excited and asked me, with some urgency, to explain the meaning of the acronym “LOL”.

I feel compelled at this point to go on a little rant about national identity. One thing I have found myself doing, both in Germany and Russia, is trying to fulfil certain stereotypes in order to fit to mould of “British person” better. I do love tea and drink it far more than other friends back in the UK, but even I was aware that insisting “Tee kann alle Problemen lösen!”  (Tea can solve any problem) whilst in Germany was a bit over the top. But then I do find myself always commenting on the weather, forgetting that this, too, is a classic stereotype about people from England. Sitting with a group of Russians a few weeks ago, I asked them what their stereotypes about the UK were. As well as the expected ones, Sherlock Holmes came up as a key aspect of British culture as perceived by Russians. (For those Russians reading this, do correct me!) This may well come from the popularity of a Russian version of Sherlock Holmes, of which I have yet to find a whole episode, but am looking forward to watching! Another trickier aspect of being a foreigner abroad is the status you receive as a “representative” of the country. For example, the caretaker of my building, after having taken a form from me, asked my opinion on the situation in Crimea and reminded me of the British government’s stance on things. I like that people take an interest in your opinion as a foreigner, but it is strange being judged on your opinions as though one person can summarise a whole country’s stance on something. But then again I am sure I have been just as guilty of making this assumption in the past.

Then there is the question of language and identity. One thing I still haven’t worked out is whether there are actually three Lucys: one that speaks English, another that speaks German and a third who speaks Russian. I certainly noticed in Germany that a sentence that I would normally have prefaced in English with “Excuse me, I was wondering if you might possibly be able to tell me…” would be far shorter and to the point in German. This is partly, I am sure, related to German being a second language, and politeness taking too long to express, but it had the effect of making me more direct. In Russian, my lack of vocabulary and fear of grammar means I speak much less often than I would in English (probably a good thing now I think about it…) and I wonder if that means the people I speak to in Russian know a different Lucy to you lot back in the UK.

OK I got a little side-tracked there but it’s something I have been thinking about a lot. Apart from having identity crises, there continue to be many funny/awkward/embarrassing/frustrating moments in trying to communicate in Russian. For example, after pausing for one minute too long by some porridge at the supermarket the other day, I was accosted by a friendly older lady who informed me about the various porridge options available, the best way to cook porridge, and that she was really good at making it. I understood about 1/3 of what she said, but nodded sagely out of politeness and then bought the packet out of social pressure. (I still haven't eaten the porridge.) This tendency to nod and smile is not always the best plan. Take, for example, my birthday party last week, where I said yes to the waiter taking my cocktail glass away. It transpired I had said yes to him bringing me a second Cosmopolitan…

Cocktail number 1...

Anyway, goodbye for now, will update soon with some more pictures I hope! :)

 

Little Update

Life has started to get busier here, with the ironic effect of giving me more things to write about, but less time to write! I shall try not to blabber on for too long, but give some snippets of what I have been up to and things I have been discovering about my new home for the next few months.

WORK

Classes continue to be interesting, and the teachers great fun. I spend most of my academic hours in the philological faculty, where I have my Russian classes. One of my teachers there is a master at facial expressions and the stage whisper which she uses to correct grammar mistakes, in order (I guess) to try and soften the blow. There have been some great moments, like when one of my classmates (and now friend) tried to ask the teacher what the word for “heretical” was. The teacher look confused and repeated back the word “erotic”. The smallest of errors can make a big difference.

I have also recently been employed by a tutoring company which has been fun putting on a teacher hat a few times a week. It has also had the affect of getting me into town more often, which is hard to motivate myself to do when it is very much possible to adopt a hermit existence at the uni. I mean that in all seriousness. Which other campus has not only cafeterias and cafes but bank machines, phone top-up machines, a flower shop, a clothes shop, a stationery shop, a tea shop, pharmacy and more besides??

 

View from the 11th floor of the philological faculty

FUN

Since I last wrote, I have been to two concerts, which couldn’t really have been more different. I have already mentioned my lovely neighbour from the Republic of Tuva (its part of Russia- look it up on Wikipedia!). She invited me to a New Years celebration (!) as Tuva follows the Lunar Calendar, meaning New Years was sometime in February (I think). The concert was a celebration of Tuvan culture, with everything being translated into both “Tuvan” and Russian. Some famous Tuvan celebrities made an appearance, including a young guy who has become relatively famous on YouTube for his “throat-singing” covers of popular songs. Watch the video below to discover what throat singing is… 

The other concert I went to was last Saturday, and took place in a tiny but beautiful concert hall in the Museum of the Contemporary History of Russia. The music was from Schubert and Beethoven and was played by a really high standard piano trio. The museum itself also looked really interesting and I hope to go back for a visit soon. There are just so many museums, theatres and concert halls here. Tomorrow I am heading off to the Tretyakov Gallery, probably the most famous art gallery here.

