Cafes and Rainy Days

                I have perhaps just started internalizing the environment of St. Petersburg. There’s still fluff from poplar trees in the air here, though far less of it – in Moscow it was enough to suffocate you. The weather seems to hover in the low 60s, and to be consistently raining or drizzling. The city is colored with light pastels, and the streets are much smoother and wider, in general. The water of the canals and the Neva also adds an interesting touch. It seems to be an unregulated and free aspect of the city, ready to rebel against man and protest with its waves whenever it pleases.

                The bus tour around the Pushkin places was not, however, ideal. I realize it was largely because of traffic, but it was much longer than I felt I could reasonably pay attention to it, and the tour guide started mentioning very random facts in order to stall during the traffic jams. I think I would have much rather walked to many of those sites, and perhaps gone on a tour of the Pushkin house we went by. I realize I complained about the walking entirely too much in Moscow, but I also find it preferable to sitting on a bus for two hours.

                Afterwards, instead of succumbing to the temptation for a much needed nap, I wandered down to Дом Книги on Nevsky Prospect with some of the others, and ended up buying a much needed book of Russian fairy tales, with beautiful illustrations. It was a very classy bookstore… so much fun.

After that, I met up with Diana, a friend from high school, for dinner. Her family is from Petersburg, so she tends to come here during the summer in order to relax, and get away from the muggy Washington heat. It was really fun, we went to a café on Nevsky, took pictures in front of the Kazan Cathedral, and got to catch up. It was also a very different experience being in  a café in this country with someone who actually speaks Russian. Much less stressful, and far fewer laughing grins from the waiters at my poor Russian.

I really look forward to exploring Nevsky more in the future, and to figuring out my exact opinions on the idea of Petersburg. It is quite beautiful in the European sense, but the question still remains: is it Russian? It is a very light and airy city, separate from the gravity of the Third Rome. Is this right? Does it really reflect the Russian spirit? I have never consciously thought of Petersburg as blasphemous, as we discussed in class this morning, but I have always known that Moscow was the preferred city of the Orthodox – it goes without saying. Is this only because it is the patriarchal seat, the ancient Third Rome? Is it also because it’s more eclectic, with a bleak exterior, but cozy sitting rooms, and stern icons, but friendly mothers? In short, I am searching for the experiential basis for this intellectual idea. I can see traces of it already, but I am nowhere close to pinpointing it. And I’m likely to continue thinking about it until long after I leave.