This past week Russia has celebrated two major
holidays. The first was the 1st
of May, which is Labor day. The
second, May 9th, is Victory Day to celebrate Russia’s victory in
WWII. For me, that means no
school. Last Wednesday with the
Bard-Smonly program we took the overnight train to Moscow. Everyone always says that you either
love Moscow or Saint Petersburg better, usually the place you went to first. Personally, I don’t know anymore I love
both cities for very different reasons.
However, I was only in Moscow for a couple days so it’s hard to know if
I would have gotten tired of it after a while. Unfortunately, Moscow is the most expensive city in the
world. I didn’t buy more than food
there and I still managed to spend a fortune. I don’t think I will be picking up and moving to Moscow any
time soon.
While in Moscow, I went to some of the touristy places like
Red Square, the Kremlin, and Gorky Park.
I also ventured off a little and went to an architectural park,
attempted to find Patriarchs pond, and just walked around the city. One of the highlights of the trip would
definitely have been going to see the Circus. Some of the tricks the animals did seemed a little cruel but
the aerobatics were amazing! Here are some of the differences I noticed between
Moscow and Saint Petersburg… First, Saint Petersburg is VERY FLAT! I don’t
think I really noticed this until I went to Moscow, I definitely feel like I
hiked a lot while I was there.
Aside from Moscow being a much bigger city the layout is completely
different. Petersburg is laid out
in grid outline while Moscow is a giant circle surrounding the city center,
which makes it very easy to get lost.
The people also seem very different in Moscow. Some people say Moscow is a hustle and bustle kind of city
but I didn’t get that vibe, I felt like the people were more relaxed and
dressed much more casually.
Red Square
View from the Architecture Park
Sochi Countdown (Winter Olympics 2014)
Giant Bean-bags in Gorky Park
Just some pictures to show how big everything is....
Kremlin
Next, Saturday night myself and three other girls from the program took an overnight train to Kazan. Kazan is the capital of the Tatarstan Republic in Russia. It is a smaller city but is becoming known as a sports city. What is interesting about Kazan is the clashes of religion. There is a high Islamic population as well as other religious minorities. At Smonly I am taking a class titled “Religious Minorities in Russia” so it was really a privilege to come here and see everything we are reading and discussing. I was having a hard time thinking of a topic for my final paper so coming here has inspired me to focus my paper on Islam in Russia using Kazan as a case study. What has made school here so interesting is learning about something and then getting to see it with my own eyes, this may sound extremely nerdy but it has been one of the best parts about being in Russia. The first two days in Kazan were rainy to I went to an Art Museum, a Soviet Lifestyle Museum, Tatar Culture museum, the largest Mosque as well as several other churches. Once the weather got nicer we explored the park regions in Kazan and soaked up as much of the sun as we could. After months of extremely cold weather it has been a treat to have some sun. I just wish my body would adjust a little quicker because the change in weather is making me sick, making it hard to enjoy the weather.
Mosque
Church
Kazan Mascot
Early tomorrow morning I will be back in Saint Petersburg and only have two weeks of classes left. Its crazy how fast the semester has gone. Many students on the program are traveling after classes end so its weird to think they will only be in Peter for two more weeks. Luckily, I don’t have to worry about squeezing in finals as well as fitting in all the things I want to do here because I will be staying for the summer! Now it’s time to get down to it and prepare for my finals!