CULTURE SHOCK

The past weekend and this week have been particularly positive, as I start to settle in more and get to see a bit more of the city. Yet there are still things that continue to baffle me here, and I am sure will do so until I leave. Something I have particularly noticed recently is the number of people employed for jobs that, quite frankly, I don’t understand the need for. For example, printing/photocopying documents is something that most people can work out how to do themselves, albeit with some help the first time. But here I have to pass over my memory stick and pay a man to do it for me. Likewise the washing machines, almost identical to the ones I had back at Cambridge, which even have a slot to put money in, are supervised by a woman at all times who, after you have waited in a queue for an available machine, places washing powder in the machine for you and after you have paid her 100 roubles, give you a 5 rouble coin to put into the machine. The most baffling are the women who sit outside SELF-SERVICE photo booths in the metro. I mean… there is a clue in the name! Sorry for the rant, clearly I have some issues to work through here!

MAKING IT UP AS I GO ALONG

One of the great things about living in a new place with few contacts and quite a lot of leisure time is the freedom to do lots of random things. On Tuesday night, for example, after going to a Bible study, it was suggested that we go outside to listen to the students playing music outside the uni building. Thus I spent a very surreal but pleasant half an hour being serenaded on the accordion and guitar, before I got a bit chilly and left. To that end, the weather here is somewhat bizarre at the moment, in that there is no snow and it seems spring is here. The Russians say it is very unusual- but there are no complaints from me. I wanted to attach a picture here of my walk home from the metro station, but, alas I am unable to. I can't wait for May, when the botanic gardens here at the Uni will be in full bloom. :)

Bewildering, Bonkers and Brilliant

Today being my first official day of classes, I thought I would do another update. This time I thought I would describe what has struck me about Moscow so far using words beginning with the letter ‘B’.

 

BIG in every way

I may have mentioned this before- but Moscow is a BIG place. Today I thought I was going to be early for a class so hung out at the history faculty for a bit. But it then actually took 30 minutes at walking pace to get to the next building and I only just made it in time. You can’t go anywhere without discovering some massive building or random inexplicable sculpture. After a wander near the university building I randomly stumbled across a huge building in which was housed a “children’s educational musical theatre”. On Friday I met up with my friend Zhenia in the centre of Moscow, and we went and looked at some other big buildings and stuff. 

View of the Moskva River

On bridge (I forget the name) with Kremlin behind.

Zhenia in front of the Cathedral of Christ the Saviour

The world's ugliest statue?: http://observers.france24.com/content/20101008-will-moscow-finally-get-rid-of-ugly-peter-great-statue-russia-architecture-moscow-monster

Bureaucracy

I was warned of this, but it has required a lot of patience to jump through the many hoops of studying at the university. One moment of particular frustration was being told last week that my student ID couldn’t be completed as the photo I had given was shiny (rather than matt) and therefore not suitable.

Bonkers

This dude...

Breath-taking

Look at this lovely view…

Beautiful people

This particularly refers to women, and specifically the students I see wandering around campus. I remember the frequency of high-heels from St Petersburg, but the ‘power-dressing’ here does have the effect of making me feel even shorter than I already am, and exceptionally dowdy. An older lecturer came into one of the offices I was waiting in last week, and her boots were so outlandishly fantastic that I had to take a picture. Yes, I did do it, and no, I am not ashamed. On a deeper level, I have also come across some people who a beautiful in a different sense: kind, interesting and willing to help.

Why wear ordinary shoes when you can wear blue boots with incredibly high heels?

Bewildering

I have been of a few adventures try to navigate myself around. My lovely neighbour invited me to dinner with some of her friends, and told me one of them would walk down with me. At the last minute the girl couldn’t and so I had to find my way to a Korean restaurant 30 minutes’ walk away from the university. I actually exceeded my own expectations and made it to the hotel where the restaurant (with a little help over the phone in English…) I saw a sign welcoming me to Seoul and breathed a sigh of relief. After all, how many Korean restaurants could there be in this hotel?... It turns out at least 5. Not being able to get through to my friend and find out the name of the restaurant, I wandered from restaurant to restaurant before eventually finding them. I was greeted by a warm welcome, praised for my ingenuity and then got to eat tasty food, so the long journey had definitely been worth it! Another adventure was on Sunday, when I attempted to get to church. Arriving at the correct metro station, I was confused as to why I couldn’t find the church anywhere. Eventually getting through to the church office, I worked out that I had only read the first line of instructions on the website and that I had to get to a tram afterwards. Praying like mad, I eventually found myself at the correct tram station, but then realised I had no idea how to pay. Thankfully an older man and woman somehow could decipher my panicked Russian (or perhaps my vivid facial expressions) and I successfully managed to pay and stumble onto the tram. Still not sure where I needed to get off, I tried to ask the friendly old lady where I should go. Then a younger woman piped up that she was travelling to the same church. PHEW. A very quick answer to prayer… That being said, the metro system here is amazing and not actually that hard to use.

Bloomin’ marvellous

Sorry, I ran out of things beginning with B and I wanted to talk about woman’s day and flowers. We don’t celebrate it in England, which I think is a shame. The celebration has roots in the Socialist Party and working rights movements. In modern Russia it is basically just a day for boyfriends/husbands/sons /daughters to give their girlfriends/wifes/mothers flowers or gifts. There was something really lovely about seeing every other person carrying flowers, either to give to someone else or having just received them. The dinner on Saturday night was supposed to also be a birthday celebration, but the birthday girl (who I am yet to meet) was ill and so I kept the flowers I had bought for her for myself… It’s feminist to give yourself flowers, right?!

Anyway, on that deep note I shall finish. Thanks for reading. 

First Impressions

As I write I am watching the Russian version of “The Voice”, which I am justifying as there is some Russian spoken now and again and my Russian flatmate was watching it yesterday.  It’s only been 3 days (or more like 2.5 days), but I wanted to get down my first impressions as quickly as possible.

Moscow, as I thought it would be, is HUGE. Everything is on a scale that I have never experienced. It’s generally far easier and safer to use the underground passes rather than risk crossing any roads. There are so many large, impressive buildings around the place, particular near the centre of Moscow. But where I live is also rather impressive-looking. I will be studying here at the Moscow State University for the next 3 months, getting Russian classes and attempting to understand some lectures about the history of politics in Russia. The metro system is similar to the underground, except they are far more ornately designed, something that dates back to the Soviet era, as does my university’s campus.

The Bolshoi Theatre

The main building of Lomonosov Moscow State University at night (LOOK, there's snow)

I arrived at around 3pm on Saturday at the airport, after which my amazing friend/saviour Zhenia took me the whole way to the front of the university. She couldn’t come inside with me, as they are very strict on security. The need to show ID when entering any university building and then again for my accommodation will take getting used to. It doesn’t help that I only have my visa as a means of proof, as I am yet to receive any sort of student card. I try to alternate my facial expression between panic-stricken and self-assured. The latter is admittedly harder for me at this stage, but I shall keep trying. :P Yesterday I managed to get myself to the metro station and meet Zhenia in town, where we wandered around enjoying the “shrovetide celebrations”- like pancake day, except lasting a week and involving people dressed like they’re from the middle ages. We also made it to Red Square, despite seeing police blockades near there earlier in the day.

Me next to St Basil's cathedral

View of Red Square with St. Basil's Cathedral in the distance

Today was a day of queuing really. I won’t bore you with all the details but it did involve seeing some more of the university. It is made up of lots of different maHUssive buildings. I live in the central building and the history department is about 7 minutes walk away. The picture below is of the main site, with the statue of Mr Lomonosov. That is, Mikhail Vasilyevich Lomonosov, a Russian “polymath” according to Wikipedia and in honour to whom the University changed its official title to include his name in 1940. 

The main building of MSU, with Mr Lomonosov

I managed to find my way to the various offices around the site and at the right times, which I am rather proud of. This was made somewhat tricky in the main site, where only certain lifts could go to certain floors. Yet the numbers on the lifts seemed to bear no relation to this. In any case, it has been a day full of bureaucracy, but not without its amusing moments. I entered one office, where a woman behind the desk was hidden somewhat by the smoke coming from her cigarette, and who told me to wait outside for a minute. Seeing people smoke so publicly indoors is very alien to me, as the smoking ban has been in place in the UK for a while now. Another bizarre moment was paying for my rent. The juxtaposition of pictures of kittens, puppies and horses covering the walls with the rather stern accountant taking my money was oddly reminiscent of Professor Umbridge from Harry Potter- remember her? That being said, generally the stern demeanour I encounter does not mean people are unhelpful, just not as smiley as I am used to!

Anyway, one very important goal for tomorrow is to get myself a kettle, without which I am struggling somewhat haha. Another challenge is the lack of fridge, even in the kitchen. Its currently cold enough on the window sill that I think my yoghurts will survive the next few days, but what about milk?! Will I have to succumb to using long-life milk? Jokes aside, food and drink has been one of the biggest culture shocks thus far. Drinking anything but tap water is a no-no here in Moscow, which will mean constant trips to get water from the kiosk downstairs or the supermarket 15 mins walk away. Also, my Russian food vocabulary is laughable limited. This evening there was this really tasty looking meat and rice dish. Knowing only the word for rice, I tried to get by. But instead of the dish I wanted, which turned out to be called “plov”, I just got rice and veggies. That being said, my disappointment at communication failure means I now know the name of a new dish, hurrah. Yesterday I went for the tactic of choosing anything I knew the name of.

Right, I shall stop here. Well done for slogging through a surprising long post for only 3 days…

xxx